ME: Hi all! Sellen23 here. Kicking off 10 days of LawLu with my first posted FanFic ever! I've been psyched about this for months! So let's get the show on the road-

FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION: Oi, aren't you forgetting something?!

ME: Oh, oops. I don't own One Piece or the characters. All the glory goes to Oda! Now without further delay-

FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION: Not that! What about me?!

ME: *raise eyebrow* really? Ok… this is a Figment of My Imagination (or FMI) something I made up to ease writer's block, nerves etc. Ok, now-

FMI: You call that an introduction?!

ME: *drags FMI off page* Come on, they want to read the story.

FMI: Don't think I'll let this go!

ME: yeah, yeah. *to readers* Enjoy the story!

Now and Then

Summery: Law's thoughts on first seeing Luffy. And now they're together, he musters up the courage to ask the teen what he thought of him the first time. He really shouldn't have been surprised by the answer… Suck at summaries sorry. Still read though!

(Shout out to the "When Your Best Friend is More Attractive than You" comics by Shevoj1207 on Tumblr that partly inspired this story. Seriously, go read that comic!)

Monkey D. Luffy

Wanted: Dead or Alive.

$30,000,000

Trafalgar Law paused to glance at the newest Wanted Poster as he flipped through the day's Newspaper. The boy's – he did looked very much like a boy, only sixteen or seventeen - grin was wide and bright, as if he was having the time of his life. He's kinda cute, Law thought fleetingly.

He was impressed that the kid's starting Bounty was so high. But then again… he was a D after all. An enemy of the Gods. A rising storm. Smirking, Law tossed the paper on his bed as he sat up, he'd have to keep an eye on this Straw Hat Luffy.

'Captain! Captain!' Penguin, Shachi and Bepo came crashing into the sub's library, falling in a heap at Law's desk.

Their Captain looked up from his medical journal. 'What is it?' He asked putting his pen down.

The trio scrambled clumsily to their feet, Shachi slapped a crumpled sheet of paper on the desk. 'That Straw Hat kid you told us to keep a look out for, his bounty went up. It's now $100,000,000!'

Law's eyes widen as he looked down at the poster. The same face that caught his attention months ago grinned up at him. His mop of black hair fell over his closed eyes and there was a scar under the left eye. Law wondered how he got it.

Once again he couldn't deny how cute the boy looked, even just the photo of him seemed to draw Law in.

'Captain?' Penguin's voice broke through his thoughts. 'Um, you're smiling…Are you ok?'

Straw Hat Luffy declares war on the Government! Law read the news headline. He was awed by the sheer nerve of the crew. They were all insane for following the straw hatted boy.

But it only made the dark haired teen all the more interesting. His bounty was higher than Law's now and the Heart Captain wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Law had a feeling he'd meet him soon, after all, the up and coming Pirate Rookies were headed to the same place. Law had no doubt it'll be an interesting outcome.

Then he finally saw Monkey D. Luffy in person. Just before he punched a World Noble. His face wasn't the grinning one he'd seen on the wanted posters. No it was full of rage and hatred, things Law felt inside of himself. D, the enemy of the gods, Cora-san's voice ran through his mind.

He watched the battle from where he sat with his crew. While he was impressed with the Straw Hats and how they fought, he stood by his first opinion, they were all insane. Soon the Dark King came and everything settled down to something less chaotic. Law took the chance to speak to the boy, thanking him for the show.

Straw Hat's brown eyes stared at him with a guarded but curious expression, he asked who Law was. But before the Heart Captain could answer, Luffy's attention shifted to Bepo. His eyes widen in wonder and interest as he asked more questions about the bear.

Law fought a scowl, he didn't know why it annoyed him that Straw Hat was more interested in Bepo than him but it did. He wanted to have those eyes on him a little longer.

The battle was raging, the War of the Best. He had arrived in time to save the teen but after having his brother die in his arms, Law wondered if there was anything left to save. But for some reason he couldn't let Luffy's light be snuffed out. He told them all it was impulse but in truth he didn't know himself.

So he healed the teen's wounds and waited. He listened to his screams, the cries of a broken soul. Law clenched the straw hat in his hand, he had broken when his family was killed and hated that Luffy was going through the same thing.

When the boy was out of death's door, Law left without saying anything to him. It was up to Luffy to continue living now, his work was done. Still, Law hoped to see him again.

