~

Luffy listened to Nami scolding him nonstop over the lack of communication from his side while being in Flevance, it got worse when the younger accidentally let slip that Rosinante was back with Law.

"Luffy give the phone to Law right now!" Nami yelled and the young man pulled the device away from his ear to save his eardrum.

"Torao's resting and he's stressed so he doesn't wanna talk to anyone." Luffy answered walking in the hall outside the infirmary.

"What do you mean resting? What happened to him?"

"He got a stent in a few hours ago so he's sleeping."

"What the- why!? What happened! Is he ok? Did he have a heart attack??? Luffy why didn't you tell me?!" Nami kept screaming.

"I forgot..." Luffy sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"YOU- ugh, it doesn't matter, Law's ok right? And Rosi-san, he's ok too?"

"Shachi said Torao's gonna be ok now, and Cora-o's ok too."

"Can we come over? Is Law ok enough for that?"

"No... but I have a feeling we'll be coming back in a few days."

"Fine, I'll let everyone know."

"And tell everyone to not crowd Torao either, no yelling or stuff too."

"Got it."

Luffy put his phone in his jacket pocket and walked inside the infirmary. Rosinante was sitting beside the doctor on the bed, letting his son use him for support to sleep on. Luffy made a face at the way Law kicked the sheets aside in his sleep.

"He's cold but he doesn't like these sheets." Rosinante said with a sigh.

"I got him." Luffy said and ran to Law's room to get his blankets, carefully adjusted them on his boyfriend with the help of his father and sat down at the edge of the bed.

"How did you know this would work?" Corazon asked in a whisper.

"It was a hunch the first time, I like being around familiar things when I'm not ok, figured Torao might too, we're pretty similar like that." Luffy answered with a shrug. "Torao's easy to read too, sometimes."

"Thank you for being with him."

"It's no big deal, I like being with him."

"I do have to mention though, you're the exact opposite of a person I thought Law might like." Cora said, he felt like he could actually talk to Luffy now, had gathered enough courage to do it.

"Nyahahahah-oops." Luffy accidentally laughed out loud. "My friends used to say that a lot about Torao too when we first started going out."

"You both seem like complete opposites."

"Everyone said that a lot too, but we're really similar, we both don't like taking a bath, we both fall asleep in baths too, we've got good friends, we like taking walks at night, we both get involved in stupid shit, I get to help Torao when his brain goes against him and he patches me up when I get injured, we both like helping people, but we're kinda different too, so I guess that works." Luffy listed.

"How did you guys meet?" Rosinante was now genuinely interested, he realized talking to Luffy required no effort at all and he was scared and ashamed for no reason, the boy wasn't judging.

"Torao saved me from bad people, took care of me, then took me back home, then we met again a lot of years later, I guess it kicked off on its own from there."

"Saved you from bad people?"

"Yeah, they kidnapped me and I broke free but I needed to get off the island so I asked Torao, he was so mean in the beginning and he didn't wanna help but then he did, man snow was so bad at Swallow Island."

Corazon furrowed his eyebrows at the last bit. "Swallow Island? When was this?" The oldest was worried about what Law was doing at the Swallow Island and when it was.

"When I was eleven, so... like eight or nine years ago?"

"You've known him for that long?"

"Yeah! I stayed with him for some six months, then he took me back to Goa, then we met again like two years ago." Luffy recalled and grinned at the memories. "Torao used to be so grumpy nishishi."

"He's always been like this." Rosinante smiled sadly.

"But nothing's holding him back anymore, you're alive and back too, I'll make sure he smiles more now."

"You're kind yourself too." Cora beamed at Luffy and it didn't take the young man one second to liken the smile he was seeing to the tattoo on Law's chest. It was sad to Luffy that Law got that tattoo in the memory of Corazon but it was also warm.

"Can you guys shut the fuck up? I'm trying to sleep." Law mumbled, half asleep, annoyance clear on his face. Rosinante and Luffy looked at each other before laughing silently behind their hands, deciding to quiet down so Law could rest.

It was a few more hours later that Bepo arrived in the infirmary and started detaching the machinery connected to his captain. Luffy and Corazon watched as the bear mink carefully put everything aside then shook Law to wake him up.

"Come on captain, it's the eight hour mark." Bepo said softly and helped Law sit up a little.

"Right... ugh it's gonna hurt." Law whined and wiped his eyes.

"What's gonna happen?" Luffy asked, his head tilted on a side to display his confusion, Rosinante in the same boat.

