Chapter Text
By the pier he saw a boat swaying quietly on the ocean and he feared for his life because he saw death on it and they said to him “Come quick there is so much to tell ya,”
Death was nothing but a floating black cloak, there was nobody to be seen in it except for a spotted wrinkled arm that was nothing but skin and bones with dirty black nails reaching toward him.
Maybe it was Hel herself trying to tell him enough was enough and it was time to give up.
If he fell into the water and let the sea take him would everything be alright
Would Óðin give him a chance or does Hel take him away?
If he took death's hand, maybe no steel or knife would ever touch him again, no more burning dirty hands touching his skin, no more commands telling him to do this and that.
If he gave up and let himself drown, drown this night, would all the pain go away?
…
Luffy woke up for the first time in a while without screaming, yet his heart was beating as fast and he felt out of breath.
His nightmares that followed up with screaming were all the same, a weird mix of painful memories and nightmares, but today it was different, it was more about what happened after everything.
It was a day when The King and his men came home after a successful raid on a small innocent village and they returned home with newly enslaved people, weapons, gold, and other things they looted.
The King and his men celebrated for the entire evening in the dining hall but when that evening came to an end it turned into a living nightmare for Luffy when The King decided that his men deserved a reward for the night after their successful raid,
and Luffy was that reward.
He could still hear the threatening order The King gave his men when he pushed Luffy onto the floor towards his men.
“Only one at a time, if you make him too loose I’ll cut out your tongues.”
Luffy was used to The King giving him to others for a night like when he would negotiate with other kings and use him to seal the deal, but this was too much, too many burning hands on his skin all at once and he felt like he was going to turn into ash.
After that horrible night of more burning hands than usual touching him, forcing him open, using him for their own needs, and taking turns with him, Luffy was somehow able to stand up when they were finished with him and had fallen asleep satisfied.
He covered himself and dragged his dirty and sore body to the pier, where he let himself fall onto his knees and he emptied his stomach, letting it all out into the ocean, he collapsed but before he passed out that’s when he saw it all.
Death on the boat, and he could hear them whispering in his ear despite not being close enough, telling him to take their hand.
He knows now that it was all just a hallucination and he's never been so relieved to pass out because only 2 months after that happened, The King’s village was attacked and he escaped.
Luffy could never forget it.
He was sitting outside by himself and staring at the pier, still thinking about what he saw or didn’t see.
But his thoughts left him when one of The King's guards walked to him, forcefully grabbed his arm, pulled him up, and told him that The King had called for him.
Luffy tried to pull away and argue that he could walk by himself but the guard tightened his grip on him and said, “Maybe when my King is done with you I’ll ask if I can have a turn, someone needs to teach whores like you some respect.”
And that’s when it happened.
Before he knew it the guard was calling him a whore and the next he had an arrow in his face and his lifeless body fell to the ground.
Luffy was frozen where he stood, his ears rang and his body was trying to catch up with his brain at what just happened as the guard’s body fell, so he didn't notice the black horse behind him
Startled and afraid he misstepped, fell on the ground, and tried to backcrawl away from the horse.
Then he noticed the man riding the black horse.
A man with red hair and a scar on his left eye, bow in hand, and no doubt that he was the cause of the guards' brutal death.
Luffy expected the man to take another arrow and aim it at him, killing him like the guard, but he didn't, instead, he told Luffy to prove he was in this village unwillingly.
Still scared and confused about what was happening, he did what the man asked of him and lowered his trousers only to stop when his branded slave mark on his hip was visible.
The red-haired man said nothing about it when he saw Luffy's mark, he just looked at it for a moment and then back at Luffy's face.
He then told Luffy something that still echoes in his head.
“Flee, and never stop running.”
But Luffy was still frozen and trying to take in what the red-haired man said to him because he didn't understand what was happening, he must have been taking too long trying to understand because the man yelled at him to go and then moved his horse closer to scare Luffy up on his feet and make him start running.
He didn't ask questions, he just started running and as he ran he noticed the chaos around him, the village was in flames and being attacked, but the men raiding it weren't taking anything or attacking the villagers or people running away, only the Vikings that fought back.
He saw other slaves like him running to the woods so he did as well, he didn't stop running when he saw dead slaves on the ground with arrows and knives in their backs, and he didn't look back when a woman he recognized as one of The King’s servants that was running next to him fell to the ground after getting shot in the back by an arrow.
He didn't question what was happening behind him and if The King’s men were going after the slaves, he just kept running and prayed to the gods that no arrow would hit him.
He never stopped running.
He didn't know how long he ran but the sound of screaming and the smell of smoke from the village behind him were gone and Luffy finally stopped his legs when his lungs begged him to stop and breathe.
He breathed heavily when he turned around.
The King’s village was gone, nowhere to be seen, there were only trees and snow.
Luffy was alone and had no clue if he was the only slave who made it without a scratch, but he couldn't think about it because the red-haired man's words echoed in his head,
“Flee and never stop running.”
His throat was burning after all the running but Luffy kept moving, he walked instead and all that mattered was to get as far away as he could from the village.
That first day walking in the woods he cried, yet not from happiness that he was free, but from fear that The King or any of his men were not far behind going after him.
It was what kept Luffy’s legs moving, but one year later he still couldn't stop thinking about the what-ifs.
What if there was someone behind him hunting him down and caught him?
What if the arrow hit him instead of the servant?
What if the Red-haired man didn’t see him and killed the guard?
What if he let himself drown that night at the pier?
What if he took Death’s hand?
Luffy could hear snoring next to him that made him snap out of his ugly thoughts and back to reality, he realized that it was the first time since he got here that he was the first to wake up.
It had been three nights since the Death Man named Law and the king of this village came to the woods and saved him from dying of blood loss.
Three nights of sharing the kind-hearted king's bed.
Luffy had only stayed in bed and had yet to go into the village and be appropriately introduced to the villagers, however, Law was pretty hard-headed about bed rest and told Luffy that even if the injury didn't hurt anymore, he still needed to rest and build up his strength.
The wound did reopen a little bit that night they had sex and Law had not made another move since then, Luffy was expecting something to happen again, he wanted it to happen again, he couldn't stop thinking about the way this kind king whispered praises into his ear as he fucked him into this bed he was currently laying on and called him a Viking.
