ORANGE | LawLu

Chapter 8: What exactly is a boyfriend?

Law was surprised at what she said. He never thought she would notice those things about him. He never thought the things he's been hiding deep within his heart would reflect in his eyes. And someone would see those things from his eyes...

Law averted his gaze from Luffy's seemingly tempting eyes. He could feel that he would give in if he continued to look at those eyes.

"There's no need for us to know each other." Law said coldly.

"Eh? Why?"

"I'm going to leave this town for good sooner or later."

They fell silent. No one is talking between the two of them.

"It's okay!" Luffy exclaimed, without any questions on why he's going to leave or whatsoever.

Law turned to look at Luffy, who's now smiling at him, completely ignoring what he had just said, looking so determined to accept anything he would offer.

"Then, let's get to know each other while you're still here!"

Law stared at the girl's face. No one in the world would invest their time in something temporary. Not even himself. But this girl in front of him is different, totally different.

_
"Then, let's get to know each other while you're still here!"

It's 12 at midnight and Law is still fully awake. He's been thinking about what Luffy said earlier for over 2 hours already. He has no idea why he's been thinking about it when he can just ignore the thought in his mind and continue living his life.

Not at all.

He's just fooling himself. He can't just ignore the girl now. He felt that there was something on Luffy that he couldn't explain. Instead of being annoyed, he was entertained by her. He's not like that before.

When did he even open himself to someone without even noticing beforehand?

He closed his eyes shut but still saw the girl's bright smiles running through his head as he drifted off to sleep.

_

"Lu, where have you been these days? I asked your friends yesterday, but they said you were not with them for the rest of the week."

A freckled, tall, muscular young man, a few years older than Luffy with curly black hair wearing only shorts with a fiery design, asked Luffy.

The young man is carefully drinking a steaming cup of coffee while his eyes are focused on Luffy, who just came downstairs, still wearing her pyjamas and yawning.

The girl just walked right past him, walking directly to the kitchen.

"Oh Ace, good morning! You look greeny today." Luffy, who's now facing a plant.

The older man stood up and walked towards Luffy, who was still half awake, and hit her head lightly.

"You dimwit, I'm here!"

"Ow. ow. Ace, no need to be violent about it." Luffy pouted while caressing the painful part of her head that had been hit. She's now fully awake.

"It's a Nii-chan for you. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Ace, who's now glaring at Luffy,

"Meh." Luffy make face at the man in front of her.

Ace was about to give her another light hit when another man with long, curly blonde hair and a scar over his left eye, around the same age as Ace, entered the house.

"Quarreling this early in the morning, are we? What a nice surprise."

Luffy's face lightened up and ran towards the newcomer.

"Sabo! You're home today!" Luffy jumped on the other man and hugged him.

Sabo chuckled, ruffling Luffy's hair.

"Yes, It's the weekend, remember?"

The two older boys are Luffy's adoptive brothers. Luffy and Sabo's parents died when they were young, and Ace's parents adopted the two from that point on. Although Luffy still has a grandfather, he's not able to look after her because he's been out on the seas working as a marine.

Sabo, on the other hand is always out in his job in the city and he just comes home when it's weekends.

"Ne. Sabo, did you buy me my favourite anime merches you promised me last time?" Luffy asked.

"Of course, how could I ever forget a present for my adorable little sister?" Sabo smiled, pinching Luffy's cheeks.

"Tch. You're spoiling her too much." said Ace, who's now leaning on the door, crossing his arms.

"Look who's talking." Sabo teasingly replied.

The two of them loved Luffy too much. Sabo is the patient and matured one, while Ace is the strict one, but they love Luffy more than anyone.

Ace thinks that Luffy is still a baby whose innocence cannot be tainted, which is one of the reasons why Luffy doesn't have a boyfriend, even if she's almost 19. He never allowed any boys approach her, but since she's a very charming girl who has an ability to make people love her just for meeting them once, he couldn't control things about her anymore. Although he does not approve of her Strawhat buddies at first, he cannot do anything about it and just let them hang out with her. Luffy's friends even think of him as a person who has a sister's complex which he constantly denies.

The three are now at the dining table, watching their little sister eat like she hasn't been fed in days.

"Lu, you didn't answer my question earlier." Ace eyed his sister.

"What is it, Ace?" Sabo, who hadn't heard the conversation earlier, asked.

"This missy here isn't with her friends these days. I'm wondering what she's been up to."

"Maybe she's just roaming around the town as usual." Sabo shrugged.

"But what if she's been with those thugs again?" Ace, pertaining to the weird-looking guys Luffy just befriended a few days ago.

"You know that she's not going to hang out with people she doesn't like. Come on man, she's not just our little sister now, she's got a big circle of friends around her. I'm not going to be surprised if she even has a boyfriend now." Sabo said before leaving the dining room and proceeded to his room.

Ace frowned at what he heard and followed his brother behind.

"Hey! What do you mean boyfriend? Can't you see, she's still a baby!" Ace yelled while the other man was ignoring him. Totally used to his brother's twisted ideas of Luffy.

_

Later on, Luffy decided to stay at their house that day. She wanted to see Law, but she thought she would annoy him too much if she were to meet up with him even on weekends.

She thought about what she had heard about his brothers earlier.

A boyfriend?

Like Usopp and Kaya? Nami and Sanji? Robin and Franky?

Sometimes she would accidentally see the couples kissing each other, which she thought normal friends wouldn't do, and she didn't also like the idea of her kissing her friends like that.

She never really mind her friends being like that because her definition of boyfriends/girlfriends are just the same of those being friends. She doesn't really have a clear idea about what dating is.

But now she is curious.

She decided to make a group call with her friends.

"What's the problem, Luffy?" A girl who has a soft voice concernedly asked.

"What is this meeting all about, Luffy? If you want to eat meat, ask Sanji-kun."

Nami's high-pitched voice rang through her whole room as soon as she answered the call.

Another woman chuckled.

"Ohhhh Robin! I miss you!" Nami's voice became cheery when she heard the other girl's familiar chuckle who was overseas.

"I miss you too. Nami-chan." Robin replied happily. While Nami's voice giggling can be heard even if they do not see each other on the phone screen.

"And to what honor do we receive this call for?" Nami again.

"Nami, Robin, Kaya. What exactly is a boyfriend?"