Chapter Text
Law was tired of this shit.
“The next time an alpha makes unwanted advances towards me I’m going to seduce them and steal their organs.” Law seethed in the break-room of the hospital he worked at. It was only kind of an empty threat. He was getting really tired of this shit.
Bepo gave him a pat on the back reassuringly. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”
Law sighed into his mug of coffee, staring at it with annoyance and fading rage. “It’s just foul. You can smell it, right? When they throw out their pheromones like it’s gonna make me swoon and fall into their arms?”
Shachi nodded. “I like it when you do the whole ‘gagging and nearly throwing up’ routine. Always throws them off.”
Law glowered. “I'm just tired of this shit. I'm at work. I'm a professional. You’d think that would be enough for people to have some decorum.”
Penguin shrugged. “I think the whole ‘sexy doctor’ thing probably adds to the problem.” He narrowly dodged a pen flying at his head from Law's direction.
"It's just never ending, and I'm tired of it. I don't need another reason to dread going outside every day." Law complained, seeking refuge in his coffee. At least that smelled good.
"Have you thought about trying one of those new clothing exchange services?" Shachi asked offhandedly, and Law paused.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I heard some chicks talking about it in a bar recently-"
"Overheard, more like, probably as they were trying to ignore you-" Penguin interrupted, but Shachi kept talking.
"They were saying that basically, you get anonymously paired with one specific alpha who just like, wears clothes and scents them and then sends them to you, and it's supposed to trick strangers into thinking that you're taken." Shachi explained. "Keeps the alphas from jumping on you at least. Some people just use it cause they're lonely, but I think the idea is that it's for omegas who are purposefully not mating."
Law scoffed at the idea. "Right. Years of innovation and the world's best solution for my issues is still to depend on some random nameless alpha."
It probably would have never crossed Law's mind again, if not for the constant barrage of bullshit he had to put up with in the ER suite. Alphas came to the Emergency Room often, far more often than any other demographic, and being an omega trauma surgeon meant that Law was almost always assaulted by their clumsy, brain-dead attempts at flirting and their scent (which after years of experience he had found mostly repulsive).
So in a fit of desperation, he went home and he looked up the services Shachi was talking about.
They didn't seem that terrible, admittedly. The mission statement was to 'allow for more freedoms for unmated omegas around the world to live their lives how they see fit', which Law didn't /hate/ necessarily. It was a little on the nose, and the business existed to make money, but he wasn't immediately turned off.
He ended up taking a small survey about what scents he typically liked in his day to day life, which ones he disliked, and some personality quiz type questions. It wasn't too involved, and at the end he paid $200 for a 'starters package' which included a couple t-shirts and a hoodie from his 'assigned alpha'.
The website gave him minimal information about the alpha in question, besides a moniker of 'Strawhat'.
'Strawhat' would never know who he was, and if Law was especially put off by their scent he could return the box and either get a full refund or be assigned a different alpha, and if Law enjoyed the experience he could get more clothes from the same individual.
He doubted sincerely that would happen, but at this point he was prepared to try anything.
~
It took roughly a business week for his package to arrive, and he had nearly forgotten that he had done something so outlandish until he opened the box.
The packaging was minimal and stealth, which Law appreciated, and true to the 'starter package' description there were two t-shirts and a hoodie in the box. They were all packaged inside a plastic bag, so Law got to see them before he could really smell them.
They were all bright red.
Law groaned a bit, annoyed that if he did choose to wear them, they would clash violently with everything in his wardrobe. He wasn't the biggest fan of bright colors, or really colors at all.
Alright, strike one against Strawhat, for sending out such a bold color choice. Law scrunched his nose in distaste, imagining the kind of person who would send out their clothes to a stranger. Ideally just someone strapped for cash, but on the grosser end of the spectrum possibly someone who got off on the idea of some nameless omega walking around with their scent. Marked.
Law hated this shit.
It didn't matter though, really, if this Strawhat was trying to make a point or if he just had an egregious taste in fashion. He was nobody to Law, and Law was in control of the situation.
Law opened the plastic bag, preparing himself to be blasted by a wave of alpha pheromones and scent. He was pleasantly surprised with what he found.
The smell was almost subtle, and quite pleasant. It mostly smelled like a clean ocean breeze. Law tentatively brought the bag up to his nose to take a deeper sniff.