Showing him what sex is supposed to feel like after Luffy had to endure years of it in the form of torture.
He wondered what a king like Law dreamed about, a kind king was so foreign to him, he had no memory of ever knowing about a kind-hearted Viking king, the stories that his past masters told him about kings were all the same, they were ruthless, selfish, and blood-hungry.
That's when it came to him that maybe he was told all those things when he was a slave so he wouldn't have any hope of having a life where he could be free.
At some point after The King bought him, he gave up on the idea that a good king could exist in this world, yet after meeting Law, everything he thought he knew was being turned upside down.
A kind king with a village in the middle of the woods and with no slaves, Luffy didn’t know what to think anymore.
He turned to his side to look at Law’s sleeping face and then poked his cheek, making Law grumble.
He found it strange looking at a sleeping king, he wasn’t used to it because in the past when The King was done fucking him he never had Luffy sleep in his bed and would instead call for his servants and order them to take Luffy away once he was satisfied.
He wasn’t really surprised why he did that.
Luffy knew just as well as The King that if he had slept in the bed he would have taken his first chance to smother the bastard with a pillow.
Thankfully there was no need to worry about any of that when lying next to Law.
He watched Law grumble some more and then open his tired eyes, after staring at Luffy for a moment and trying to wake up properly he yawned and said to him, "You woke up before me, that's new."
Luffy didn't say anything back and just shrugged.
“No nightmares this time?” Law asked and sounded relieved as he raised his body.
“No, it was just different,” Luffy answered while Law got out of bed and he enjoyed watching him get dressed.
“How do you feel?” he asked Luffy as he put on a black long-sleeved tunic and added a nice-looking belt.
“Same as last time you asked, fine,” he answered Law with a small pout since he was getting a little tired of him worrying about his back wound.
Law asked him to sit up so he could take a look at the wound and Luffy did so with no problem, he took any chance to have Law’s hands touching him.
Strangely Law hadn’t been touching him much after they had sex but Luffy didn’t ask why, he wasn’t sure how to bring it up.
He never wanted sex before, so now he didn’t know how to ask for it, sex was just something he always was forced to do as a slave, it became work, and it made him hate it, but then Law saved his life, praised him, called him a Viking, showed him how good it can feel and now all Luffy could think about was doing it again.
Law's hands felt nice on his back even if they no longer felt cold like before, “Looks good, should be fine,” Law said to himself and Luffy barely heard what he said.
Luffy wondered what should be fine and he was going to ask him what he was talking to himself about but before he could utter a word Law walked to his door and called for someone.
“IKKAKU!” Law called out and after a moment a woman in a yellow and white dress with a large set of brown curls on her head walked inside yawning.
A servant Luffy figured, but for what?
“Morning, are you the only one up?” Law asked the woman and Luffy noticed something weird with how he talked to her, but it wasn’t just Law but also the servant.
“Most of the guys got drunk last night so they passed out when going to bed, don’t worry I plan on waking them up in the most annoying way possible.”
Luffy was so confused with their talk because the servant Ikkaku didn't look like she was talking to a king but more like she was just having a chat with a friend, it made Luffy question if she was a servant at all.
But what shocked Luffy the most was what Law said next.
“Before you torture them with their hangovers, could you go to the stable and fetch Polar for me?”
‘Could you?’
Luffy wasn't sure if he heard that right, did Law really say that to her? He hadn't met any of Law’s servants yet since he’d been stuck in Law’s bed resting.
But of all things, he was not expecting Law to talk to one of them so calmly, there was no shouting, no yelling orders, instead Law asked the woman politely if she could do something for him.
Luffy had never heard the words ”Could you?” come out of the mouth of a king when addressing a servant, It felt unreal because he was so used to, Do this, Do that, and if someone talked back they would get a backhanded slap to the face.
He knew Law was kind but he wasn't expecting him to act so “normal” with one of his servants, and he questions if Law was like this with all of his servants.
But then something else shocked Luffy to his core with what the servant said when she replied to Law.
“Sure Law I can go fetch Polar, I guess the guys get a couple of more minutes of peaceful sleep before I wake them up,” she replied with a smirk before walking out and closing the door after her.
Luffy couldn't believe he heard that! She called him Law and didn't use his title.
“What is it?” Law asked him a little worried when he looked back to Luffy and saw the puzzling look on his face.
Luffy snapped out of it and awkwardly muttered, “Sorry, it’s just…um, she called you Law.”
Law looked at him confused for a second but it quickly turned into a small smirk and he explained, “I prefer being called Law, the villagers mostly don’t use my title as king unless in some kind of formal setting.”
Luffy found that interesting because in the past he and the other slaves were ordered to always address The King as “My King,” and Luffy never liked the look he had when someone called him that, it felt like he got some kind of sick pleasure or high when hearing people call him a king.
Luffy wondered why Law sent the woman to the stable, he figured that Polar must be his horse but that made him wonder if Law was leaving for something.
“Are you going somewhere?”
Law noticed the sad tone in Luffy's voice when he asked that and he didn't like it, so he told him, “We're going somewhere,” making Luffy look at Law confused yet curious.
“I’m taking you to the hot springs.”
“Hot Springs?” Luffy echoed back to him.
Law explained while Luffy watched him open a chest and pick up something in it, “You haven't bathed since I brought you here, and washing the blood off your back doesn't count as one.”
He wasn’t wrong about that, Luffy knew about the hot springs yet chose not to go near them because there were always people from the village using them, so he ended up using a cold lake in the woods when it came to cleaning himself.
But a scary thought came to him,
While he would love to be naked in a hot spring with Law he questioned if they would be alone or around others, the thought of anyone in the village seeing the branded slave mark on his hip terrified him and it made his heart beat faster.
He didn't want anyone in the village to see it.
Law could see the panic in Luffy and he quickly rambled out, “Don’t worry I arranged it so we would be alone and have the Hot springs for ourselves so we could have some privacy.”
That made Luffy’s panic calm down and he was going to ask how Law arranged that but something else took his attention.
He looked at what Law had in his hands, the stuff he had taken out of the chest but before he could ask what it was Law handed it to him.
