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Seconds after the mermaid was sold, the wall of the auction house exploded inwards. Law didn’t have to look to know who it was, he could feel the echo of splinters grazing his face and arms as clearly as if it was happening to him. He didn’t have to look, but he did anyways, and sure enough there was Straw Hat Luffy yelling at the guy who’d been driving (piloting?) the large flying fish which did most of the damage. And then Straw Hat’s eyes jumped to the stage, and landed on the just-sold mermaid girl.
“Caimie!” he shouted, and Law almost flinched as the emotions coming from his soul bond suddenly went from simmering anger to pure joy. Well, if the mermaid was part of his crew then that explained why he’d been so angry earlier. If someone tried to sell Bepo at an auction, Law would, well, he wasn’t precisely sure what he’d do but it would definitely involve cutting the kidnappers and bidders and auctioneer into a bunch of little pieces.
An octopus fishman tried to stop Luffy from interfering, and then a gunshot rang out and Law shivered slightly. Luffy’s joy had faded into frustration as he was prevented from reaching the stage, but when the fishman went down the boy in the straw hat was shocked. That shock turned to anger, a cold anger which had Law resting a hand on Kikoku’s hilt, and then Law could only watch as his stupid, reckless soulmate punched out a Tenryubito. Law smiled. Maybe they could get along after all.
-
Half an hour later, back on the Polar Tang with a new member for his crew, Law shut the door to his room and resisted the urge to slam his head against the wall. Luffy was so stupid it was unbearable. His soulmate had looked him right in the face, and not recognized him. And now the bastard had been beaten up and sent flying by the original pacifista, the Shichibukai called Kuma. Law had been close enough to reach out and touch his soulmate, and he hadn’t, and now they’d probably only see each other again in the New World. Again, Law resisted the urge to slam his head into a wall. He’d lived just fine so far without being bonded to his soulmate. What was a few extra months?
-
Two years later, Law looked down a snowy slope at Luffy and Cyborg Franky and held out a hand to his soulmate. His reckless, impulsive, powerful soulmate, the man who Law was beginning to believe actually could be the Pirate King. Law held out a hand, and asked for an alliance. Luffy beamed, the soul bond flooding with joy and excitement, and Law’s smile was more real than it had been in years when he got the impression of “friends!” from the man with whom he shared his scars. Friends was good, friends wouldn't break his soulmate's heart if he died.