It was remarkably nice. When Law really searched for more, there was a faint musty smell, like a forest on a warm sunny day, but luckily no notes of body odor or other questionable body fluids. Law felt a tension in him relax as he pulled out the articles of clothing to inspect them closer.
There was a hoodie, an undershirt, and a button up. The hoodie had a white pocket and white drawstrings, and when he picked it up he felt something in the hoodie pocket.
Curious, he pulled out a small note card with some scrawled writing on it. Law huffed, certain that this kind of thing was against the rules of the program. There was supposed to be absolutely no contact between himself and the alpha who wore the clothes. Law braced himself for a phone number or some kind of gross insinuating comment.
hope u enjoy! :)
Oh.
Well, that was okay, Law supposed. Kind of sweet even, if it was genuine. Law had no reason to believe it wasn't genuine, but he also had no reason to trust an anonymous scent-seller from who knows how many miles away.
The main point was Law didn't hate the scent, which was incredibly rare for him, and he could probably handle wearing it when going out. Now it was just time to see if it actually worked.
~
Law had never had a better shift. He had one of the t-shirts on underneath his scrubs and it was working perfectly.
He had been pretty nervous that he would be immediately called out by his coworkers and he would have to reveal that he had used such an embarrassing service, but no one had said anything.
No one had said anything. Not about the smell of a strange alpha on him, not about his omega status, no unwanted advances. People had just been relatively polite to him all day.
It was mind boggling. Was this how betas walked through the world every day? Law seethed at the concept, and that he needed to be wearing some alpha's scent to be left the fuck alone.
"You seem like you're in a good mood today." Penguin noted at lunch.
"Can't imagine why." Law responded, and pointedly did not look Penguin in the eyes.
~
Law placed another order when he got home. It was cheaper because they didn't have to go through the matching process again, which was nice. The service was incredibly pricey but it was worth it to keep the world off his back.
He wished there was an option for notes or requests so he could get something a little less gouache, but the only options for particulars were in regards to size and clothing gender preference. He could try a different alpha, but the thought of doing so made him shake his head. No, better to keep to the already tested Strawhat's smell. He didn't want to try again.
~
After two weeks of regularly wearing Strawhat's clothing, Law started to notice a difference in his mood when he could smell the faceless alpha.
It was stupid. It was so, so stupid to have such a basal reaction. Law hated himself a little for falling victim to his body's chemical responses, but the fact of the matter was that people scent bonded all the time. It was part of why alpha/omega relationships went on for so long, even when both parties were unhappy or even in cases of abuse or mistreatment.
Law went to medical school. He knew what was happening. His body was reacting to the constant and consistent smell of Strawhat, and had bonded to it. There wasn't necessarily a downturn in his mood when he wasn't wearing the borrowed clothes, but there was a considerable uptick whenever he dawned a red hoodie or shirt. The dopamine hit was strongest when he first opened a new box of clothes.
Law hated himself for it, a bit, but made the decision to not deprive himself of a small anxiety reliever. He could honestly use all the mental health help he could get, artificial or not, and his quality of life had improved so significantly since starting the service he didn't have it in him to go back to what life was like before.
However, he had run out his timer on how long he could go without his friends noticing.
"So who's the new alpha you're seeing?" Shachi asked one day at a bar after work. Law flinched, hoping to never have to go down this line of questioning.
"I'm not seeing anybody." He grumbled, nursing a glass of whiskey. Big ice cube. He loved a big ice cube.
"So what, just fucking occasionally? Friends with benefits type thing?" Penguin prodded, and Law sighed, pulling his hat down over his eyes.
"I'm using that. Service. Website thing, that Shachi told me about." He admitted, not making eye contact with his friends. Immediately there was laughing and cursing in surprise.
"Oh shit, really?" Shachi half-yelled, and Law glared at him. Public place, he reminded himself. No acts of violence.
"Is it going well?" Bepo asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Law relaxed at the touch. No judgement from Bepo, just honesty and support.
"Surprisingly well. I haven't gotten a single 'offer' since I started."
"Oh! That's awesome!" Penguin exclaimed. "But it's all the same guy, right? You've been smelling different lately and we just figured-"
"Not that we, uh, gossip about you while you're gone-" Shachi blurted, digging himself a grave. Law raised an eyebrow.
"So it's all the same guy?" Penguin interrupted, hoping to save Shachi and himself through distracion tactics.