“I don’t know your policy on clothes since I've only seen you shirtless when you come to the village to fight and you're always barefoot, but I brought you some just in case,”
What Law had handed Luffy was a red tunic along with a belt, a new set of pants, and a pair of shoes, after Luffy got a good look at the tunic he turned his head to Law and gave him a confused look.
Because the tunic was well made, the fabric felt nice and looked expensive, and it was in his favorite color, while he had been mostly sleeping in Law’s bed they did talk a little bit and Luffy wondered if the tunic was red because Law remembered when Luffy told him that red is his favorite color.
But that was the thing, the color.
Growing up, Luffy's clothes were always badly made from cheap material; nonetheless, he was allowed to express himself with any colors. Hence, his clothes were most of the time in some kind of variations of brown or other darker colors.
It’s one of the reasons why he questioned if the Ikkaku lady was a servant, Luffy noticed how nice her clothes looked compared to any servant he'd met before.
It also was stopping him from putting it on, was it really alright for him to wear something this nice looking and well made?
Law however was looking back at Luffy confused by Luffy’s confusion, “What is it?” he asked, a little worried and Luffy felt awkward for staring at him so he shyly looked away when he answered him, “Sorry, it’s nothing, thank you for the clothes.”
Law kept his puzzled look and thought Luffy was acting weird because he had been shirtless for a year when running around the woods.
But Law didn't ask, he wanted to push as little as he could and let Luffy take his time getting used to everything, even if every fiber in Law's body was screaming to ask questions.
Luffy got dressed and couldn't believe how soft the tunic felt on his skin, it was nice and he felt a little bit weird wearing something so comfortable.
Law puts on a cloak and offers Luffy one as well since it is still chilly outside and when they leave Law's chambers and walk outside, the first thing Luffy notices is not the cold but the lack of people in the village.
“It’s still pretty early so people are still in their homes and properly getting ready for the day,” Law explained when he saw Luffy looking around with a puzzled look.
But there was at least someone in the village because Luffy heard a loud horse neigh behind him that made him jump and get closer to Law.
It was the Ikkaku lady holding the reins of a yellow horse with a couple of large white spots.
“Here’s Polar and she tried to chew my hair again,” she told Law looking irritated and she tried to get the drool out of her hair after she handed him the reins.
“ Thank you Ikkaku, my apologies for the trouble this early.”
Again, Luffy was weirded out by how Law was talking to her since he’d never heard the words “Thank You” coming from a king when addressing a servant and apologizing for something was out of the question.
Luffy noticed the (maybe) servant looking at him which made him feel awkward so he looked away from her with a flushed face, Luffy just heard her let out a little giggle but when she walked away, she said something to Law that caught his attention.
“I’m going to wake up the guys by banging some pans, you and Krummi have fun in the hot springs.”
Krummi?
She called him Krummi but before Luffy could think too hard about it Law noticed the curious look in Luffy's eyes when he heard the name so Law explained,
“I haven't told anyone your real name yet, I thought you would want to be the one introducing yourself, so the villagers still just know you as Krummi.”
Luffy appreciated that and wondered if Law had said something else to his people about him.
“All right get on, we should get going.”
Luffy froze when Law said that, he looked at the horse and then at Law.
“You mean…the horse?” Luffy asked nervously.
“Her name is Polar and who else could I be talking about?” Law said confused.
“You want me to ride the horse…with you, I don’t…I can’t…I’m not all” Luffy stopped talking and bit his bottom lip, feeling embarrassed and having no idea how to word his explanation.
That being he’s never ridden a horse, that he was always told to walk by his past masters, and for long journeys, he always sat in a carriage.
Law however caught on quickly.
“You’ve never ridden a horse, have you?”
Luffy felt awkward again and looked away when he nodded and said, “Sorry,” under his breath.
Law took something out of the horse's satchel bag and handed Luffy a carrot, Luffy just looked at the carrot and then looked up at Law with no idea of the point of the vegetable.
“Well, go on,” Law said, looking at the large animal.
Luffy hesitated, but when he looked at Law, he felt slightly calmer because he knew he could trust him.
He got closer and gave Polar the carrot but he pulled his hand away immediately when those sloppy horse lips touched his hand and Luffy let out an “eww.”
Law just laughed and said, “See, she’s not scary,” but Luffy pouted back at him as he shook his wet hand trying to get the horse's saliva off it.
Law told Polar to lie down and then he mounted her and told Luffy to sit behind him, Luffy clumsily got on and hoped he wasn't doing anything wrong.
“Hold onto me when she gets up so you don’t fall off,” he informed him but Luffy was startled nevertheless when Law gave Polar a commend and she raised herself and Luffy gripped tightly onto Law, “You don’t have to hold that tightly, are you alright?”
He loosened his grip on Law and stuttered out, “S…sorry, I’m fine.”
‘Another Sorry,’ Law thought.
Law didn't ask about it but noticed how Luffy was overusing the word Sorry.
He looked over his shoulder and felt the nervousness coming from Luffy, and it was strange to Law because he had seen this man emerge from the woods bathed in ravens many times, yet a horse was making him nervous.
He has also witnessed him stab an enemy multiple times in the face and then throw the body at another enemy, but he was being shy and weird about clothes and how he talked to Ikkaku.
And the meaningless apologies, always saying sorry for nothing, It worried Law why he did that.
“Don’t worry, I won't have her go too fast,” he told Luffy, hoping that made him less nervous.
Luffy pressed his face into Law’s back when Polar started moving, he felt so silly being scared about riding a horse, he focused on feeling Law’s body and breathed in his scent to calm down his rising heartbeat.
He noticed that the cold feeling he usually felt from Law was pretty much gone, something else had replaced it and he wasn’t sure what it was, it did feel comfortable though.
But it was fine because after Law brought him to the village and he begged Law to touch him it became less hot, he didn't feel like it was too warm anymore.
“Are you alright? You’ve been quiet for a bit.” Law asked him after riding for a while.
“Sorry I’m fine, like I said, I’ve never ridden a horse.”
It felt weird talking to Law when he couldn't see his face but he wanted to ask about his servant, if she even was one.