"Since we passed the stent using the leg, the eight hour mark is when he has to stand up and walk a little to make sure that there is no damage to the major blood vessels that keep the leg alive." Bepo answered, arms forward and figure hunched to accommodate Law as he was going to leave the bed.

"So why does it hurt?" Cora asked this time.

"Because of the bruising and the tight bandages that keep the pressure on the artery to keep it from bleeding out, because a foreign object was in the blood vessel so there's that too, and there is sudden pressure on the leg too." Law explained, breathing in an out to hype himself up to get off the bed and on his legs to get it over with. "Well, here goes nothing."

All three present in the infirmary took a step forward when Law put his feet on the ground, stood up and stumbled while straightening his back. Bepo offered his arm to his captain for support while walking the first few steps.

"Fuck fuck fuck." Law cursed audibly when the pain got worse and he had to put his hands on Luffy's shoulders, the younger was closest. "Everything works fine, I'm not walking more right now."

"It's ok, you can sleep in your room now since you're vitals are fine and everything." Bepo said and made himself busy in fixing the infirmary bed because Law wouldn't be using it anymore.

"I don't wanna walk till there..." Law complained in a low voice, circling his arms around his boyfriend's neck and resting his head down on the younger's shoulders. "Fucking dammit this hurts."

"I'll ask Musta to bring your food to your room." The bear said. "Cora-san, please help me carry this load." Bepo conveniently took Rosinante with him with the pretense of taking the sheets to the laundry room.

"I'll carry you now Torao." Luffy said to warn the older of what was about to come but didn't give him enough time to process and picked Law up in his arms.

"Don't drop me." Law threatened.

"Have I ever?" The younger raised an eyebrow with a grin and Law rolled his eyes. "You wanna take a hot bath to dull the pain?"

"Can't get the bandages wet right now, I'll have to take one tomorrow though when they come off."

"You're very brave you know, for going through this knowing how much it hurts." Luffy walked carefully to the older's bedroom, making sure he didn't bump into anything.

"I've literally survived worse."

"But?"

"But my pain threshold is very bad so every little thing hurts infinitely worse than it should." Law said twisting the knob on the door to his room and flicking the light switch on so Luffy could see.

"I'm sorry I can't help with that." Luffy made a face and let his boyfriend down at the edge of the bed at his silent request.

"You're doing fine helping, you're here, it makes the brain release some hormones that dull aches and pain." The surgeon said and sat down on his bed, legs stretched in front of him. Law patted the space beside him for Luffy to make himself comfortable on. "Pass me my phone before that."

"Can Godfather come in here now?"

"Sure I guess."

"Come in boy!" Luffy called from the bed and just seconds later the pup ran in the room and jumped on the bed. "No no, we gotta be careful, Torao's legs hurt." The younger told his dog who was going to jump on Law.

"Fucking hell... Nami's been spamming my phone for days now." Law whispered just looking at the notifications on his phone.

"She called earlier, she was so mad that I didn't tell her anything." Luffy patted his dog and laid down beside the older.

Law turned his head sharply towards his boyfriend. "What... did you tell her? How many people know about what I was going to do?"

"I didn't tell anyone about that. I just told her Cora-o's back and you got a stent."

"That's practically everything!"

"I didn't tell her you were going to kill yourself." Luffy said with a frown.

"I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I?" Law put his phone aside and slid down till he was on eye level with Luffy.

"Not until I've decided that you've paid back enough for it."

"And how are you going to decide that?"

"Haven't thought about it yet." Luffy shrugged simply and the conversation ended for the time being, the two just staring into each other's eyes, then the younger remembered something. "You know you can work as a doctor now, like in a hospital."

"I can't just walk in a hospital and tell them to give me a job, people are going to ask questions, I don't have the documentation, a medical degree, a medical license or references, nobody's going to believe that I'm a doctor." Law said immediately, he had given the option a thought but arrived at the said dead end. "Working in the underworld is a safer option, it's something that I already know and understand."

"Then how do the underworld people know that you're a doctor?"

Law smiled at the innocent question. "I spread rumors, paid people to spread the information, then my first client did the rest for me."

"But that place is dangerous too, you got shot and then people were following you." Luffy said with a pout.

"It's no more dangerous than what you do."

"Hmm." The younger agreed. "But you're there to patch me up when I get hurt or at least there's Chopper, who do you have all the time that can help like that?"

"I have-"

"No the funny guys and Bepo don't count because you don't do your underworld stuff here in Flevance." Luffy cut. "Like when you were shot in Goa, who would you have called if I hadn't picked up?"

