A/N: This plot has been bouncing around in my head for awhile (though I feel it is a combo of things I've read, heard and seen over the years). With this plot, all I could think of was how it would work better with Law and Luffy. Normally, I wouldn't do anything with lawlu, because I don't know how well I can write it since I've not done it before, and haven't read much of it, but for this, I wanted to try. As such, their relationship prior to what's written here will be explained over the course of the fic.

I will warn right now, as I did in the summary, that there will be a character death by the end of this fic, so please be aware of that if it is not something that you want or are in the mood, to read (there will be fluff and humor at times, if that does anything to make up for it). Also, this is modern AU, so at the time the fic takes place, Luffy is 22 and Law is 29. There is likely to be some ooc.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

An alarm blared in the darkness, waking the room's sole occupant in a flash. Said occupant didn't take too kindly to the intrusion of noise in his world at present. The alarm clock that had been making a nuisance of itself was suddenly seized, hefted, and thrown with more force than was necessary against the nearest wall. The clock shattered, taking with it the unwanted noise that had woken the man in the room from his fitful sleep.

The man, Trafalgar Law, reluctantly shifted the blankets aside to see the damage that he had caused immediately upon being so rudely woken. He just ignored the fact that it was he who had set the clock automatically in the first place. Messy dark blue hair poked out from beneath the layers of blankets, sleepy golden eyes taking in the bits of destroyed clock on the floor. Sleepiness was replaced with bitterness at the rash action. Law took a breath and closed his eyes as he tugged the blanket back over his head, as if that would make the facts he had learned about himself go away.

Law knew they wouldn't, no matter how much he wished it otherwise. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep with that lovely thought, so the blue haired man reluctantly untangled himself from the blankets and got out of bed. He had had another sleepless night, though this time Law knew it was because he had been alone with dark thoughts again about the dismal news he had received, and not just insomnia. Law believed, from his exhaustion, that he couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of rest, if that. It certainly felt like he had barely hit the bed before being waking abruptly.

With a low growl in the back of his throat at the unwanted thoughts biting at the back of his mind, Law crossed the room to the windows. The curtains blocked all light and most sound from his bedroom and that was welcome on the nights that he had trouble sleeping, which was often. Law needed a distraction at the moment, however, as there was no point in dwelling on his troubles. It would lead to nothing but pain and torment, especially as there was nothing he could do to help himself, even as a surgeon.

Law's eyes squinted in the sunlight as he parted the bedroom curtains, not aware that the sky was supposed to be clear of clouds that day. Or that it was, in fact, very early in the morning, which meant that he had not gotten much more than perhaps an hour's worth of sleep. Law's mouth twitched into a self-deprecating smile at the sight he was greeted with.

The clear, bright morning sky seemed to be clearly mocking him in some way. That such a beautiful day could occur after such a horrid rainstorm the day before, and how everything just seemed to be so cheerful when the surgeon had been ruminating over such dismal news. News that Law had always feared to hear, sometime during his lifetime, so much so that the blue haired man had always stuck to the age old adage of no news was good news. It had also helped that Law had made sure to get a yearly checkup for anything out of place, and have an occasional test done when something cropped up that was unfamiliar.

A week ago, the bad news that he had dreaded to hear for so long hit him unexpectedly, and Law, while prepared for the possibility of the news, hadn't been prepared that night. The blue haired man had had a clean bill of health the previous year, and didn't think that one year would have made a difference. Law had demanded to read and reread the results of his yearly physical at the hospital he worked at, as well as a few tests he had added in last minute.

Law had found in short order that, no matter how he looked at it, he was going to die, and there was nothing he or anyone else in the hospital could do to prevent it from happening.

The blue haired man knew the futility of trying to fight, no matter what Law could try and do in an attempt to prolong his life expectancy. There were no known cures for his illness, and as it was a rare genetic gene that had caused the dire diagnosis, there was little known about it. All that was known as fact was that the person would begin to weaken out of nowhere, to the point that, in the end, they could barely move before they died.

Law stared out the window and at the early morning sky unseeingly, seeing and feeling nothing with that hanging over his head. There were trail drugs that he could try, or newly designed therapies that his colleagues had suggested he could try, in an attempt to beat the odds. Law had been silent for the most part after reading the charts, and had quietly agreed to take the drugs, despite the fact that, based on the information he had gleaned then and there, there was a high likelihood that he would die within three weeks. Two weeks now, as it were, since Law had done nothing but go about in a daze for the past week, trying to wrap his mind around the notion of being left with so little time.