“That woman, is she your servant?” he asked after swallowing the lump in his throat.
“You mean Ikkaku?”
Luffy nodded into Law's back, confirming that was who he was asking about.
“She is.” He answered but then added, “And not at the same time,” confusing Luffy.
“What do you mean?”
“My villagers are people and or families that were looking for a new place to settle, a new place to call home, but my servants weren’t looking for a home, they had their homes taken from them.”
Raids Luffy presumed, and It came back to him when Law told him they were people with no roofs over their heads.
“I remember that you said something about that, they work for you in exchange for food and shelter, right?”
“That’s right,” Law confirmed.
Luffy still wondered what they do, any servant he'd met before always had some kind of purpose, so he wasn't sure how it worked with a village that didn't rely on slave labor.
“So what is their work, what do they do for you?”
“They help me take care of the village, if any villager needs a helping hand then they are that hand,” Law explained.
It surprised Luffy to hear that, because the servants that The King owned were only supposed to do things for him, cook for him, wash his clothes, do everything for him, and so on, or in Luffy's case, spread his legs.
“So they are your people's servants more than yours,” Luffy said, ensuring he understood Law.
“I guess you can look at it like that, I ask for help at times when I need it but I don't need servants standing around me and by my side every minute of my life, I can take care of myself so I'd rather have them help the village in any way they can”
Luffy wasn’t sure how to take in all of this information, he hadn't met any of the servants and he didn't actually say anything to that Ikkaku.
He could always sense the misery coming from The King’s servants but he felt nothing of sorts when he first saw Ikkaku, there was no misery and even if she looked tired from waking up, all Luffy could sense was genuine happiness from her.
A happy servant was unheard of from what he knew, but then something came to Luffy that confused him a bit, “You said they are your servants and not at the same time, what do you mean by that?”
“Yes they are technically my servants but I don't like seeing them as that, as I said, they help take care of the village so they feel more like a crew.”
A crew? Luffy didn't know why but he liked that word, it sounded nice to him, Luffy went quiet and Law presumed he was just taking in all of the information.
Law could answer Luffy's questions all day, he liked telling the young Viking how different his village was compared to others, but it had to come to a halt because he could feel it getting warmer and he noticed the sulfur smell in the air.
He had been so focused on answering Luffy's questions he didn't notice that they had arrived.
Luffy looked behind Law and saw the hot springs and like what Law said there was no one to be seen, they were alone.
Law had Polar walk to a built-in area for horses where he could tie her reins and keep her from wandering off while they used the hot springs.
They got off Polar’s back and Luffy felt it was much easier to get off the horse's back than get on.
The area had wooden walkways around so no one had to walk on the dirt and rocks, there were also benches to sit down and fences around the place, and the handcrafting looked beautiful and well made, it made Luffy wonder who made all of this, it all looked really nice.
“You can pick a hot spring for us, I need to get something out of Polar’s satchel,” Law informed him and walked back to his horse.
Luffy looked around himself and found a nice one that wasn’t too big or too small, but he hesitated before he started taking off his clothes, he felt a shiver through his spine as his thoughts went back to how The King would order him to take off his clothes, whether he was in his chambers or if he was showing him off to the other kings and or leaders he was making deals with.
But he quickly shook the feeling away, reminding himself where he was and that he was safe and he trusted Law when he told him that they were alone here and no one would see the branded slave mark on his hip.
He took a deep breath, stripped off his nice well-made clothes, laid them on a fence, and dipped his big toe in the water to test the temperature.
It was hot but not boiling so he stepped into the water, it wasn’t deep, the water reached his belly button, he let himself sink lower and let the heat hug his body, the water felt nice and Luffy couldn't remember the last time he was in a hot spring.
His thoughts went empty as he let himself relax and all he could hear was the muffling sound of the water swaying around him.
But the swaying of the water made his empty thoughts return to that night on the pier and how Death’s bony hand reached for him.
He closed his eyes and tried not to focus on it, the memory didn't scare him that much, it was just uncomfortable to think back to it, but out of nowhere, something fell on his face that startled him.
Luffy took it off his head, it was a washcloth and then he noticed Law looking at him, he was holding a little bag that he let go of and had it lay on the ground next to the hot spring.
He reminded Luffy that they were not just here to relax while he started taking off his clothes.
Luffy looked away, he didn't know why, it was not like he hadn't seen Law's naked body before since they had slept together, he focused on cleaning his face with the washcloth so it didn't look like he was staring at Law's body.
Law stepped into the water and let out a satisfied sigh when the water surrounded him, Luffy felt his chest tightening just from looking at him.
“What is it?” Law asked.
Shit, he noticed Luffy was staring.
Luffy looked away from Law and quickly mumbled: “Sorry, it’s nothing.”
Yet another sorry, Law was going to ask about it but he held his tongue remembering not to push anything.
Law opened the bag he brought and took out a comb.
He got his hair wet and focused on combing it, he glanced a couple of times at Luffy as they got stuck in an awkward silence.
‘Small talk maybe?’ Law thought to himself.
“So, have you actually never ridden a horse?”
Luffy didn’t say anything and just nodded.
“If you want I can teach you how to ride by yourself,” Law continued with the small talk.
Luffy felt his face get flustered or maybe it already was, they were sitting in a hot spring after all, he muttered a “Maybe,” and then they got stuck in another awkward silence.
Luffy just didn't know how to take in all this kindness, honestly, he was still trying to understand how a man like Law was a king, how did such a kind man become king and why is his village so different?
Law stopped the small talk, thinking Luffy didn’t want to chat but Luffy surprised him by wording out his questions.
“How did you become king of your village…and why is it so different?”
Luffy feared he might have asked something he shouldn't have because Law had a weird look in his eyes when hearing the questions.
Before Luffy let out one of his sorry’s Law answered him.
“The first king that founded the village was killed when I was 14.”
Luffy felt like his heart just dropped and he didn't know how to reply to that, but Law had more to his answer.
“He had no children and I was the closest to a family he had,” he explained.
“You were 14 when you became king?” Luffy asked not believing he had to take the title at such a young age.
“The villagers chose me as their king and they helped me on that path,” Law explained like it was no big deal, but Luffy could sense there was more to Law's past because he could see the pain in his eyes.
