Let's Play Pretend

Summary: Luffy wakes up from a nightmare one night and goes up to the deck to be by himself. What he didn't expect though was to be comforted by the Surgeon of Death. (1,000 word challenge)

Warnings: ooc, takes place after Dressrosa.

Disclaimer: I…I…I…I…I…I…I…I– *gets smacked* Woah, sorry. I got stuck. Anyway, I don't know One Piece…Piece…Piece…Piece…Piece– *is thrown out window*

Let's play pretend and act like it comes naturally

Luffy gasped, bolting up into a sitting position as a cold sweat soaked his clothes and blankets. In his chest, his heart pounded and raced. His eyes were wide and teary, and it took a moment for him to remember that he was no longer on the battlefield of Marineford, but in his bunk on the Thousand Sunny surrounded by his nakama. The horrid memory of the war replayed in his mind, and he quietly snuck out of the men's quarters to get some fresh air.

He headed over to the railing, leaning his back against it as he slid down to the ground. He closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths to try and calm himself down. But behind his eyelids, he could see the traumatizing image of his brother's body falling to the ground with a sickening sound. He could see the blood on his hand, could smell the burning flesh, could hear Ace's dying words.

He felt himself choke down a gasp, shaking his head as he desperately tried to remove the image of Ace's body from his mind. But he could feel the blood slicking his hand, and the feeling has him almost throwing up his dinner. He rubbed his blood-free hand on his shorts, hoping the phantom feeling would disappear. Dressrosa had triggered too many memories for his own liking. It was nice to see Sabo and know that he was, indeed, alive and safe. But witnessing the Mera Mera no Mi in action again, and seeing Law lying in a pool of his own blood brought up horrible memories.

Law had looked too much like Ace, lying on the ground motionless like that.

The Mera Mera no Mi made him remember that even fire can be burned, and that it wasn't as invincible as everyone thought it was.

The palm of his hand was starting to hurt a little, but he kept rubbing it against his shorts because he could still feel Ace's blood on it. Could feel the warmth and stickiness of the red liquid coating his palm. He wanted to forget. He desperately wanted to forget. He bit his lip to prevent himself from crying. Zoro had told him he couldn't be weak, for if he was then who could the crew look up to? He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't be weak. Being weak was unacceptable.

But the urge to cry was getting stronger. Tears escaped his eyes despite the fact he willed them to go away, and the cold night air mixed with the tears made his cheeks feel partly numb. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly, his free hand digging into his leg with a tight grip. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't be weak.

He didn't know how long he had sat there, but when he heard a sound his head shot up to see what it was. Law was sitting directly next to him. How long he'd been there, Luffy didn't know, but he was thankful the man hadn't said anything. He took in the surgeon's expression. It was distant, a sad look to his eyes like he too was remembering a lost loved one he'd failed to protect. The sight, for some reason, made Luffy want to cry more. But he gripped his knees tighter and shook his head. He wouldn't cry, he would be–

Law suddenly pulled Luffy to his chest, and Luffy completely froze at the action. His mind went blank and confusion became apparent on his face. Law hated being touched and was was never a touchy sort of person. What was he doing? He got his answer a moment later when the other captain spoke. "It's alright," Law mumbled quietly. "Let it out. Your crew won't see you cry."

The words hit Luffy hard, and for some strange reason it was all he needed to hear before he openly began to cry. He buried his face into the surgeon's coat, fisting the material tightly as his body was wracked with sobs. "Ace," he cried, his voice muffled by the coat. The name had slipped from his mouth so easily, and despite the fact that he knew it was Law he was crying to and not Ace, he still felt more comforted than he ever had in the past two years.

Law's hand came to a rest on Luffy's upper back, rubbing soothing circles in a comforting manner while his other hand pet the younger male's hair. "It's okay, Lamy," Law whispered. "It's okay." Luffy didn't know who Lamy was, but he guessed it was someone Law had once cherished deeply. A sibling, his mind said. A younger sibling most likely. And Luffy couldn't help but cry harder at knowing that Law had lost a little sister at some point in his life. Losing a sibling was hard, but to lose a younger sibling? He couldn't imagine how much hurt that must have caused the man's heart.

It was also in that moment did he realize that Dressrosa had probably triggered a lot of memories for Law as well. He went there with the sole purpose of avenging the person he had cherished most in the world, Corazon. He nearly died several times in the process, something that bothered Luffy to witness. The surgeon had been so utterly prepared to die so long as Doflamingo died as well. Like it had been his sole purpose for living all these years.

But not anymore. Now the surgeon was truly free from Doflamingo's strings. Luffy could only wish he could one day be free of the strings that bound him to Marineford.

And so the two pirate captains sat there with their eyes closed as the night continued on, pretending they were each holding their long lost siblings that they missed so dearly.

A/N: …don't know what to say. Hope it was…okay? I know it was sorta suck-ish. My apologies. I know it seemed rushed. Let me know what you thought, maybe? (983 words)

Someone from this website said I should create a Facebook under the name roo17 or roo the psycho so people who don't have accounts here can freely message me, or that other readers/writers could visit the page. I could also use it to ask for opinions on chapters I'm stuck on or for ideas for stories, and for challenges/requests. I don't know though. What do you guys think about that?

Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«