#opsecretsanta2016

The rest of the crew made their way onto the dock, all looking equal parts amazed and confused.

“This melody is music to my ears,” Brook examined, “but! Of course-”

“You don’t have ears! Skull joke!” Chopper yelled.

“Chopper-san, my line…”

“What is this place?” Nami wondered, “it didn’t register on the log pose at all…”

Chopper squeezed himself through his friends’ legs to get a better look and let out a squeal of delight. The town looked beautiful from the sea, but up close you could see the strings of lights and hear the mellow music. It really was an unearthly sight.

“Wait, Strawhat-ya. We’re not staying, so don’t take off,” Law said, holding on more tightly as Luffy struggled to break free.

“Well, you can tell him that all you want, but there’s no way you’re keeping him away from a place like this,” Usopp grinned, jerking a thumb toward the town, “to be honest, I really want to check it out myself.”

“Me, too,” Sanji agreed, “I wonder what the food is like. It doesn’t smell like anything I’ve tried before.”

“And what’s with the lights?” Franky asked, raising an eyebrow, “a setup like this must take a lot of energy to run. How’d they manage it?”

“It really is beautiful,” Robin said, “I’d love to learn the story behind this festival.”

“Festival?” Chopper exclaimed, “do you think they’re selling sweets?!”

“Well,” Nami sighed, coming up to stand in front everyone with a small sack clutched in her hand, “it looks like there’s no helping it. We’ll stop here and get what we need, then set back out again in the morning. Besides,” a strange gleam lit her eyes as she looked back towards the town, “it looks like the clothes shops are open!”

“You can tell from this distance!?” Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed.

“We don’t have time for this,” Law complained, glaring over at Nami and the others. Luffy stopped struggling once he realized Nami was about to hand out allowances, but Law hadn’t loosened his grip.

To Law’s great annoyance, the crew went on as if they hadn’t heard him at all.

“I’ll get the booze,” Zoro said, sticking out his hand as he passed Nami. She tossed his share of beli to him, and called after him.

“I’ll send someone to find you in the morning, so don’t go too far!”

“And don’t get on the wrong ship again,” Sanji called after him.

“Shut up!”

Chopper, Usopp and Brook were next, each chatting excitedly about the first foods they’d try to find. Nami reminded Chopper that too many sweets would give him a stomach ache, and the pint-sized doctor sent a guilty little smile her way as he collected his coins.

Robin and Franky passed Nami, followed by Sanji, who spared a glance back at Law. Was that sympathy in the cook’s eyes!?

“Hey, tell them to come back,” Law growled, giving Luffy a shake by his coat.

“Huh? Why should I?” Luffy asked.

Nami turned and handed Luffy his share of spending money before walking up to meet Sanji.

“Make sure he stays out of trouble! Have fun!” She called over her shoulder.

“What!?”

Law realized a little too late that the crew had just dumped the job of babysitting their man-child captain on him. He gaped between the retreating crew and the rubber idiot who was grinning up at him excitedly.

“C'mon, Traffy! Let’s go eat!

The streets were packed with shoppers, and the food stands were a mess of people waiting patiently for their orders. Luffy zipped through the crowd with surprising grace. Having had enough of chasing him through the crowds from stand to stand, Law grabbed him by the hand and yanked him over to a large clearing.

When they finally pushed their way through, Luffy’s eyes went wide in astonishment. In the middle of the clearing, which Law now realized must be the town common, was a tree so impossibly large that he had to crane his neck back to see to the top of it.

The fir was dressed with lights and ribbons from base to crown, and at the very top sat a gigantic star, glowing warmly and blanketing the common. A halo of light emanated from it, and Law realized that this star was the light that had drawn them to the island in the first place.

“Look, Traffy! Look at the bottom!”

Law saw them. Surrounding the trunk of the tree was a sea of gifts, piled high in places, wrapped in papers of gold, and red and green.

“Who are they for?” Law wondered aloud. Was there a king on this island who threw himself a festival and demanded gifts from the townspeople? If that was the case, all the more reason for them to leave before they were noticed.

“Everyone!” A voice exclaimed from behind them.

They turned and found an old man, his back bent with age, grinning up at them. Like all the townspeople they’d seen, he appeared to be in cheerful mood.

“You’ve come at our island’s finest season! This week we celebrate Luminose, the festival of light and giving!”

“Low moose?” Luffy cocked his head.

“Lu-MIN-ose,” the man patiently corrected.

“Then those gifts-” Law began.