“Alright, but why is your village so different?” Luffy asked him, wanting the pained look in his eyes gone.
Law looked at nothing as Luffy figured he was thinking about his answer, he then put away the comb he was holding and looked at him, and offered his hand out to Luffy, asking him to take it.
Luffy’s thoughts went back to the pier and how Death wanted him to take their hand, but there was no fear this time because this was Law’s hand, even with his tattooed fingers spelling ᛞᚨᚢᚦᛁ , he felt no fear grabbing this hand.
He took it and Law pulled him closer to him, making Luffy’s hand palm his chest where his heart was, and then he asked Luffy, “What do you feel?”
Luffy looked at him confused as he answered the obvious, “Your heart.”
“And does the way my heart beats feel any different from yours?”
Luffy was still a little confused but could feel the thumping from Law's heart, it was no different from his so he answered, “No.”
“Exactly.”
Luffy still felt lost with what this had to do with Law’s village but thankfully he explained.
“The late king built this village because he didn't believe there should be such a thing as slaves, he would always tell me that a master is no greater than his slave because no matter what someone believes in or looks like we all need the same thing to live.”
“And that is?” Luffy didn't know why he asked because he knew what Law would say.
His focus was more on how close they were and how nice touching Law's chest felt.
“A beating heart,” Law answered and Luffy felt his chest tightening again looking at those warm golden eyes, Luffy wasn’t sure if he was waiting for him to lean in to kiss him.
But then Law let go of his hand and Luffy felt disappointed, all he could think about was Law touching him like he did that first night, and he didn't understand why Law didn’t want to touch him and it was starting to irritate him.
He pouted and moved away from Law, putting his focus on finding the washcloth, he let go of it a moment ago and he didn’t know where it was, “You alright?” Law asked him worriedly.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled back to him.
‘What was that pout,’ Law didn't want to push anything but now he felt like he was pushing Luffy away from him.
If there was one thing he didn't want to happen then that was watching Luffy go back to the woods, he wanted him in the village.
Law moved closer to him but Luffy kept his back turned against Law.
“You seem upset,” he stated and Luffy couldn't deny that, but even with Law standing so close behind him Law still wasn’t touching him.
“Luffy, what do you want?” Law asked and everything in Luffy went still,
What did he want?
No one has ever asked him that.
He remembered when The King would be done using him the servants would take him away to get cleaned up and they always said the same thing,
that it didn't matter what he wanted or didn't want, he just had to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told, but Luffy had the feeling that the servants kept telling him that as a reminder to themselves to survive the hell they were living in.
“Luffy?” Law asked after saying nothing and Luffy snapped out of his thoughts, he knew what he wanted.
“Your hands.”
He wants Law to touch him, he wants him to hold him, to feel Law's hands on his skin.
“My hands?” Law said, puzzled.
“Law, put your hands on me,” Luffy said as he backed into Law and made himself fall into him, Law caught him and grabbed Luffy by the waist and everything went quiet, except for the water swaying around them.
Law was frozen on the spot, he couldn't believe Luffy wanted him to touch him so much that he made himself fall into his arms, Law would wake up by Luffy’s screaming from his nightmares and he always had that terrifying look on his face, the same look when Law introduced himself and told Luffy he was the king of his village.
Law never touched him, he was afraid it would make things worse with how panicked he looked, so he just focused on getting him water and telling him he was safe.
All he wanted was to hold him, to touch him and Law would have touched him again sooner if he knew Luffy was yearning so much for it
It was just that he was unsure about asking questions; he didn't want to say something that would trigger him because the way Luffy looked when he woke up from his nightmares scared Law, scared him of what Luffy's nightmares were about.
That’s why he felt so relieved when he woke up this morning and saw that Luffy was already awake and looking at him.
He slowly pressed his face into the back of Luffy’s neck and inhaled the younger Viking's earthy scent, even after soaking in the water Luffy still smelled like nature, Law moved his hands higher and he could have sworn Luffy's skin felt as soft as silk.
For someone who had been living in the woods for a year and was covered in scars, his skin should have felt rough, but to Law, Luffy felt warm and soft and he wanted more.
He moved his hand higher and caressed his chest and felt the big scar that looked like an X on his fingertips, thoughts came to him about how Luffy survived such a large wound, but he pushed the thoughts away and focused on sucking Luffy’s neck, nibbling and kissing it, wanting to make Luffy feel good.
Luffy was enjoying everything that was happening, this was what he wanted, Law’s hands on him, holding him, he wanted him to praise him again, call him a Viking and fuck him, like that first night.
So why did something not feel right?
Something was wrong and he didn't know what, it was getting warmer and he felt dizzy and it was harder to breathe.
He closed his eyes trying to get control of his breathing but doing so only made things worse, he felt that shiver through his spine, and he could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck because all he could hear in his head was The King,
All he could see in his mind was that first day, when he was just a dumb 14-year-old kid oblivious to what was happening as the guards dragged him to The King’s chambers which would become his torture room for the next few years,
He screamed and cried so loudly when it all happened for the first time, but what terrified Luffy the most was when it was all over and he learned that it wouldn't be truly over.
He remembered The King grabbing him by the hair, making him look at him, and he told him that he only let Luffy scream because this was his first time, but he better learn to keep his mouth shut next time .
Hearing the words Next Time horrified him, knowing that this wasn't a one-time thing and he would have to do this repeatedly whether he wanted to or not.
Law stopped marking Luffy’s neck when he noticed something wasn't right because Luffy was shaking and breathing heavily.
“Luffy, what's wrong?”
Law could feel the fear going through the smaller man’s body, even though he couldn't see it he knew that Luffy had that look on his face,
Law never wanted to see that terrified look on him again but Luffy kept his head down and kept on shaking
Luffy's ears rang, he couldn't think, he couldn't speak and everything was turning foggy.
He only heard the insults and the commands over and over, telling him to shut up, take his clothes off, get on his knees, and spread his legs. He felt like he was going to throw up and the only thing he heard was The King behind him laughing at him.
The water was too hot and Luffy felt like he was close to passing out, but the heat didn’t stop him from shaking.
