My Reality (Trafalgar Law X Reader) | One Piece

Chapter 22

The temperature soars as the dry heart of Summer draws near. You open every window and door in the house as wide as possible to let the heat out. The loud buzz of bees and cicadas fill the burning days with noise and during the simmering nights crickets chirp peacefully. At night you notice a particular morepork* that keeps returning to coo it's name gently while you drift to sleep. There are no blankets on your bed and you often find yourself moving around to seek a cooler spot as your body heat warms the mattress if you stay still for too long. You find the background noise to be quite peaceful and often find yourself relaxing in front of a fan going at full force and listening to the small creatures call out to each other.

That is until school finishes for the primary schools. Instead of bird chirps you hear children screaming, and you would really prefer the former.

You glance out of the kitchen window as another high pitched shriek rattles your eardrums, to check that no one is being kidnapped. Luckily you count all the neighbourhood children as they jump through a sprinkler one of the parents set up to keep them preoccupied. You return to your task of filling three glasses of juice with some ice blocks and take them outside to where your parents sit at a table. As you exit the house you feel the light prickle of the sun on your skin and your bare feet cooking from the burning concrete. You rush towards the wooden seats and set the drinks down on the table, saved from the sun by a large sun umbrella.

Your parents grab their cool refreshments and take greedy sips. You hold your drink against your cheek and sink into the embrace of the momentary coldness.

Your father has hung around for once and it is surprisingly nice for you to be able to talk to him more. You still find yourself unable to ignore Law's warnings about him and the dodgy business he runs. You suppress those thoughts as you take a sip from your drink that cools you from the inside out and comes as a much needed relief from the heat of Summer.

"I see that Sanji has invited you and your friends to his bach for a week." Your mother chimes. She has always loved the Summer and seems to always be energised in warmer weather.

"Yeah, we leave in two days." You announce. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Of course!" Your mother exclaims. "Once this Summer is over you and your friends will be working or studying and the years only get tougher. You must enjoy yourself before then."

"Just remember to take lots of sunscreen." Your father adds. "You know how harsh the sun is here."

"Yeah dad." You say, rolling your eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

You finish your drink and return inside to start organising your bag for the trip.

Sanji has arranged for your group to stay there for a week with no adult supervision. It was difficult for everyone to convince their parents but eventually they all gave in. Even Vivi is allowed to go, despite being younger and she wasn't even from the same school. Sanji and Robin both have their license and cars that can fit everyone. This will be a week of simmering beach days, bush walks and stunning sunsets with your friends who are about to become very busy.

A week away from home also means a week away from your computer. Sanji mentioned that there is wifi down there so you won't be completely cut off but the thought of being away for a week makes you a little uneasy.

You had never stayed over at a friend's place for more than two nights before family vacations are rare so you are sure to find this experience different, in a good way of course.

The first thing you do in preparation for your trip is write a list of things you may need. You grab a large hiking bag and start stuffing in some things you won't need for the next two days like sunscreen, bug spray, some clothes and some books, ticking each item from your listen as you go.

As you finish the first lot of packing your phone vibrates in your pocket. You pull it out to see a message from Law inviting you to play Pokemon.

You rush to your computer and place the VR gear over your head, entering a different reality.

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"A whole week?" Law grumbles uncertainly. "How could you spend a whole week at a beach out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Swimming, tramping, sunbathing." You list dreamily.

"Sunburning." The dark haired player mutters.

"Dad made sure I packed plenty of sunscreen so hopefully not." You laugh. Law looks uneasy at the mention of your father. You still don't fully know what happened between them and you aren't sure that you want to know. Your bright smile drops. "It will also help distract me from all of that." You murmur, grabbing your knees and pulling them to your chest.

You are at the river again, the Pokemon from you and Law's collection mixing together and milling about in the crystal clear water.

For once the cold hearted Glaceon stands closer to you than to Law, although still remaining far enough away that she can escape your grasp in a heartbeat if you make a move against her. It's times like this where you forget about the artificial intelligence and algorithms that make these creatures seem so real. Their personalities seem almost human and you find yourself continuously having to remind yourself that they aren't real.

Luckily for you the man who sits in the artificial dirt beside you is no NPC. He is a real person with real feelings, hopes and fears. One of these fears happens to be your father, and it's probably for a good reason.

You find your mind racing again. The games had become everything to you after your brother's death. They were what kept you safe from the real world and the horrors that awaited you there.

Then Law came along and the virtual world you had created clashed with reality. And strangely enough, you were happy about it. The real world doesn't seem so awful compared to the virtual ones if Law is there for you.

This is when you realise just how tough a week without him will be. You can message him easily but for once you don't think that will be enough.

"You okay?" Law asks, pulling you out from the depths of your mind and back towards him. Apparently the sharp turn of your thoughts had been showing on your face.

"I'm just going to miss you." You admit quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"It's only for a week." Law mentions. "And we can always message each other." He seems to be fairly shocked at your comment.

You are about to say something else when you are suddenly splashed by the gyarados who is mildly annoyed at the shallow water that you have put him in.

Law glares at him as you rush to your feet.

"Dude! Not okay!" You shout at the huge Pokemon.

Law chuckles at your reaction as you lightly punch the huge blue scales on gyarados's side, earning a larger splash in return. You gasp in shock as the water drenches you, even though it dries within seconds and you don't feel any cold as you would in real life.

Law watches as you attempt to tackle the giant sea- or river, in this case - serpent and manage to end up taking a dive into the river.

You do a little more yelling and this time get crushed by a huge blue tail fin.

"It's only a week." Law mutters under his breath. "What could possibly happen in a week?"

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*A morepork (or Ruru) is a New Zealand owl. There was one outside that I could hear while writing this.