It was a shock, to be sure, but Law and several other doctors, after having gone through his charts at the hospital several times after receiving them, were all surprised that nothing had been detected the previous year. Law had stared at those charts for a time after his colleagues had left for the night, the dark haired surgeon thinking that all of them had misread the numbers in some way or another. But no matter how Law looked at it, the dark haired man could only see one thing in his immediate future.

An early death.

Law closed his eyes and briefly enjoyed what little warmth the early morning sun offered, before reality hit him again and Law let out a low, shuddering sigh. He needed to go back to the hospital and at least give the drugs a try, to see whether it could prolong his life or not. He'd already delayed for a week, in denial as he had been, refusing to see the truth of the matter. Apart from those drugs to test out, Law didn't know what he was supposed to do. Tell everyone he knew in his that he was dying? Let them reassure him in return that he would pull through, even though the dark haired man knew better and would only be able to give an odd smirk in return? Did he keep it quiet so that he didn't let anyone worry that there was nothing that could be done for him to turn things around? It wasn't like Law had it in him at present to tell his few friends that it was too late to do anything. To tell that all he and they could do was to wait and see if the drugs could prolong his life perhaps a month, maybe less?

Dressing was a chore that morning, and Law supposed it was the exhaustion of little to no sleep, coupled by the fact that he'd been unable to dwell on anything other than the knowledge that he had little time left to live. Even eating breakfast proved tricky, as Law couldn't be bothered to eat more than one rice ball he'd had as a leftover, and some coffee. Nothing he did that morning seemed to be easy, the what-if's and questions warring through his head and giving him no peace and no time to accept that there were things he could have done with his life, but hadn't.

Like visit Corazon's grave more than he had.

A twinge of guilt hit Law at the thought of the man who'd self-appointed himself as his guardian when the blue haired man been orphaned as a child. Though in reality, Corazon had been much more of a father figure and had basically adopted Law when the surgeon had only been a surly ten year old child. Law smiled faintly at the thought of how he'd initially reacted to Corazon, and with another, lighter sigh, headed for the front door to his house. If nothing else, he would like to visit the grave, though it was on another continent and it would take at least three flights to get to the small island that held an even tinier cemetery.

If there was only one thing that Law knew he had to do before he died, the surgeon knew that it would be to visit Corazon's grave.

Law unlocked the front door and gave it a jerk to open it, only to find a small package on his front porch. The dark haired man stepped outside, but after a few turns of his head and a frown, Law didn't see anyone out there. It was a quiet morning in the neighborhood, per usual, with the only sign of life being a rather hefty squirrel that was currently being harassed by the dog next door. Law turned his attention back to the package on his porch to consider it again. It was very early for mail to have actually arrived, but as the package was addressed to him, Law decided to see what it was. It wasn't like he had anything better to do with his time other than to wait to go to the hospital and fret over how he was, or wasn't, going to let his friends know that he was dying.

The box was tempting as well, since Law didn't usually get package mail. The whole of the surgeon's mail happened to be just bills, random catalogs he didn't remember signing up for, other junk mail advertising things he didn't need, and last, but not least, prank mail, usually courtesy of Shachi. After bringing the box inside, Law set it on the kitchen counter as he went to locate scissors in his office. With it, Law returned to the kitchen and cut the tape. The surgeon carefully opened the box, belatedly wondering if it was dangerous, and then decidedly not caring since he was going to be gone soon enough anyway. The caution Law always took seemed to be not as important anymore.

Golden eyes narrowed at the single piece of paper at the bottom box, along with a tiny sea shell.

Perhaps the sender had been mistaken about who they were sending the package to. No wonder it had been so light, as there wasn't much in the box itself. After double-checking that the address label that was very clearly his own, and again noting his name on the package, Law picked up the slip of paper. It felt like paper one used in a printer, and upon closer inspection, there was short, typed text on it, rending Law incapable of trying to decipher hand writing. Law frowned at what was clearly a letter of sorts, not entirely sure what to make of it and wondering if it was some elaborate prank.

Follow these clues along the map and experience life. Maybe you'll find something you thought you lost when you solve the last clue.

Use the shell and it'll lead the way.

It seemed like a prank to Law, but he didn't mind as much as he normally would have been by this sort of thing. Out of sheer curiosity of how a sea shell was supposed to lead the way apart from a shore somewhere, Law picked the shell up from inside the box. It was pale cream and light brown, with a few ridges bumping out along the back of it. The blue haired surgeon turned it over in one tattooed hand, not really expecting to find anything, until he did.