Two years. Two years and his smile was still shinning brighter than the sun. The teen was waving at him, calling out to him. Asking about Bepo of all things. And saying thank you for saving him. Law told him it meant nothing, if only in an attempt to convince himself of the same thing.

Law offered him an alliance, to take down the Yonkos. The boy agreed almost instantly and it surprised Law but it was all part of his plan.

A plan that went awry almost immediately… Law didn't know what he'd lose first, his life or his mind. Any stirring feelings he had for Straw Hat were replace with headaches and scowls. The teen was impossible to control, always running head first, never listening to instructions. And. Did. Whatever. The. Hell. He. Wanted.

But much to Law's surprise everything turn out alright. He refused to admit it but Luffy's boarder lining stupid optimism paid off. See? Told you it'll work out! Those words made Law want to smack the teen upside the head and kiss him at the same time.

His feelings grew and he eventually confessed, albeit a little awkwardly due to the surrounding Straw Hat crew. Luffy had grinned widely and declared loudly that he liked "Torao" too.

Law regretted saying anything, of course the teen wouldn't feel that way. And as if fate didn't think he was suffering enough, Nico Robin went ahead and explained that Law meant the romantic way. That he wanted to be with Luffy.

Just when the Heart Captain was ready to jump overboard and end this humiliation, Luffy leaned forward and kissed Law. You could hear the jaws of the onlookers hit the deck in the silence that followed when the teen pulled back. He said that's what he meant too.

Nami, ever tactful, hastily ordered the crew back to their duties in a not so subtle attempt to give the two Captains some privacy.

While Law's face was tinted red, Luffy was smiling brighter than the sun and soon Law couldn't help but smile back.

Now Law was leaning against the rails of the Thousand Sunny, looking out over the ocean as the stars lit up the night sky. It had been a peaceful evening aboard the ship and he was savouring it because the quiet never lasted long.

'TORAO!' Law smiled slightly when he heard the voice call across the deck, his point proven.

He braced himself so the force of the rubber-man jumping on his back didn't send them over the rails into the water. Once was enough, thank you. 'Luffy-ya.' Law said by way of greeting as the teen wrapped his limbs around the Heart Captain's body.

Luffy rested his chin on Law's shoulder. 'Ne, what's Torao doing?' He asked, his breath tickling Law's skin.

The older Captain took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of sea salt and freedom. Before Law met Luffy he never would have believed freedom even had a smell. But the teen was the living embodiment of the term that it seem to seep from every one of his pores.

'I'm just thinking.' Law replied, holding Luffy's hands in his.

He felt Luffy huffed. 'Thinking's boring.' He said with his usual bluntness.

Law sighed, he wasn't in the mood to give him another lecture on the importance of thinking things through. It wasn't like he could win against Luffy's logic anyway. He looked down at their entwine fingers. 'Hey, Luffy-ya,' he said. 'I want to ask you something.'

It might have been the seriousness in his tone or the fact that Law didn't scold him for being careless but Luffy untangled himself from the older Captain to stand beside him. 'What is it Torao?'

Law turned to face the straw hatted teen, meeting his wide brown eyes. 'Do you remember when we first met? In the Auction House?' He questioned. It was a long shot asking, the one thing he knew for certain about Monkey D. Luffy, was that he was only ever moving forward, the past was left behind him.

Luffy's face scrunched up in thought. 'Yeah.' He said after a bit. 'We were there to save Cami.'

Law took a deep breathe to collect his thoughts. God, why was he so nervous? 'What, um, did you think when you first saw me?' He stuttered! Actually stuttered!

The teen cocked his head in confusion, oblivious to Law's nervousness. 'Huh? What do you mean?' He asked.

Law sighed. 'What did you think of me?' He repeated. 'The first thought that went through your head.'

'Oh!' Luffy said understanding. 'I reckoned Torao was so cool.' He said happily.

Feeling his cheeks heat, Law looked away. 'Really?' He tried not to sound too pleased to hear that.

'Yeah, you had a talking bear on your crew! What's not cool about that?' Luffy grinned, laughing as he sprang away, leaving a red faced Law wanting his hat to swallow his face.

End

ME: So…what did you think? Good? Bad? Kill it with fire? Don't hold back, tell us how you feel, I'm a big girl. So have at it!

FMI: Well if you think you can handle it-

ME: No, not you! *to readers* Leave a comment if you want. I'll see you all next time!