Law didn’t let go of him, he had the feeling if he did, Luffy would collapse into the water.
He wasn’t sure what to do, so he stood still holding onto Luffy and took one of his hands to hold and waited, waited while Luffy was fighting this, waiting for him to come back to him.
Luffy was going to walk away but he was stuck, his legs wouldn't move and something was holding him but everything was still foggy and he couldn't remember where he was or who he was with,
His thoughts went back to the pier, maybe it was Hel finally coming to collect him.
Luffy could feel someone holding his hand, he opened his eyes and looked at it and saw the other hand keeping their fingers intertwined, he read the tattooed runes on the fingers that did not belong to him,
ᛞᚨᚢᚦᛁ
Luffy’s panicked heartbeat started to calm down and the fog in his mind was lifting, because things were coming back to him, where he was, what was happening, and most importantly who he was with.
"L…Law?"
His thoughts went to the first time he saw these inked hands when he found the village and watched Law sparring with other Vikings and how much awe Luffy was in just watching him.
“Are you alright?” Luffy heard him ask in his ear, still holding him, but he didn't answer, he was trying to understand why this happened, why he blacked out, why he forgot where he was and who he was with.
He wants Law to touch him, so why?
There was only one thing Luffy had in mind, but before he could think too hard about it Law said something that made him panic.
“Luffy it's alright we can stop, we don’t have to do anything,” Law told him and it made Luffy’s stomach drop when he felt Law was going to let go of his hand.
“NO! I don’t want to stop!” Luffy yelled and tightened his grip on Law's hand, not letting him go anywhere.
He didn't want Law to take his hands off him and he tried to tell Law what was going on.
“I’m sorry I should have realized it sooner,” he said, confusing Law.
“Realized what?” Law asked, worried for Luffy with whatever was going on with him, even after that panic attack Luffy was one saying he was sorry.
“I don’t want to stop, it’s just that…I need…I need to see your face.” Luffy stuttered out.
“My face?” Law echoed back to him trying to understand.
“The King who owned me…would always tell me that he hated my face, he hated looking at me when he…so when he would…”
Law felt goosebumps all over his body when it clicked what Luffy was trying to tell him.
He had never in his life felt so much anger and hatred toward a stranger, and he was craving more details about Luffy’s past so he could hunt down this so-called king and chop his head off with an ax.
He quickly turned Luffy around so he could see his face, not letting him finish what he was trying to say and Law was surprised Luffy's eyes were dry and he hadn't cried after all of that, but he still had that look on him.
That terrified look and it felt like Luffy could break at any moment.
He cupped Luffy’s check that had that little scar under his eye and caressed it.
Law didn't know why but out of all the scars on Luffy’s body there was something that felt different about it compared to the other scars, he focused on Luffy's eyes again and he still had so much fear in them and Law wanted that fear gone.
“Close your eyes,” he asked him and at first Luffy looked at him confused but he did what Law asked of him because Luffy knew he could trust him.
He heard Law walk away from him but he never heard any splashing water, signaling he was getting out of the hot spring, he had no idea what Law could be doing but he didn't have to wonder that much about it because in no time he felt Law stand in front of him again.
He grabbed Luffy's wrist gently, put something small in the palm of his hand and said, “I was going to give this to you later but I think you could use some cheering up right now.”
Luffy opened his eyes and looked at what Law had put in his palm.
It was a little silver piece on a leather cord and it looked like an X but as Luffy stared at it in disbelief he could see that the silver was carved to resample two birds, but not just any bird.
It looked like two Ravens.
Luffy just continued to stare at it, not believing what he was holding in his hand, and before he knew it everything in him just broke.
Law didn't know what to do because Luffy was suddenly crying out of nowhere and he gave Luffy the necklace in the hope of making him feel better.
“What's wrong?”
Luffy felt so stupid that a little necklace was getting him so emotional, he looked at Law and thought about how different he was from all the Kings and leaders he'd met.
The way he talks to his servants which he didn't even view as that, giving him nice clothes, wanting to teach him how to ride a horse, and now giving him a gift.
How can a king be so kind?
“I…I’m fine,” he sobbed, still crying as he tried to explain, “It’s just that-” he rubbed his eye with his forearm and thought hard about it before finishing.
Thought about how slaves are clothed and fed at least enough so they could work but are not allowed to possess nice things for themselves.
Law was just looking at a necklace but to Luffy, he was looking at something that meant so much more than that.
“Nobody's ever given me a gift.”
Law didn't know what to say, he wasn't surprised by that, he knew how slaves are treated and he knew living a year in the woods wasn't enough to erase Luffy’s past.
He pulled Luffy into a hug, wanting him to feel better, wanting to push any bad memory away, at least for now.
“ It’s alright I understand, we can talk about it some other time, when you're ready to talk about it,” Law told him and he meant every word, he would wait for as long as he could to know more about Luffy.
They both stayed still for a moment and Luffy thought about explaining more why he freaked out because if there was anybody that he felt deserved to know more about him then it was Law.
“I don’t know why but he hated me,” Luffy said in a low tone.
He thought about the insults, the name-calling, all that pain and humiliation, and it never made any sense.
“He absolutely hated me and I never knew why or why he used me for sex if he despised me that much,”
Luffy wished he had more to tell, but he really never knew why The King used him for his needs if he hated him so much, like what the servant told him, it didn't matter what wanted he just had to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told.
After taking in Luffy's words Law said something out of nowhere that confused him,
“Some men loathe what they desire.”
Luffy felt something weird with the way Law said that.
“What do you mean?” Luffy asked.
He felt Law tighten the hug, but not in a painful way, it was more like Law was afraid to let go of him, like Luffy would disappear right in front of him if he let go.
“Maybe there was something about you that reminded him of someone else, someone he couldn't have, and it pissed him off.”
It made sense when Luffy thought about it but he was more focused on Law because Luffy definitely felt something was off with the way he said that, like he was talking about someone else.
“You talk like you know someone like that,” Luffy half-jokingly said, hoping to lift the mood, but it didn’t work.
“I do.”
It scared him a little hearing Law confirm that and it came to him how there was still so much they both didn't know about each other.