Tiny text along the inside of the shell, so small he couldn't really begin to guess who had written it.

Law held the shell close to read the tiny, unfamiliar print that read as GLH F3 O2. To Law's mind, it instantly meant the Grand Line Hospital, floor 3, office 2. Presumably where he would find a 'clue', should the blue haired man choose to take the letter seriously at all. Law stared at the shell he held between forefinger and thumb, thoughts turning over slowly as he considered this sudden strangeness, before he chanced a look at the clock above the stove.

Eight in the morning.

Law ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. It was early enough that he could go and see what this shell and letter were all about. It wasn't like he had anything better to do right now than sit with the painful decisions to be made. The blue haired man's eyes briefly went to the desk in the living room at that thought, where a partially written out will sat waiting for him to finish it.

Law looked away, an uncomfortable feeling settling in the pit of his stomach about what that piece of paper meant to him and the people in his life. The blue haired surgeon didn't look back at the desk, as he suddenly had the strong desire to get out of the house, and go somewhere.

Anywhere.

Any place to make him not dwell on things he had to take care of.

Later.

Law would finish with what was lying there on his desk later, when he returned home. The blue haired surgeon's whole body shook briefly as he crossed to the entryway of his house, and took a jacket out of the front hall closet. Instead of thinking about the paper on that desk, Law chose to see what the brief letter and shell meant, if anything. Already he found himself stumped by what seemed to be an elaborate prank of sorts. However, that was what Law chose to think about, as it was a far cry more welcome than what his thoughts had been previously dwelling on.

A mysterious letter and a shell were not what Law would have intended as a distraction, but it would have to do.

-x

The hospital was not as busy as Law would have expected it to have been when he arrived a half hour later, but then again, he wasn't working that day, so whether it was busy or not was irrelevant. If his reaction to his dire diagnosis was anything to go by, Law had no doubt that everyone would want him to take it easy and try the drugs to see if they would help ease what was to come eventually.

Law made his way to the third floor, trying to tune out the negative musings he had started to have about his condition again, but failed to do so. By the time he reached the office the shell had indicated, Law was a bundle of desperate nerves. The blue haired surgeon didn't know what it was about entering the hospital that brought back the memory so strongly about his condition, apart from the fact that the hospital was where he had seen the charts and learned his eventual fate. At present, Law was doing everything in his power to try and turn his thoughts to what he had come here for. Not the drugs, but the strange letter he had received. What confused Law was that while he was trying to calm down and think things through rationally, the blue haired man had begun to have wild thoughts about how the clue he was looking for was perhaps something that would help him live.

Law couldn't help but smirk at the ridiculous way his thoughts had turned. Wishful thinking even now while he was in the midst of having reality hit him in the face again. It was best to not dwell on what couldn't be changed. Getting his hopes up would only lead to massive disappointment in the end.

The blue haired surgeon mentally gave his unwanted contemplation the middle finger as he reached his destination and pushed open the door to the unused office. Law didn't have to go far to find what he was looking for, as the item in question had been obviously placed. There was a folder on the otherwise bare deck, and as the folder was not dusty as the desk was, the item had not been there for long. Law hesitated only briefly before he crossed the all but empty room. It was a manila folder, and when Law picked it up, he found that there wasn't much weight to it, which meant there likely wasn't to be much inside.

Law turned the folder to one side after opening it and gave it a shake, which caused two tickets to flutter out and onto the dusty floor, followed by another sheet of computer paper, with the same typed text. Law crouched to retrieve the fallen items, and realized that the tickets were to a city in another country that he had never gone to but had really wanted to go for as long as he could remember. He'd merely had no free time to do so. Law picked the letter up next, smoothed it out and read it, his golden eyes reflecting puzzlement over what was written there.

You should take someone with you to follow the clues. It will make things easier for you.

The next clue can be found on one of the seats you have on the plane.

Law furrowed his brow, suspicious. This seemed ridiculous and not safe in the least bit, the idea of following the suggestions of an unseen person. These letters from no one. And yet…

And yet...

The dark haired surgeon's eyes fell on the tickets in his hand and the thoughts of things he had not yet accomplished or gone to see in his life slapped him with a harsh and sudden clarity. Law dropped the tickets on the desk along with the letter as he sat down on the chair in the room, torn, because if there was any time to go and do those things, now was the time. The only time, and the clock was ticking. It wouldn't stop, no matter how much Law screamed at it to do so and denied over and over that this wasn't happening to him. That it was all just a bad dream. That he would be fine when those two weeks were at an end. The blue haired surgeon dug his hands through his hair and sat there for a time, turning over his options. It seemed too good to be true to find paid for tickets, but then again, Law taking someone with him that he knew would cut down on anything bad from happening, as the surgeon would have someone who could watch his back for him, and he for them. Unbidden, a conversation Law had had with his friends recently surfaced in his mind, and it had involved them telling the dark haired surgeon that he really should live a little before life passed him by.

