All Roads Lead to You (Trafalgar Law x Reader)

One Man Army

Starting a new page is difficult. Whether it's in art or words on paper, getting that first mark down on the blank canvas is hard. If the first part is messed up right away, it's sure to be difficult to continue and turn it into a work of art. It was something you'd struggled with for as long as you could remember. Taking the first step, typing the first word, adding that first bit of color is always the hardest. When it came down to it, life was no different.

Adapting to your new reality seemed not so bad at first, until the shock was absorbed and the weight of it crashed down around you. It took about two days for the shock to fully wear off. Your house was no longer a safe refuge for you, your car had to be abandoned, all your belongings left behind. You weren't allowed to contact Perona or Grandad either for fear that it would lead Doflamingo back to them. Your entire life that you'd spent years and years building up had just been torn out from under you. The only constant left in your life now was Law and he was in as much danger as you were, if not more. The moment reality hit you full force, you panicked.

At one time, Shachi had scared the crap out of you. Now it was you scaring Shachi. Law and Penguin had left. Law had gone to sneak to the bank and pull as much money out as possible and Penguin had gone to get a surplus of food and water to bring along on your trip. Which left Shachi alone with you when your panic finally set in. You screamed and yelled at him about how crazy this was. You held his shoulders and shook him like a magic eight ball seeking answers and when that wasn't enough, you took his hat and squeezed it to death like a stress ball. By the time you'd vaguely calmed down, poor Shachi looked like he'd been brutally attacked by a declawed cat and his hat laid on the other side of the room in a wrinkled heap.

"A-Are you okay now, (Y/n)?" Shachi asked timidly. His hair was striking out in every direction and his sunglasses sat crooked on his nose.

"Do I LOOK okay to you?!" You snapped.

Shachi ducked his head. "Man, you're as scary as Law when he gets angry!"

The ends of your fingers tingled. There was still too much stored energy in your body and it was doing nothing to help you reach equilibrium again. You needed to hit something. Badly.

"You can hit me if you need to." Shachi suggested. He sounded hesitant, like he was afraid of saying too much. "I can take it."

You squeezed your hand into a fist and glared at him, but you couldn't quite bring yourself to hit the lopsided grin in front of you. He was too warm; too friendly. You'd feel bad about causing this guy any pain. It just made you feel more frustration. Why couldn't you just be ruthless like they were?!

"Here." Shachi said and took your wrist, holding your fist against his chest. "Right here is okay."

Oops. His touch set you off. You ripped your wrist from his already loose grip and wailed back, connecting the palm of your hand with his left cheek. The slap echoed through the spacious and dusty living room; the force whipping his head to the side and sending his sunglasses flying from his nose. A split second later, realization hit you and you gasped, covering your mouth with your hand.

"I'm sorry!" You pleaded, eyebrows curled up and mouth set in a deeply concerned frown. "I wasn't thinking, just reacting! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Shachi turned back to you, blinking in shock. His entire left cheek was a bright red. He said nothing to you as he registered what had just happened. And then he laughed. It was a joyful, boyish laugh filled with sunshine; it reminded you of the sunflowers back home. When he finished, there was a very slight blush in his cheeks that brought out the faint freckles across his nose.

"Wow you've got some arm on you, huh?" He chuckled and rubbed his nose. There was a strange sparkle in his eye that you couldn't place. "It's okay, I really don't mind. I'm a masochist."