“Are for everyone who lives on this island,” the old man interrupted, spreading his arms wide in an inclusive gesture. “Each year we wrap our closest friends and family a gift that will be meaningful to them. The thought is that these small tokens of generosity and love will act as a reminder that you are never alone, even in the darkest times.”

“You do this every year, old man?” Luffy asked in amazement.

“That’s right. You’ve come on the last night, which will end with a grand midnight feast and the exchanging of gifts! Our lights attract visitors from every corner of the sea! Their patronage to our shops and vendors make it possible for an island like ours, which is impossible to find using even an eternal pose, to thrive.”

“Ok. I’ve decided,” Luffy said, pounding his fist into his palm, “we’re celebrating low moose, too!”

“Luminose!” the old man corrected.

Law sighed, pretty certain that the word ‘feast’ sealed that deal.

“First, I need gifts. C'mon, Traffy, let’s go find some. Thanks, old man! We’ll see you at the feast!”

“You spent over half the money Nami-ya gave you already. How do you plan on paying for gifts?”

“He didn’t say they had to be expensive gifts. Let’s go!”

The shopping district was less crowded than the food vendors, and Law wondered how anyone on this island was going to have an appetite after spending the entire day eating.

“What are we looking for now?” Law asked, walking hands-in-pockets beside Luffy.

“Dunno yet, I’ll know the perfect gifts when I see them.”

“Like those?” Law asked skeptically, looking at the bag Luffy was carrying.

After an hour of shopping, the contents of Luffy’s bag was as follows: One round, fist sized rock. One old, metal hair comb. One pair of much-too-dark sunglasses.

“If you give Nami-ya a rock, she’s going to throw it at you,” Law warned, pretty certain that a rock was at the bottom of the navigator’s wish list.

Luffy laughed but shook his head, “I know she’ll like it!”

Suddenly, Luffy stopped short and stared into the display window of an antiques shop. Law glanced from the boy’s round, surprised eyes, to the object they were locked on.

“Who’s that for?” Law asked, assuming that Luffy had just stumbled upon another one of his random “perfect” gifts.

He saw Luffy put a hand to his pocket where the last of his money waited to be spent. Then, almost painfully, he drew that hand back up and made a tight fist of resolution.

“Nobody,” Luffy said, turning to him with a smile and walking on.

Law’s eyes lingered on the display window a moment longer before he turned and followed.

“Found him,” Usopp called, dragging a glaring Zoro behind him. The swordsman carried a tankard tightly in his free hand.

The rest of the crew was already gathered at the base of the giant fir tree, all except Law looking confused by the summons.

Luffy grinned excitedly and stood akimbo before them.

“Alright! Everyone, I’ve decided tonight we’re going to celebrate low moose!”

“Luminose,” Robin correct with a smile, “I take it you heard about the feast, Luffy?”

“We’re definitely staying for the feast,” Luffy nodded seriously, “so I want to do this part early so we can eat for as long as we want!”

“What part?” Usopp asked.

Luffy grabbed a large, red sack from behind him and pulled it forward. He reached a hand in and pulled out a very shabbily wrapped parcel.

“Is that meat packing paper?” Law asked, looking over the ugly brown parcel. He’d wondered what Luffy had used for wrapping paper, but Law had left to run his own errand before Luffy had started wrapping.

“Luffy, how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my-” Sanji yelled, but before he could say anything more, Luffy offered him the parcel.

“It's… for me?” Sanji asked, surprised.

“Yup!” Luffy grinned, watching expectantly. Sanji felt the rest of the crew’s eyes on him and couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He bit back a remark about not accepting gifts from men, feeling better about the fact that from the size of that sack, Luffy had something for all of them.

He shrugged and started ripping off the paper.

“What is it?” Nami asked, peeking over Sanji"s shoulder. Sanji stared down at the gift, a large grin spreading across his face.

“For when we find it! You can take a picture and put it in there, so you always remember what it was like!” Luffy explained.

Law watched on in mild surprise. As bad a gift an old, empty picture frame seemed to be back in the trade shop Luffy purchased it from, the cook now looked down at it as though it were the All Blue itself.

From where he stood, Law could see the messy words Luffy must have added to the bottom of the frame while he was away: “ALL BLUE”

“Thanks, Luffy!” Sanji said with such sincerity that Law felt a little uncomfortable, as though he was intruding on a personal moment between friends. Luffy laughed happily and pulled out another gift.

When Nami unwrapped her gift, she didn’t throw it as Law predicted, but instead held it up in admiration. The rock was smooth, round, and deep orange. It wasn’t until he saw the look of pure love, so fleeting he should have missed it altogether, that Law was reminded of the mikan trees on board the Strawhat’s ship.