“The people that attack my village aren’t exactly just any random group of Vikings trying to raid it,” Law told him and it brought up some old questions Luffy had about the village.
When Luffy first found the village he wondered why it was always getting attacked, but he didn't care about his questions for now because he didn't like what was going on with Law.
Law started to feel that cold feeling creep up his spine, he hadn't really felt like that after he saved Luffy.
He put his focus on the warm younger Viking in his arms, inhaling his earthy scent, pushing away that cold feeling.
He hated that cold feeling, it just made him remember that day.
“Law, can I put it on?”
‘What?’
“The necklace, can I put it on?” Luffy asked Law, wanting him to put his focus on him instead of whatever Law thinking about.
‘Oh right.’
He looked at him still holding the necklace in the palm of his hand, Law let out a sigh and gave Luffy a small smile.
“Of course, it’s your gift, it belongs to you, and you can do whatever you want with it.”
Luffy felt strange putting the necklace on, never in his lifetime would he ever thought he could own something so nice.
He's never going to take it off.
After he put it around his neck he locked eyes with Law and Luffy felt his heartbeat increasing and his face getting flushed, then again, they were still standing in a hot spring.
Nevertheless, all Luffy could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss Law, it was also still hanging over his head how much he wanted to have sex with Law again.
He put his hand on Law’s chest again, surprising him a little with the sudden touch, yet Luffy focused on feeling the heartbeat, and he thought back to what Law said,
“A master is no greater than his slave because no matter what someone believes in or looks like we all need the same thing to live.”
Law’s heart was beating fast, no different from his.
This felt so strange to him, he never thought he ever could feel equal to someone who has the title of king.
But here he was, standing next to a king who didn't see himself as more or less compared to others and whose heart was beating just as fast as his.
“Just like mine,” Luffy whimpered, not sure why he said that, but he didn't think about it too much because Law suddenly took his hand and pulled him even closer to him after hearing Luffy say that.
Their faces were so close, their lips were barely touching and Luffy wanted them to touch and Law did too, Luffy could see it in his eyes, there was so much longing in them.
Law leaned in and pressed their lips together, finally giving Luffy what he wanted.
Luffy didn’t know if he was any good at kissing, there wasn’t a lot of demand for it in the past, he didn't even know what he was doing when he kissed Law that first night on his bed, but he didn't care, just the feeling of Law’s lips on his was enough to make him feel like he was melting.
Law was gripping his waist tightly while Luffy still had one of his hands on Law’s chest and his heart was beating faster.
Because of the hot spring, everything felt warm and wet but it never was too much, Law touching him never burned and Luffy needed more.
Luffy tried to be in control of the kiss but he didn't know how to be more dominating with these things and he gave into Law when their kissing became more heated and sloppy and he felt Law’s tongue on his.
He was getting so turned on by all of this and Luffy could feel Law was just as aroused since they were naked and Law's hard cock was pressing against his own.
Luffy pulled away from Law's lips so he could get some needed air, he looked at Law's flushed face and all he could think about was when Law fucked him and called him a Viking.
Luffy wanted that again, he wanted Law to praise him, he needed it.
“Law, I…I need you to fuck me again,” he begged in heavy breaths, “Please I need you to tell me I’m good.”
Law suddenly kissed him deeply and then grunted in Luffy’s ear, “You're lucky I remembered to take the bath oils with me,” sounding like he was going to lose it.
God, Luffy wanted him to lose it.
Law was losing it, he wanted Luffy so much but he had been waiting for the younger Viking to say something,
Law put his focus on marking Luffy’s neck, inhaling more of that earthy scent he loved while he struggled to reach one of his hands to his bag and find the oils he brought with him, he found the little bottle he kept the oils in, opened it, and covered his fingers in it.
Luffy felt Law slide his hand lower, getting between his ass cheeks and then massaging the rim of his hole making Luffy gasp.
Luffy did his best not to bite back any moans because he remembered that first night on Law’s bed he told him to let it all out and not hold it in.
Law's fingers felt good and Luffy couldn't keep his voice quiet when Law started pushing and pulling his middle finger out of his hole while his mouth was biting and sucking Luffy’s neck.
Last time, it felt slow and intimate, now it felt faster and desperate, but Luffy was desperate, he needed Law’s cock inside him now.
Law added more fingers and Luffy felt them going deeper and faster and then the fingers hit his prostate making his legs weak.
He was going to ask Law to stop and just fuck him already but Law beat him to it when he pulled out his fingers and suddenly picked him up, making Luffy wrap his legs around Law.
“Luffy, keep your eyes on me,” Law told him and Luffy did what he asked of him, keeping his eyes locked with Law’s golden once.
“Tell me to stop if something doesn't feel right.”
Luffy felt his heartbeat increase and he felt his already heated face getting warmer from hearing Law say that, the thought of being allowed to say stop was odd to him but he doubted he would need to tell Law to stop.
He gave Law a nod telling him he understood and felt the tip of Law’s cock at the rim of his hole, Law kissed him as he pushed his cock slowly inside and Luffy gasped into Law’s mouth.
It felt good, it felt right, Luffy always felt dirty and disgusted in the past but not with Law, it didn’t feel that way that first night when he begged Law to touch him and it doesn't feel that way now.
Law was mostly focused on Luffy and letting him adjust so he wasn’t moving but Luffy wasn’t having any of that.
“Law…It’s fine..just fuck me already,” Luffy begged and Law felt like he was going insane, how in Óðins name could anybody hate his face, he was beautiful.
If someone claimed Luffy was a child of Freyja, Law would believe it with no question.
“Hold on to me,” Law told him and when Luffy had his hands behind Law’s neck he started thrusting his hip and was awarded beautiful sounds of pleasure from Luffy.
He felt amazing around his cock, so wet, warm, and tight, yet Luffy showed no signs of discomfort, he just kept on moaning and begging Law to keep going.
Luffy still couldn't believe sex could feel like this, after everything he'd been through, never in his life would he ever think he could crave it so much,
But it felt good with Law, it was amazing and if he thought hard about it maybe it only felt good because it was with Law, he was the only one that grabbed Luffy’s attention with that cold feeling when he found the village and saw him and the other Vikings sparring and the idea of having someone else touch him bothered him.