It most certainly was passing by now, and quickly, at that.

Law closed his eyes as he reached for the tickets he'd dropped on the desk, his fingers lightly brushing the small pieces of paper in thought. It wasn't like he didn't have the money to make a short trip around the world, if the letter's words were anything to go by, and he had wanted to go to Corazon's grave before the letter and shell had made an appearance. The blue haired surgeon had limited time, and quite suddenly, he was rather encouraged over the thought to use his vacation time that he had never bothered to use while he had been working.

But who would he take with him that wouldn't question why Law suddenly had the desire to travel? If he actually chose to go along with the madness of the clues and all, that is. Law was naturally suspicious of people in general until he learned that he could trust them. So to blindly follow a suggestion in a letter from an anonymous person, and use tickets that may or may not have been legally paid for, seemed unlike himself. The very idea was likely to call into question whether or not Law could make sound decisions now that he was dying.

Law straightened in the chair with a faint shake of his head.

No, Law couldn't bring the people he normally would have asked to come. They would try to point out that he was usually more rational than this. More cautious. No, Law knew that it had to be someone who wouldn't pry into his own affairs intentionally, and would just be there to help him find clues. But who would do something so ludicrous and…

Law's eyes opened in surprise when he realized that there was literally only one person he could think of that would agree without question to something so crazy. The only question Law had about that particular person accepting would depend entirely on if they didn't bear any grudge for not being contacted for two years. If there were no hard feelings, it might just work. After all, Luffy was a rather chaotic individual himself, so the idea of what Law was going to propose would likely sound like a great lark to the younger man.

Despite his doubts, Law pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number before he had a chance to talk himself out of it. Law didn't have to wait long for the phone to be answered, and was inwardly relieved, upon hearing the cheery, upbeat voice, that it was the same number that Luffy had given him years ago.

'Hey, Law! You actually called me? You never call me and now you're calling me.'

"Yes, I called you." Law deadpanned, though he wore a smirk at the continued cheerfulness in Luffy's tone. The blue haired surgeon inwardly marveled over the fact that Luffy was acting like it had only been days since he'd last hear from Law. Not years. Taking into account that Luffy hadn't hung up on him and hadn't said anything else, Law added, "I happened to come across some tickets to that place I mentioned to you the last time we met."

'That coastal city?' Luffy asked curiously. 'The one with the tasty meat?'

"Yes, that one. As I only need one ticket and everyone else is busy…" A blatant lie, but one that Law knew Luffy would accept without question, "…I wanted to know if you had time and wanted to go with me. I found this letter that said to follow clues and-"

'You're going on treasure hunt?' Luffy interrupted excitedly. 'Awesome! You should let me go with you! I want to find clues for treasure with one of my friends!'

"You don't care that the clues are from someone anonymous? As in, we don't know who they are or why they're giving me very expensive tickets to use?" Law asked incredulously, wondering if this might not be the best idea after all, especially if Luffy had a blind goal to tag along to just 'treasure hunt' and not think about the idea that it could be an elaborate set up of some kind. Not to mention Law had never indicated there would even be treasure. And since when had Law been anything other than an acquaintance to the now 22 year old? At least, that was what Law told himself. And now that the surgeon was thinking about it, wasn't Luffy still in school?

'No going back on asking! I wanna go with you!' Luffy seemed to, at the very least, pick up on Law's sudden hesitance. 'And I can see Ace while we're at that city! He went there on vacation a few days ago. He was going to go check out the volcano that is there.'

Of course he was. Law didn't point out that it was a bad idea, but then again, neither Luffy or his older brother ever listened to commons sense, and just kept ending up back in the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to major, where stitches and casts had been required.

'You didn't hang up, did you?'

"No." Law stated, and he had the brilliant idea to actually look closer at the tickets and see the time and day of the flight. A brow rose at the time indicated, and Law let Luffy know as much. "And the ticket's flight happens to be for this afternoon. Can you go on such short notice? Do you have classes?" The blue haired man promptly held the cell away from his ear at the delighted whoop on the other end of the line, followed by Luffy's extreme and very enthusiastic 'yes'.