Law felt his heart get heavy at the understanding that he really didn't have anyone with him constantly who could watch his back so in that manner, the underworld jobs were indeed very dangerous. "I don't know..." Law answered regardless. "I guess I would have died then."

"See? Sure what I do is equally dangerous but I always have my nakama with me."

"I can't involve my friends on my path and put a target on their backs while doing it too."

Luffy sighed and scooted to kiss the older's forehead. "I know Torao, so think about what you wanna do, you got all the time in the world."

~

"Eeeeeee, that looks like it hurts a lot." Luffy hunched his shoulders, wanting to cover his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the bruise on Law's leg. The doctor had taken the bandages off to take a bath and the younger had followed him to the bathroom for any help he might need.

"It does hurt, and is sore as fuck." Law winced when he straightened his leg. The bruise was blue and green and purple and yellow and blackened on the sides. "It actually looks worse than it is."

"When is it even going to heal?"

"I'm supposed to walk a lot so it heals faster, the natural blood circulation will make it better." Law answered and felt the water temperature in the tub.

"So are we going for a walk later?" Luffy asked helping Law sit in the tub, making sure his aching leg didn't make him slip.

"Yap." The older sighed at the feeling of hot water on his skin. "And I can finally take pain killers so that's gonna help a lot too."

"Does anything feel better after the stent?" Luffy sat down on the stool neat the tub and put his hand in the hot water, making small waves to move around the rubber ducks.

"I haven't had a single weird heartbeat since then, so I guess that's good. Penguin will want to do an echo maybe to monitor the stent in a week or so."

"Is that necessary?"

Law raised his eyebrow at the way Luffy asked the question and avoided eye contact. "Why are you asking it like that?"

"I wanna go back to Goa with you and I don't wanna wait for a week." Luffy answered truthfully.

"You don't like being in Flevance?" The older had to inquire. "I don't mean any insult by it, just want to know about your reasoning."

"You're weird and heavy and look burdened when you're here, you're much better in Goa and with what's happened recently and this stent and Corao, I think you'll get better quicker in Goa."

"I... I think I just come back here because of my friends, I don't like being here either but I can't just leave and forget about everything." Law sighed. "And I don't think Peng or Shachi is going to let me go to Goa unless they have examined the stent placement."

"Shirohige has some machines, you can check your own stent, I don't think the old man would have a problem with it if Marco and Ace talk to him." Luffy suggested.

"It works in my head, and if I agree, you will have to tell my idiots about this, I'm not taking another fist on my face, the old damage is barely healed." The older rubbed at his still slightly blackened eye. "We have to go to Cocoyashi too... It must be torture for Bellemere-san to wait this long already..."

"It's decided then?"

"Yeah, we can go as soon as this bruise starts getting bearable enough for the longass flight."

~

"Look, I want the images and the video, as long as I get those, I'm fine with you going." Penguin told Law after Luffy explained about going to Goa. Bepo, Shachi and Rosinante were also in the lobby.

"That was easy." Luffy said with a grin.

"Because you were the one who suggested it, these assholes would have murdered me." Law said with fake hurt.

"Man at least you're going to Goa, and not back to the underworld." Shachi pointed, relief all over his face.

"Underworld?" Cora asked.

Law glared at Shachi for slipping that information, the doctor wasn't hiding it from his father but rather waiting for the right state of mind to talk about it. But, it was out in the open now, so Law mentally shrugged and went along with it. "Yes, I have been working as an underworld doctor."

"Why! You were out of that life! Why did you go back in?!" Corazon's reaction was thunderous and the three Hearts shrunk in their seats.

"I wasn't going to get my revenge without getting my hands dirty, that's just impossible." Law said as if it was nothing but everyone saw the hurt on his face.

"Well you're not getting your revenge now, and you're not going back to that job either!"

"You can't decide that for me." Law narrowed his eyes. "After not being here for so many years and walking in just now, you can't decide how I live my life."

"Law-" Rosinante was going to protest but stopped himself when Law stood up and left the room, leaving his father with a lot of guilt for a lot of things.

"You're not wrong Corao." Luffy started. "Torao did get shot from one of his clients so your worry-"

"LUFFY YOU BETTER NOT BE TELLING HIM THAT I GOT SHOT!" Came Law's voice from the end of the hall and the youngest thinned his lips into a line.

"The underworld is a very dangerous place, why did he have to feel the need to join such a darkness..." Cora shook his head sadly.

"He loves you a lot." Penguin began. "So he couldn't just let your death go."

"Captain always said that it was his fault that you died." Bepo followed.