“So your maps don’t get blown away!” Luffy explained, but Nami was already nodding.

“It’s perfect, Luffy! Thank you!”

And to Law (and Sanji’s) surprise, she wrapped her captain in a tight hug.

Zoro begrudgingly accepted his sunglasses, their use made clear with the cook’s help (“now that lazy shit head will never wake up”) but Law caught him silently admiring the glasses when he thought no one was watching. He thought a look passed between captain and swordsman, but what it meant he had no idea.

Chopper happily exclaimed over his new step-stool, which was really just a discarded piece of one of Franky’s projects that Luffy had painted pink and blue to match the little doctor’s hat. It was just what he needed, he said, to reach the top shelf in the infirmary.

The others were equally pleased, and when Law thought the gift giving was finally through, Luffy drew one last gift from the bag and handed it to Law.

Law had no idea when Luffy had the chance to pick him out a present. He stopped himself from asking why Luffy had bothered gifting him something. It would only make an awkward exchange even more awkward.

And he knew the answer already, anyway. He’d been warned about this guy and his just-about-invisible line between ally and friend. As long as they accomplished their goal in the end, what Strawhat labeled him didn’t matter.

He turned the gift over in his hands before tearing at the corner. All eyes were on him, none looking surprised that Law was included in this spontaneous burst of holiday generosity, and he knew heat was starting to rise in his cheeks at the unwanted attention.

Inside were a pair of thick, gray gloves.

“I noticed your hand was cold when we were holding hands!” Luffy explained, “and then you kept putting them in your pockets…”

“Holding hands?” Robin asked, sending Law a playful smile.

“No! I wasn’t, I mean, we weren’t-” Law started, anger flushing his face even worse than before.

“So now you can hold hands again anytime you want, right Luffy?,” Zoro snickered, and Law was tempted to scatter pieces of the swordsman so far apart he’d never make himself whole again.

“What’s wrong with holding hands?” Chopper asked innocently.

“Maybe we should start assigning someone to hold this marimo’s hand so he doesn’t get lost all the time,” Sanji said before taking a draw of his cigarette. He blocked Zoro’s attack but Nami’s fist ended the fight before it even began.

“This is all great, Luffy, but if you had told us about this sooner, we could have gotten you something, too.” Nami said, crossing her arms.

“Hey! That’s right, it’s not really fair, is it?” Usopp said, thumbing through the “Prankster’s Book of Pranks” that had seen its fair share of owners.

Most pages had handwritten notes in various styles of handwriting, explaining changes they’d made, and sometimes their own original ideas. It was a one-of-a-kind find, and it was the second best gift he’d ever received.

The rest of the crew mumbled their agreement, but Luffy shook his head.

“You guys give me stuff all the time! Sanji gives me food, and Usopp tells the best lies. (“Oi!”) Chopper shares his snacks and Robin reads me books. Franky builds the coolest stuff, and Brook plays the best music! And sometimes Nami even shares her miken with me!“

"She does!?” Usopp whispered, and Chopper shrugged in surprise. Nami blushed a little, but said nothing.

“So, it made me really happy to find something to give to you!”

“Idiot,” Sanji muttered.

“You give us a lot, too, Luffy!” Chopper cried, wrapping his arms around Luffy’s legs, “you deserve a gift just as much as we do!’

"That why we got you this,” Law said, drawing a beautifully wrapped box from his pocket.

The Strawhats turned to Law in shock, and the Heart captain quickly looked away from them and scowled.

“It’s only fair, so take it,” Law growled, pushing the gift into Luffy’s hands.

Luffy’s eyes lit up at the colorful wrapping, and he tore into the paper with child-like enthusiasm.

Out from the box he drew a small, very old looking pocket telescope. The rim was worn and a deep scratch ran down the side, but those flaws didn’t subtract from its beauty.

Luffy stared down at the telescope, rolling it in his hands. A small smile, as though he were remembering a time and a place far away from this one, played at his lips.

His silence caused Law to shift his weight on his feet anxiously.

“If you don’t like it, you can take it back. You were looking at it so I thought-”

Luffy’s arms wrapped around Law so tightly the surgeon gasped involuntarily.

“Thanks, Traffy!” He exclaimed, letting go to share his gratitude with his crew, “Thanks, everyone!”

Suddenly, a large bell began to chime, drowning out the sounds around them. It chimed twelve times, and the crowd calmly began to move out of the common as one.