But it wasn't just pleasure that he felt there was something else and he figured it out when Law tried to speak.
“How do you feel?” he asked in heavy breaths with his eyes glued onto him.
Luffy noticed how the necklace around him was bouncing with every thrust and there was no other explanation for what he was feeling.
Free.
Luffy felt free, something he truly hadn't felt even after escaping The King’s village or living in the woods for a year, he wanted to scream all kinds of things about how good it felt but he couldn't get the words out with how much he was out of breath from every thrust by Law’s hips, so instead he stuttered out a simple, “G…good.”
But it wasn't enough, he needed Law to tell him he was good, to praise him.
“Law…does it feel good…am I good?”
No matter who it was that Luffy was forced to sleep with he didn’t care what they were thinking, but with Law, he wanted to know what he was thinking and feeling.
Law flashed back to the first night and how tight Luffy felt when he praised the younger Viking, he smirked, brought his lips to Luffy’s ear, and whispered, “You're more than good, you're amazing.”
God! Luffy was losing it, he had never felt so good and he needed more and Law gave him that, he called him amazing, perfect, and beautiful,
Luffy felt like he was going crazy.
Their fucking got faster, wetter, warmer and they could hear the sounds of the splashing water around them.
Law wasn’t going to last much longer and his legs were getting tired but there was no way he was going to stop until Luffy was satisfied so he kept going and enjoyed the moans and groans from Luffy.
Luffy’s climax took him by surprise, he wasn't too focused on reaching it and just more enjoying the feeling of Law’s cock inside him, he came between his and Law’s stomach and all Luffy could see behind his closed eyes was the color white.
The color white was still so new to him, he was so used to seeing nothing but black when it came to any forced orgasm in the past.
After a couple of more thrusts from Law, he finally orgasmed, filling up Luffy's tight little hole, making Luffy shutter from the feeling.
Law's legs gave out and they fell into the water, startling Luffy a little, Law was still holding onto Luffy and trying to catch his breath feeling like he had just run for hours.
“You alright?” Law asked, still trying to catch his breath
Luffy nodded trying to catch his breath as well.
They just sat in the water for a bit not saying anything, both trying to calm down their hearts that were beating loudly in their ears.
Luffy started to feel uncomfortable with them in the water and with Law still inside him.
“Law can you pull out, feels weird in the water.”
Law did what Luffy asked and he brushed the wet hair aside from Luffy’s face, getting a good look at him.
It still baffles Law how someone could hate this beautiful face and he was going to tell Luffy just how beautiful he is, giving him more well-deserved praises but Luffy said something before him.
“Thank you.”
Luffy wasn't sure what he was thanking him for.
Saving his life, taking care of him, touching him when Luffy begged for it, giving him clothes, a nice gift! There was too much to be thankful for.
And he never touched him until Luffy asked for it, something that was unnatural to him, he’s too used to people putting their hands on him and taking him by force.
But he never wants Law to stop touching him.
“I like having sex with you and the way you touch me, but I'm not good at asking for it,” Luffy continued, feeling a little bit of shame wash over him.
Because he felt like he was acting like the whore The King would always tell him he was, since Luffy was yearning so much for Law’s touches.
“Sorr-”
Law kissed him suddenly not letting him finish, not wanting to hear any more sorry’s leave Luffy’s lips.
He pulled away from Luffy and looked at his confused face.
“Don’t apologize for wanting sex,” Law told him with a serious tone, “I’ll give you whatever you need Luffy,” he adds and he meant every word.
“I’m going to burn off that ugly slave mark on your hip and make you completely free,” Law told him and he expected Luffy to have some kind of joyful reaction about getting rid of his branded slave mark, but there was no such reaction.
All Law could see was panic in Luffy’s eyes.
“Burn?”
Law wanted to push away any worries he had so he tried to explain, “I need to burn it with a heated blade to make it look like a normal burned scar instead of a branded mark.”
But it didn't do much, all that Luffy felt was worry, his chest ached and his thoughts went back to The King holding him down with that hot dagger in his hand, bringing it to his chest that now shows his large scar.
“No heated blade,” he mumbled to himself and looked away from Law.
“Luffy?”
His chest itched and Luffy moved his hand to his scar but he touched the Raven necklace instead, when he touched the little silver piece any kind of panic slowly left him.
Holding on to it felt somehow comforting.
“Is there any other way to remove it?” Luffy asked locking eyes with Law again.
Law just looked concerned, he could either burn the mark quickly or carve it, no matter what, it would be painful for Luffy and Law wanted to burn it quickly rather than slowly slice Luffy's skin to make the mark unrecognizable.
Luffy just kept staring at him, wanting an answer and Law could see it in his eyes that he was determined to say no about any kind of hot blade touching his skin.
“Yes,” Law answered but he needed Luffy to understand how more difficult the other option was, “But it would be a slower process and more painful, you would be stuck in bed for much longer recovering, I don’t thi-”
“I’ll do it.” Luffy interrupted Law's rambling but he tried to continue.
“Luffy, I don’t think that’s a good id-”
“Law!” Luffy shouted a little, he still had that determined look on him, but it was cracking and Law could see that little bit of fear in his eyes.
“It’s alright I can handle it, just no heated blade, please?” he pleaded and even gave Law a little smile yet Law could see Luffy’s bottom lip quivering a little.
Law knows very well he can handle it he just doesn't want to see this man in any more pain, so all he wanted was to remove his mark the fastest way, however, Luffy looked like that even just the thought of it was painful.
Law pulled him closer to hug him, wanting to make him feel better and Luffy did feel better, and a little bit silly, he woke up this morning after dreaming about how he saw death telling him to take their hand, yet now he’s in the arms of a man whose inked fingers spelled the word Death.
He didn’t know what to make of it but he did know there was nothing to fear when holding Law’s hand,
Everything about Law felt right.
“Alright,” Law said softly, answering Luffy's plea about the heated blade.
He didn’t know what Luffy was so afraid of but based on his reaction it was nothing good, Law was sure it had something to do with that so-called king that he escaped from.
He rather remove the mark by burning it, but this wasn't about what he wanted, he inhaled more of that earthy scent and told Luffy,
“Whatever you need.”