Doctor Trafalgar, Love Expert?
Law gives terrible love advice to Penguin while clearly ignoring his own painfully obvious crush on you.
Law X gn! reader | ONE SHOT
tags: fluff, sfw, friends-to-lovers typeshi(?) law being timid
a/n: this js me trying to write ffs, this is experimental and for fun only, so expect this ffs a bit cringe
word count: 1.1k
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If there was one thing Trafalgar Law wasnât qualified to do, it was give romantic advice.
Sure, he was a brilliant surgeon, a pirate captain, and had a smirk that could make a nun sin, but when it came to feelingsâspecifically his ownâhe was a flaming shipwreck in a storm of emotional denial.
And yet, here he was, arms crossed, giving unsolicited love advice to Penguin like he was the therapist from a soap opera.
âJust tell her sheâs inefficient,â Law said with a straight face. âItâs a compliment.â
Bepo blinked up at him. â...Captain, I donât think calling Penguinâs crush inefficient is going to help his chances.â
âYou asked for honesty,â Law muttered, flipping through his medical journal like it was more interesting than this disaster in progress. âEfficiency is attractive.â
You, meanwhile, were watching this entire trainwreck from the galley door with a cup of tea and the kind of secondhand embarrassment that deserved its own trauma counseling.
âLaw,â you called. âDid you just say âinefficientâ as a flirting tactic?â
He didnât even look up. âItâs a practical compliment.â
You snorted. âWhatâs next? âYour presence improves my survival odds by 6.4%â?â
ââŚDepending on the environment, thatâs a generous estimate.â
You and Bepo shared a look. A look that screamed, Why is this our captain?
The whole thing had started that morning when Penguin had walked into the common area in a flurry of nerves and confessed, âI think I like someone.â
Law, whoâd been reading while pretending not to be listening to music in one earbud (yes, he still used wired ones, donât ask), barely lifted his gaze. âThen tell them.â
Penguin shuffled. âItâs not that easy.â
âAnd what if they donât like me back?â
Law gave the emotional equivalent of a shrug. âThen adapt. Rejection is survivable.â
Penguin groaned from the couch. âCap, you canât treat love like itâs battle tactics.â
âItâs a high-risk operation involving fragile variables and potential bloodshed. Sounds pretty accurate.â
Shachi nodded. âOkay, thatâs fair, but also incredibly bleak.â
And thatâs when Law was voluntold by everyone that if he was going to act like he knew how love worked, he had to give actual advice.
Hence: Doctor Trafalgar, Love Expert?
âOkay,â you said, taking the empty seat beside him and plucking the journal from his hands. âIf youâre so good at giving advice, help me out.â
Law narrowed his eyes. âWith what?â
âI think someone likes me,â you said casually, leaning back like you werenât about to stir up the most delicious chaos. âBut I canât tell if theyâre just awkward or trying to be subtle.â
His jaw tightened. âWho is it?â
You shrugged. âI donât know. Thatâs why I need your expert opinion.â
Law closed the journal and set it down very deliberately.
Everyone in the room went very still. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi exchanged silent screams with their eyebrows.
âWell,â Law said coolly. âWhat are the signs?â
âHmm,â you hummed. âThey hover a lot. Make excuses to talk to me. Kind of avoid eye contact but also stare when they think Iâm not looking.â
His eye twitched. âStare?â
âYeah. And once, they brought me extra rice even though I didnât ask.â
Law stood up. âThatâs suspicious.â
âSounds like theyâre trying too hard.â
âOhhh?â you said, biting back a smile.
âTheyâre probably nervous. Emotionally constipated. Bad at expressing feelings.â He said all this like he wasnât describing himself to an absurdly accurate degree. âPossibly repressed.â
âShould I confront them?â
âNo,â he said quickly, a little too quickly. âAbsolutely not.â
âIt might scare them away.â
âBut if they like meâŚâ
âThen wait for them to say something first.â
Bepo coughed. âSo⌠basically just let them suffer in silence?â
âIt builds character,â Law said.
You covered your mouth to hide your grin. âYouâre such a romantic.â
Lawâs ears turned pink. âShut up.â
Later that day, Shachi cornered you near the engine room with a look of deep judgment.
âYouâre torturing him.â
âI have no idea what you mean.â
He pointed a wrench at you. âYou know he likes you.â
âYouâve been fake-flirting with a ghost for the last week just to get him to react!â
You smirked. âItâs good cardio.â
Shachi groaned. âHeâs gonna combust. I saw him look up love confession rituals on his snail phone last night.â
Your eyes widened. âNo.â
âYes! And he accidentally joined a forum for single dads in North Blue.â
You wheezed. âHeâs going through it.â
The opportunity came the next morning when you walked into the kitchen and found Law staring at a mug of coffee like it had personally betrayed him.
He didnât look up when you entered, just mumbled, âMorning.â
âMorning,â you said, walking over. âSleep okay?â
He made a grunt of vague disapproval.
You sat beside him. âThinking about your crush?â
âI mean,â you said, oh-so-innocently. âThat mystery person you gave advice about.â
His eyes narrowed. âYouâre very nosy.â
âYouâre very obvious.â
He gave you a look. âI donât have a crush.â
You tilted your head. âAre you sure? Because everyone on this ship seems to think you do.â
âEveryone on this ship is bored.â
âBored enough to notice how you go quiet when I talk, how you walk into rooms Iâm in and pretend itâs for unrelated reasons, or how you stare at my lips when I eat dessert?â
You leaned closer. âSo. Doctor Trafalgar. Any prescriptions for yourself?â
ââŚShut up,â he muttered, face flushed.
You blinked. âWait. That was a confession.â
âHey,â you said, suddenly softer. âI like you too, dumbass.â
You reached into your pocket and pulled out a little red candy. âI was going to make you say it first, but you looked like you were about to diagnose yourself with heartbreak.â
âGod, yes. Even when youâre being a brick wall with nice tattoos.â
ââŚI have more than just tattoos,â he muttered.
You grinned. âYeah, youâve also got a charming inability to express affection. Itâs cute.â
He shook his head. âYouâre insufferable.â
âYouâre still holding my hand.â
You laughed and tugged him back down. âStay.â
Later, Penguin came in to find the two of you sitting shoulder to shoulder, quietly sharing a plate of snacks.
âCaptain?â Penguin said, tilting his head. âDid you take your own advice?â
Law didnât look up. âNo.â
You grinned. âHe took mine.â