“That must signal the start of that feast you mentioned,” Brook said.

“Oh yeah! The feast! Let’s go!” Luffy cried. He grasped his telescope tightly before disappearing into the crowd, not bothering to see if anyone was following.

Law realized the rest of the crew was staying fixed in place, all of them watching Law with a mix of strange expressions.

“Thank you,” Robin finally offered, breaking the silence, “for finding a gift for Luffy on our behalf.”

“That was a SUPER thing to do!” Franky smirked, striking one of his odd poses.

“I didn’t even know he wanted a new telescope,” Usopp mused, “we have newer ones lying around the ship.”

“Maybe it means more because it was a gift?” Chopper suggested.

“How much do we owe you?” Nami asked, a little hesitantly.

Law turned his back to them and followed Luffy through the crowd.

“It’s on me, just don’t get used to it.”

After the feast, and after Luffy had a chance to return to his normal size, the crew drowsily made their way back to Sunny.

Law and Luffy made up the rear of their procession, and when Law felt a hand wrap around his own warm, gloved one, he didn’t pull away.

Behind them, the lights dimmed out until the island was dark and the last of the music faded away.

Luffy was holding the telescope close to his chest, like a child might hold a security blanket. Law realized that he, too, felt a great comfort in his new gift. The thought was absurd and embarrassing, and tomorrow he would swat it away along with any stray hands that tried to grasp his own.

The old man’s words came to mind then:

“The thought is that these small tokens of generosity and love will act as a reminder that you are never alone, even in the darkest times.”

For tonight, this was fine.

When he awoke, the spot on the mattress beside him was empty. Again. Eustass Kid grunted discontentedly and turned his eyes to the clock on the pile of books next to their makeshift bed. His mood darkened further when he realised he had exactly 37 minutes left until his shift started.

He heaved himself off the mattress and took a few moments to stretch and massage his stump. It was aching, but only lightly. The day wasn’t doomed from the start, then.  

He made his way into the living room, not bothering to dig up a clean (or at least clean-looking) shirt from the pile of clothes on the floor of his side of the bed. He knew he should have tidied it up yesterday, but it hadn’t exactly been his first priority upon getting home after ten hours of fighting small children and adults alike to prevent them from climbing the shelves to snatch that very last lego set from the top. He hated Christmas.

The tangled mass of blankets and dark hair at the kitchen table stirred a little when he turned on the coffee machine and it gave off its signature high-pitched tormented squeal. Kid frowned at the slumped figure and the bulky medical books surrounding it, forming a half circle around the chair and another one on the table. Only the dead mice and magic herbs required for a full-on dark ritual look were missing.

The coffee machine coughed one last drop of coffee into the cup he had placed under it and made another sound that sounded suspiciously like a dying animal. Kid put the cup down on the table more forcefully than necessary, and finally the mess at the table began to untangle itself. One of the blankets slid down and revealed a tousled tuft of hair and half-opened eyes with bags under them that looked even worse than Kid’s own.

“Fuck”, said Trafalgar Law in a hoarse voice, “what time is it?”

Kid only shrugged and went for the bathroom.

Law shed another blanket and rubbed his temples. He had only intended to study a little past midnight… he should have known where the endeavour would end, though- this had happened before. In fact, every day for the past week or so.

He couldn’t convince himself to get out of his position on the chair yet even though it was supremely uncomfortable, so he stayed with his hands wrapped around the coffee cup, listening to the sound of rushing water from the bathroom.

He must have dozed off again, so the shout startled him. Law lifted his head from his arms and turned it halfway towards Kid who was now standing in the bathroom door, sporting a black shirt that seemed already wet again from the freshly showered strands of red hair dripping onto it.

“Where the fuck is my eyeliner?!”, he repeated.

Law turned away again and took a sip from his cup. His head was hurting, and Kid’s shouting didn’t make it better. I’ll kill him, he thought.

“Trafalgar!”

“I don’t fucking know!”, he shouted back and winced as his head began throbbing even harder. “I didn’t take it”, he said more quietly.

“I have to be at work in fifteen minutes!”

“I said I didn’t take it!”, Law repeated, annoyed. “I haven’t moved from this spot all night.”

Kid had suddenly appeared in the kitchen again, having apparently given up on the eyeliner. He wasn’t finished with bothering Law, though.

“Yeah, about that.”

“No.”, groaned Law and buried his face on the table again. He could hear Kid rummaging around in the cupboards, then settling down opposite to him.