"Classes?" Law reiterated to the cell phone.

"I'm on break." Luffy sounded enthused about that as well.

Well, wasn't that strangely convenient?

"I'll text you the details of the flight." Law said, still holding the phone away from his ear. He heard some form of agreement that was muffled on the other end of the line, and Law hung up without saying good bye. It seemed too ominous a thing to say now.

Law paused halfway to the door of the office before realization of what he had just done really sunk in. Had he really just asked Luffy, someone he hadn't seen in two years, to basically go on what was clearly a very dubious trip with him, after the two of them had parted awkwardly before? Luffy seemed fine with the long absence of them talking and seeing one another, but Law wasn't entirely sure. It seemed to Law that Luffy was only too pleased to be asked to go with him on an impromptu, well, trip, and didn't see anything wrong with it in the least bit.

The blue haired surgeon wondered if this sudden, spur of the moment decision was a bad idea after all. Maybe he should call it off. A text pinged to Law's phone, and what he saw made Law smirk despite himself. It was from Luffy.

What time is the flight? Which airport? I can have someone drop me off.

Law hesitated. He didn't know what had gotten into him today because for Law to suddenly start a conversation and possibly rekindle a relationship with someone he hadn't seen in years seemed pretty damn impulsive. Law hadn't even know if Luffy would have wanted to see or speak to him again before the surgeon had made the call out of the blue. Law looked around at the abandoned office, thinking unnecessarily about whether his small office would be reduced to this when he was gone. Suddenly, going on what was fast becoming a vacation with random letters and clues to follow didn't seem like such a bad idea, once Law looked around the vacant, dusty and gloomy room again.

The dark haired surgeon sent the flight details to Luffy without any further prompting. Law figured that his friends were right. He should live a little, for as long as he had left, and take care of a few things along the way. Law retrieved the letter that had prompted him to call Luffy and offer the second ticket, and it was then, as the surgeon was about to pocket it, that he saw there was a second page that he had missed. Law stared at the paper and the few words typed there.

Don't think too hard about it. Just choose someone and go enjoy things at your own pace for once.

Law narrowed his eyes briefly at that before he let go of the irritation he was experiencing. It would be kind of nice, for once, to set things to a pace he wanted to go, where no one expected anything of him at a moment's notice. Law made a short trip home to pack a suitcase an hour later, and went to the airport some hours after that, with a large bottle of pills of the experimental drug tucked discreetly away in a carry on bag. Law stared out the window of a bus with a sigh, a little irked once more that he had thrilled all of his colleagues when he announced that he was going, and where.

-x

Law's mood went straight back to being put upon the moment he entered the airport and saw all the people who were there. The blue haired surgeon scowled at all of the people around him and the way the jostled into him, even unintentionally. He despised so much activity going on around him, ignoring the fact he had been working in a fast paced hospital, and if Law hadn't had to catch a flight at a specific time, he would have turned around and waited it out skulking somewhere where there were less people. The blue haired man finally finished getting through the initial check in, and had only to find the gate for his flight. Law took refuge near a window as soon as he spotted the gate for his flight, and decided to wait where he was for Luffy to show up.

If he showed up.

Law still had some reservations about how easily Luffy had accepted the ticket and travelling with him. Shouldn't Luffy be at least a little upset over the lack of communication between the two of them?

"Law!"

An excited shout of his name was the surgeon's only warning before he was hit by a warm body throwing itself on him in what appeared to be a fit of joy. Law staggered back against the sudden onslaught of Luffy wrapping himself in a hug on his person, until Law was let go of moments later. Law was thankful for that. Any longer and he might not have been able to remain standing. Law promptly put the greeting aside, as he did not have the capacity to think about what such a greeting meant, other than that Luffy was happy to see him despite their time apart.

"You look surprised." Luffy greeted, before he smiled, "Did you think I wouldn't show up?"

Law took in Luffy's outfit, a thrown together one, from the looks of it, of a T-shit that Ace no doubt bought him, what with its not so appropriate message, and a pair of blue shorts. The straw hat that Law remembered almost always seeing Luffy wear was on at present, as was the excited grin on the younger man's face. Like he and Law really were about to go treasure hunting, and not getting caught up in what was becoming something shady and suspicious to Law.

"I figured you would turn up." Law stated dryly. "You sounded like you couldn't pass the opportunity to go around the world treasure hunting."

"Nope. Totally awesome idea and if you hadn't brought me, I would have found out and come anyway." Luffy agreed, as if the idea of stalking Law weren't a bad thing.