"Yeah. It's like a matchmaking service, except we never meet or know who the other person is." Law explained. "I don't even know if it's a guy."
"So do you know anything about them?"
"Their username, Strawhat. And that they have a terrible sense of style."
Penguin turned to Shachi, grabbing him by the shoulders. "So we must always be on the lookout for people wearing straw hats."
Shachi nodded in agreement, staring into his eyes seriously. "We'll find this person if it's the last thing we do."
Bepo rubbed Law's back. "I'm glad it's working for you. I'm sorry about them."
Law sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's fine. I expected as much."
~
It took another week before Law's heat arrived.
Most healthy unmated adults his age were on some form of suppressants, some of which even going through extreme surgeries to stop heats from taking place, but Law's body was already hung in such a particular balance from his childhood of sickness he wasn't willing to change anything about his routine.
He was also absolutely not willing to seek out 'company' for his heats, so he typically just spent a couple days holed up in his apartment, suffering.
Heats were terrible. They were a logistical nightmare, fluids got everywhere, and the accompanying fever and sickness always reminded Law of the years he spent sick. It was dreadful all the way around, and on top of all of that he couldn't go to work.
At least his job, being a hospital, was relatively accommodating. The directors weren't especially happy with him this time of month, but they never held it over his head or threatened his job for it, which was as much as he could ask for, really.
He had a system. Eat a lot and hydrate constantly in the two days leading up to his heat so that he could spend the peak of it sleeping and taking long hot showers. He had some toys for when things got intense, for when he started losing his mind and feeling like he was going to die if there wasn't something inside him, but he would only resort to that a couple times during the process. Mostly it was a matter of not dehydrating to death.
Omega instincts were weird and bizarre. In his pre-heat fog, he didn't even notice what he was piling on his bed, in his typical nesting area.
It was a swath of red clothing. Law paled. He typically surrounded himself with things that brought him comfort during his heats, including some of his favorite clothes, although he tried to remind himself not to ruin his nice and formal pieces. It wasn't that weird, in theory, to surround himself in clothes that had brought him comfort and made his life better.
Law swallowed. He looked down at himself, at the red hoodie that he was wearing, because it was comfortable and cozy but also because it smelled good. He brought the collar up to his nose and inhaled, and was immediately overcome by relief. It felt so good, it smelled so good. Red rose to his cheeks, and he covered his face in his empty room.
There was a section on the website Law used labeled 'Heat Management'. He had seen it in passing, and pointedly ignored it each time, because that was not what he was purchasing these clothes for. It wasn't. It was for quality of life improvement, it was so he could go through life ignoring his omega status, it wasn't for some weird 'must have alpha' heat thing.
But that was part of the service, right? Law blushed harder as he realized 'Strawhat' had no idea what he was using their clothes for! What if Strawhat thought that he was the weirdo and freak? Was he a weirdo and freak?
Law shuffled over to his desk and opened up the drawer he kept the little note cards that came in each box of clothes. Strawhat always placed a note card in the pocket of one of the clothes, and Law had been keeping them. Just in case.
The first one still read hope u enjoy! :) and the rest were equally sweet and innocent.
have a good week!!
u r the best!
thank you!
The more recent ones had gotten more specific.
this sweater is my fav. feels like a hug!
this shirt has a beetle on it. that means its extra good
And the most recent, which made Law gasp when he read it:
thinkin bout u :)
It was so innocuous, and it didn't mean anything, obviously. Of course you would be thinking occasionally about someone who was buying your clothes and scent and theoretically funding your livelihood. It wasn't a cheap service, and Law purchased two boxes a week, which definitely helped pad Strawhat's pockets.
Still. It was enough to get Law thinking.
Did Strawhat send these notes with the assumption that Law would be nesting in their scent? If so, they were incredibly nonsexual and benign.
The notes were mostly just sweet, and a little caring, even if they were against the rules of the service. Was Strawhat a rule-breaker?
Yes, Law thought. If nothing else, he knew deeply that Strawhat was someone who didn't care about following rules. That and that he wore a lot of red.
Law sighed and put the note cards down, glancing over at the nest he had formed on his bed. No one would know, Strawhat certainly never would, and if it made him feel better, why wouldn't he indulge? Life was hell enough as is. Might as well take the little comforts where he could get them.