"It really isn't fair to him either, all he wanted to do was be a doctor and help people but that asshole took you from him and he couldn't let it go." Shachi added.

"You know when we were at Swallow Island, Law actually worked at a clinic until the good old scientist who was letting us stay with him got in a mess and got hurt." Penguin said with a sigh.

"Yeah, Law was a really good doctor at that age then Volff got hurt and something in Law just snapped..."

Bepo patted Rosinante on the back. "Captain took revenge for Volff and that set him on the path for yours too."

"I just wanted him to live his life..." Cora closed his eyes with a sad sigh.

"He was living it, until he got reminded what was taken from him." Penguin justified. "So I don't think any of us have the right to hate him for it."

"But since we also love him, we can be hard on him." Bepo nodded.

"Yeah, if he thinks he can throw his life away for the ones he loves, then we can also kick his ass because we love him." Shachi grinned.

"We're not going to let him get back in the bad place again." Penguin matched his redheaded friend's grin.

"We have a plan and we need your help to talk to Sengoku for it." Bepo told Rosinante and the blond felt so overwhelmed with the love and care his son's friends had for him that he cried.

"Luffy we're going to have to need you to talk Law into that plan if he shows any idiotic resistance." Shachi mentioned.

"You got it." Luffy agreed in a heartbeat and after hearing what the Hearts had planned on doing, Luffy thought he could pull his 'agree to my terms and I would stop being mad at you for wanting to kill yourself' card for this.

~

"You're not mad at Corao, are you?" Luffy asked Law when the two were walking in the night.

Law had his walk for the day due, and he got pissed from his father being so unreasonable so he decided to walk that out as well. "I am. He has some nerve, first he lies about meeting me at Swallow Island, stays dead for about thirteen years, comes back, then he tells me he doesn't approve of what I did? Of course I'm fucking mad at him."

"I'm not siding with him, but none of us approve of what you were doing." Luffy shrugged.

"I don't expect anyone to understand but I felt a compulsion for revenge."

"But Corao's alive so you don't have to do that now."

"I don't, but..."

"But what?"

"I feel like if I stop, I would lose and he would win."

"Torao, the best way to make it through with hearts and wrists intact, is to realize two out of three ain't bad." Luffy tried his best not to sing it, bumped his fist on Law's chest, where his heart was.

"I sometimes still find it hard to believe that you absorbed all of old Fall Out Boy too." Law shook his head with a smile.

"He's winning if you're dying or getting hurt, and you're winning if he's going down but you get hurt doing that too, so you don't have to win every round. You got Corao back, that's enough of a win isn't it?"

"I guess it is... two out of three ain't bad."

"And I was able to understand you a little better through these songs, plus you liked them so I had to listen!" Luffy laughed carefree now. "You know you're always humming to some songs unconsciously too."

"These songs helped me a lot through my emo phase." Law said.

"Phase? But you're still in it."

"I am not!" The older turned red and pouted.

"You are, Torao, admit it."

"You're perfect." Law couldn't help saying.

"You're perfect too." The younger nodded in resolution.

"Only you would think so..."

"So you're better now?" Luffy took Law's hand in his and swung their connected hands back and forth.

"A little. Thank you. I'm sorry for dragging you out for this though."

"Torao you're allowed to feel down and heavy. That's why we have friends and family, so we can help each other. Nobody can go through this alone all the time. People can help us with things we can't help ourselves with."

"That's awfully wise of you." Law raised an eyebrow at the word of wisdom.

"I only use my brain when it comes to you."

"I'm honoured."

"Especially when you're not using it."

"That was uncalled for." Law commented laughing a little.

"But you laughed right now so it worked." Luffy grinned his sunshine grin and Law exhaled a heavy sigh, feeling better as the air escaped him every passing second.

"It did."

"Oh I can't wait to go back home, but I'm kinda afraid of Nami, she'd hit me for not telling her everything immediately, but I guess you'll protect me and..."

Law watched Luffy go on and on about seemingly unimportant stuff and it was that very fact that it was ground Law in the present, in the beauty of the mundane because those things had no comparison to the problems he was facing just a week and some few days ago, about life and death. Listening to Luffy worry over what to have Sanji make as the first thing after going back, Law realized, he could choose Luffy, he could choose to just be with him and stay with him as a future prospect, not go back to being a black market doctor, not let that idiocy make them spend time apart, Law breathed in agreement with his thoughts that he was stupid to think of anything else when Luffy was his constant, he just needed to plan around his boyfriend, and just like that, he had half his problems solved.

~