Law's lips twitched in a faint smile at the ludicrous nature of this sudden plan of his, bolstered by those letters and tickets, before the blue haired man indicated the gate. "We should make sure we don't miss the flight."

"Right. The treasure could be found before we get to it." Luffy agreed cheerfully.

Law thought, for a brief second, that it looked as if Luffy had wanted to ask him something, but instead, the straw hat wearing young man had turned away from him and made a run for the gate.

"Let's go!"

Law followed at a slower pace, a thought about his health coming to mind. He wasn't sure how long this 'follow the clue' or treasure hunt, as Luffy called it, would take. And if it took longer than two weeks, what was he supposed to say? That he was going to die? Law saw Luffy cheerfully chatting to someone at the gate, and decided he really didn't want to tell Luffy such depressing news. No doubt Luffy would insist that Law wasn't dying and that he would get better. Or worse, Luffy could insist that the surgeon use his network of friends to help find someone to cure him.

No, Law wasn't going to say a word, he decided. The blue haired man passed off the tickets and let Luffy lead the way into the plane. Law would keep his dwindling time to himself. Luffy wouldn't have to know that he was dying until they parted ways again. Law would just have to ensure that he didn't give anything away, and that he could discreetly take the experimental drugs when Luffy wasn't looking, in order to avoid questions. It also meant that this had to stay a treasure hunt, so to speak, and nothing more. Law closed his eyes. The past couldn't be called into question between them, as Law knew acting on it would do nothing but but bring unnecessary pain to the both of them. So it was best to leave it alone and-

"Law! Look! We can watch movies!"

Law smiled despite himself; there really was no way for him to dwell on distressing thoughts at the rather expected response from the younger man. It seemed some things never changed. It should be relatively simple to hide some things, Law mused to himself, as he walked along the aisle to find his seat. Considering Luffy's still apparently terrible attention span, keeping his secret ought to be easy. The only thing left for Law to do was convince himself that he wasn't making a mistake, and that he was, as the letter insinuated, just experiencing life at his own pace.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

Making eye contact with Luffy, however, and having the straw hat wearing young man smile in return and grab a hand to tug him along the aisle made a pang of regret course through the surgeon. Law had convinced himself that there were some topics and words better left unsaid at this point, but with the bundle of energy that was Luffy, Law found it more difficult to convince himself that there was nothing to say.

Or do.

Seated on a chair alongside Luffy, who had found a sheet of paper on his chair, Law found himself suddenly caring less and less about what he had just told himself he shouldn't do.

And then he did it.

One moment Luffy was brandishing the paper excitedly, the next Law had turned and dragged Luffy up against him, crashing their lips together in a frantic way before the surgeon could stop himself. Dimly, Law realized that Luffy had thrown his arms around him in return, letter forgotten, before the two of them were lost to what was going on around them as they kissed one another like it was the last thing tethering them to the earth. Law was the first to break the kiss, and promptly let go of Luffy and stared straight ahead.

"I guess you missed me too?" Luffy asked, as he retrieved the letter from the floor.

Law had, but he wasn't going to admit it aloud, especially because of the fact that he had not meant to do what he had. It was selfish of him to give Luffy any hope of restarting their prior relationship that had ended previously due to Law's work taking up all his free time. Law didn't know what to say, and was relieved that Luffy didn't press him at all about why he'd just kissed him, and instead chose to chatter about the letter that had been on the seat. Law didn't miss Luffy leaning against him as he did this, and the surgeon didn't know what to say, as it could have just been an automatic response on Luffy's part.

So Law just listened, and wondered, again, if this was a good idea.

-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I made the decision to make the first chapter longer, as it sets the fic up (plus I don't know when I will update next). Chapter 2 and beyond will likely go back and forth on word count, depending on what is happening and how long I want to write what is going on. I will be doing the chapters as a countdown, with each chapter corresponding to a day in the fic (so, as a rough estimate, there will be 14 chapters, along with this first chapter, and 1-2 by the end of it, though I would not be surprised in the least if one of the 'days' was split into two chapters should I get carried away). There is an end I'm working toward, and I'll just have to see if I can get it to all fit together as I want it to. And if anyone was wondering, I am more interested in plot at this point in time, so I was purposefully not so clear on what is wrong with Law, as all that matters in the fic at present is that he is dying (was half thinking pseudo amber lead hints, if anything). Rating may change in future, but likely to stay as T.

As an FYI, any future notes will be at the end of chapters from now on, when they are needed.