He shuffled over to his bed, flopped into a pile of clothes that smelled like the ocean and the sun and freedom, and fell asleep.
~
Law dreamed of a blinding smile and laugh, of the ocean and the sun, and woke up hornier than he had been in his whole life. He was leaking all over his boxers and had been rutting against the mattress in his sleep, and was right on the verge of tipping over his climax, he just needed something inside of him. Immediately.
He fumbled for a toy on his nightstand, eyes bleary and just barely coming out of his dream. He pulled off his boxers and got on his knees, lining up the toy against his entrance. Normally he would take the time to work himself open, but he was so so close, and he wanted to feel the stretch.
"Fuuuuuck-" He whined, sinking down slowly onto the toy and rocking back on it. It felt so good he wanted to cry, and once again, just like it did every fucking month, that annoying little voice inside him screamed for more. More more more it would feel so much better if it was real if there was a real alpha here to knot me and breed me and-
Law took in a deep breath through his nose and nearly came. "Wha-" He was so disoriented he almost believed for a moment that there was an alpha inside his apartment, until he opened his eyes and realized he was just surrounded by Strawhat's clothing and oh, fuck that smelled so nice.
Law rocked back and forth on the toy, reveling in how big it was, he would never use it outside of his heats but during it felt so good. He brought up one of the red shirts in front of him to his face and buried his nose in it, breathing in.
Law did cum then, much faster than he was typically able to, and fell face forward onto his pillows, his thighs refusing to hold him up any longer. It was intense, and overwhelming, but one of Strawhat's shirts was still shoved in his face and it was so unbelievably calming and reassuring. Typically Law had a surge of negative hormones after he came during heats, when his body registered that he was alone and had not been knotted like it so desperately craved, but apparently just having an alpha's scent nearby was enough to curb those feelings.
Law took a deep breath and pulled the toy out of his ass, letting it fall onto his bed. He couldn't be assed to care about the sanitation of things when everything around him was covered in slick.
After letting his body recover for a few minutes, he shed the hoodie he was wearing and went to go take a shower.
He always felt bad away from his nest during heats, but this time he felt especially rushed to get back to it, to the smell of Strawhat, to his alpha-
Law silently cursed out his inner omega voice. Nope. Not his alpha. Couldn't let himself feel possessive and needy over someone he didn't even know.
A few hours later, Law caught himself moaning "Strawhat" right before he came. So much for keeping himself reigned in.
~
Besides the inner turmoil, the heat went by surprisingly well. Just like everything else in his life, apparently having an alpha's scent around just made his heats better and more manageable.
No, scratch that, not any alpha's scent. Strawhat's scent specifically. Law was pretty sure any other alpha scent would make him gag.
The only downside really was that all of Strawhat's clothes were now ruined, as far as the scent went. Law laundered them but then the smell was gone and it made wearing them essentially useless, especially when he had a new shipment coming in the mail the next day.
Luckily part of the service included clothing returns, for the sake of sustainability and the purchasing omega's closet not becoming obscenely full. It was pretty simple, just clean the clothes and send them back to the warehouse, which would then forward them to the alpha in question. Simple. Easy. Efficient. Would lower the cost of future shipments since the alpha wouldn't need to continuously purchase new clothes.
Law figured he would probably make a habit of returning clothes once a month, especially since he decided even after the wildly embarrassing heat that he had, to continue the professional relationship he had with Strawhat. It made his life better, and didn't make anyone's else's life worse, and he deserved something nice every once in a while.
The issue he was currently facing was whether or not to leave a note card in the hoodie pocket. Would it be rude? Would it be rude not to, with all the ones Strawhat left for him?
He settled on writing one, but keeping it short and simple. In perfect neat handwriting, he wrote:
Thank you.
On a note card and left it in the first hoodie he received.
The other issue he was left with was, well, despite his best efforts he was feeling a bit needy since his heat. So he decided to do something a little risky and insane.
The very same hoodie he was leaving the note in, he decided to wear and scent before he packed it up. He felt insane, fucking insane for doing it, but some weird omega instinct just needed Strawhat to know what he smelled like. If things went south he could claim negligence.
He sent off the box before he had the chance to change his mind.
~
A week later, Law received his typical shipment with a note card in it's typical spot. The words on the card were not typical.
thnx for my clothes back! they smell good. REALLY good!
Law's face turned red, and he placed the note card in his desk for safekeeping.