Darling Typhoon [One Piece Law x Luffy]

4. His Habitual Humoring (and the Exception)

"YOU KNOW...I CAN'T KEEP ADDRESSING YOU AS 'OLD LADY' IN MY HEAD," came Luffy's brainless remark. The sheer stupidity cut through the cabin like a knife. Law had grown accustomed to the exposure therapy at this point, and so this time, he only flinched.

The dark skinned woman in the window seat to Luffy simply chuckled. "I fully expected you to leave this plane and not even know my name," she teased, undisturbed by Luffy addressing her as a senior citizen in his head. "My name is Ramona," she supplied, "this is my son Theodore."

Luffy tried his best to pronounce it, but he could only utter, "Teo? I'll just call you Teo, then!"

The little boy seemed offended. "My name is Theo!"

Luffy laughed obliviously, as the little boy's face turned red. It took considerable effort, considering his complexion was already so dark. Ramona pat his head, as if to tell him to calm down.

"It's a difficult name to pronounce for Portuguese speakers, I know," she said, laughing. Luffy truly didn't like the amount of effort it took him to pronounce such a name too, he much preferred being able to say their name as quickly as possible, in case of an emergency. Like if he needed to ask him to pass him some meat. Or to get out of his way so he could reach some meat. Or that the plane was crashing.

Theo simply grunted, while Ramona smiled calmly at Luffy. "My husband is Brazilian too."

Luffy seemed uninterested by this news about a man who wasn't there. Her next words however, intrigued him. "Meanwhile, I'm from the Caribbean. Have you ever tasted pudding?"

Luffy frowned. "Hah? Does it have meat?" It sounded like something Sanji had made before, but Luffy never got to taste it.

"You're this old but you're so stupid, haha!" Theo laughed loudly, and Ramona whacked him over the head.

"You're really getting more and more comfortable. Apologize to Luffy this instant."

Theo cried 'sorry', sweating so profusely it was enough to fill a dam. Luffy merely laughed, and asked what this pudding was. Law listened idly, as the woman—Ramona, was it—spoke about the ingredients needed to make a sweet potato pudding. She shared some other recipes, such as coconut macaroons, and bread pudding, and something about a cake—but Luffy's reply was harmlessly perfunctory each time. He simply replied that he was too impatient to cook anything, and it was all wasted on him. Instead, he exchanged contacts with her, and said something about passing on her recipes to a friend who would do his cooking for him.

Law heard these words in a blurry daze, but none of those words were absorbed by his befuddled mind. Soon tuned everything out, lulled by the white noises coming from his earphones. Soon, his lids were inextricable from his lower eyelashes, and soundlessly, he drifted to sleep.

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"...-ike any refreshments? A snack?" came a voice. Law peeled his eyes open groggily, and he came face to face with the same flight attendant from earlier who had first attempted to make an announcement. Her dark brown pony-tail swished, and she smiled politely, waiting for him to answer.

Law squinted at the coffee on her tray, neatly contained in a small, travel-sized packet. He could just hear the sound of his fingers being grated off, as Lami's deadly eyes glared at him. Just staring at the instant coffee pouch, Law felt his heart pound wildly in trepidation. Awkwardly he cleared his throat. "Just water," he rasped, his throat dry from his nap.

She handed him a bottle, and he took a sip as his eyes erred sideways.

Outside, through the window, he could see the sun was slowly creeping west, but it hadn't fully crossed overhead. It must have been minutes to 12—and a quick glance at the monitor in front of him told law that he wasn't far off. He smirked to himself, pleased with his own intuition, when there was a loud yelp from his right.