“You can’t keep doing this.” His voice sounded concerned but there was also an underlying anger in it, and Law couldn’t quite place who it was aimed at.

“I know you have that exam or whatever it is soon, but you still have to get some sleep.”

“I do”, Law muttered, still refusing to look up.

Kid sighed, frustrated. “You know what I mean.” Now his hand was on Law’s head, slowly ruffling through his hair. “I admire your determination to ace every test and graduate top of your class and become the best surgeon ever, but…”

He paused and Law felt like his heart had just missed a beat. Not again, he thought, please don’t-

But Kid continued anyway, almost desperately.

“-You don’t have to do this, Law. Not for me. I… I don’t want you ruining yourself over trying to- to help me-“

He spit out the last words like he was disgusted at their meaning, and it became too much.

“Goddamn it, why won’t you let me do this?!”

Law stared Kid right in the face for the first time, his body suddenly tense. He hadn’t wanted to shout but he couldn’t help it. Why can’t you understand this? I’ve told you a thousand times, why can’t you just accept it?

He lowered his voice and tried to place his right hand over Kid’s which had been caressing his head just a moment ago.

“I love you. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but I want to be a great one now- to support us both, so we can pay for the apartment, your prosthesis, so you can take some time off-“

Kid pulled his hand away, his face distorted. He looked like he wanted to respond something, but then he just stood and walked out.

“Taz!”

The door slammed. Law, who had been trying to pull free from the leftovers of his blanket cocoon to follow him, sank back into his chair. Now this is just great. Congrats, Trafalgar.

He was studying to become a surgeon, not a psychologist! He didn’t know how to handle this. They had been living together for months now, and they still had fights about who should pay the electricity bills and the bus fares. All because they both couldn’t bear the thought of being the one who needed support. He knew Kid felt useless sometimes, but he was the one actually working, bringing home cash so they didn’t starve and could dream of having an actual bed someday. Meanwhile Law was just studying, going to university, coming home late and studying some more- spending all his time on the distant goal of being a surgeon and making so much money that they didn’t have to worry about anything anymore. Kid didn’t really seem to know what he wanted to do with his life yet, but it certainly wasn’t toiling in retail six days a week. He did it anyway, though- for Law.

And you still worry about how I am doing. He chuckled bitterly. You make me coffee and lecture me on getting enough sleep. As if I was the one sacrificing myself for you. It makes me sick.

The rest of his coffee was still lukewarm, and he downed it in one big gulp. Then he went for a shower, too- it was the best place to think.

***

Kid opened the front door slowly, trying to pick up any sounds from inside. He was only greeted by silence.

“Law?”

No answer.

Maybe he’d gone out. Maybe this was retaliation for this morning. A part of him regretted it, but another part screamed that he was still right. Law was so focused on the future- their future- that he forgot to care for himself in the present.

He took off his shoes, his feet crying out in relief after hours of walking up and down shop aisles, into the store room and out again. All they needed him to do right now was to lie down on the couch and never get up again. Or at least not for some hours.

But when he stepped into the living room, the couch was already occupied. A certain dark-haired young man in a dark blue sweater was lounging on it, a tray with two cups resting on the small table beside him. He looked up from his book and smiled.

“Hey. Want to come here for a bit?”

Kid was on top of him in half a second and Law laughed, only to be shut up by a kiss that left them both a little breathless. Kid nuzzled his head into the crook of Law’s neck, and Law buried his fingers in his soft red hair.

“I’m sorry about earlier”, he said. “I shouldn’t have shouted at you.”

“You’re forgiven… under one condition.” Kid looked up at him, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“And what would that be?”

Kid brought his mouth very close to Law’s ear.

“Promise not to let me sleep alone again?”

His slightly raspy voice awakened something in lower regions of Law’s body, and he pulled his boyfriend into another kiss while moving one hand from his head to his lower back and under his shirt. He traced circles on his skin as Kid made a small, soft noise and began to slowly rock his hips.

Before he could get too overwhelmed by the lovely, hungry red-haired mess on his lap, Law pulled away a little and grabbed one of the cups from the tray. Kid pouted for a moment, but his face lit up again when Law handed it to him and he understood.

“Promise to let me make coffee for you too?”, asked Law with a small smile and took the other cup.

“Deal”, said Kid, also smiling.

They toasted each other and took a sip.

“Ew.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You still have a lot to learn, darling.”

“Hey, I tried!”

“I appreciate it. I still demand compensation for having had to taste this, though. Right now.”

“Alright...”

***

and then they had very good sex which you’ll have to imagine because i can’t write smut for the life of me ^^