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Law finds Zoro walking out of the market carrying an ugly statue of a fox in one hand.
The odd sight catches him off guard, and he blinks. Law would like to think he’s getting used to the antics pulled off by the Straw Hats, but clearly that whirlwind of a crew still has more tricks up their sleeves, because what the hell is that fox statue.
Zoro notices Law’s presence and walks up to him. “Oi,” he greets.
We’re leaving for Wano soon, Law wants to say, but the statue proves to be more distracting than he expects, because the words die in his lips as he stares at it.
Zoro follows Law’s line of sight, looks at the statue, and looks back at Law.
"It’s for the cook,” Zoro says, and doesn’t elaborate, as if it was enough of an explanation.
“Right,” Law says, unsure how to respond. He thinks of Black Leg, who meticulously decorates his food and pointedly ensures the patterns of his tie matches the color of his shoes every day, and stares at the statue. It’s dirty, chipped at the edges, and its crooked, uneven eyes stare back at Law. “Is this supposed to be a prank?”
“What? No,” Zoro says. “It kind of makes you think of him, doesn't it.”
Law narrows his eyes at the weird patterns on the fox’s skin that must’ve been its fur. They look more like blisters instead, and look nothing like Sanji. “Black Leg-ya is going to kill you for that,” he points out.
If Zoro heard that comment, he didn’t show it, because he was too busy taking the wrong turn at the intersection. Law has to call out for him to turn towards the right street, ugly fox statue forgotten.
The fox statue makes its reappearance in Wano, when all is said and done and the Straw Hats have reunited.
Law watches Zoro and Sanji quietly retreat from the commotion. He’s learned, over the months spent on Straw Hat’s ship, that this is a thing they simply do. They think they’re being subtle, but Law can see how their crew members share knowing glances as the two disappear into a corner of the ship. For such a rowdy, tight-knitted crew, the Straw Hats are surprisingly good at giving each other space whenever they need it.
Law was planning to let them do whatever it is they do whenever they’re alone (Law has some guesses, but his mind isn’t really interested in going into the details, no thank you), but he catches a glimpse of the fox statue, and curiosity got the best of him.
He pretends to take a sip of his drink as he leans against the wall, listening in to the conversation.
“--for you,” he hears Zoro say.
There is sound of cloth rustling as Zoro takes out the statue from its container. Law closes his eyes and waits for the inevitable fight — Sanji will surely get offended, and they’ll start yelling at each other, and the usual fight will break out in three, two, one…
Except, no fight breaks out.
At all.
Law leans to the side to take a peek of the two, just as Zoro pulls Sanji into a kiss and slips his tongue into Sanji’s mouth and — yeah, that’s it, Law did not need to see that. He walks away before he feels like taking out his eyesight.
Sanji hums to himself as he washes the dishes, clearly in good mood. The fox statue is sitting by the sink in all its terrible glory. Sometime during the fights with Kaido, Zoro must’ve accidentally broken one of its legs, and now the fox looks more like a deformed sea monster instead.
Law tilts his head to the side, trying to look at it from a new angle. Maybe if he turns his head a couple degrees more, the fox would actually look like a majestic bird —
“All right, that’s it,” Sanji suddenly says. “You’ve been staring at me since dinner started. What is it?”
Law straightens himself. “It’s nothing,” he says, but Sanji narrows his eyes at that, clearly believing none of his lies. Law sighs and concedes. “I was simply...curious of what you see in the statue.”
“Statue?” Sanji looks genuinely confused for a few seconds, before realization seems to dawn on his expression. “Oh, that shitty statue.”
“‘Shitty’ statue,” Law echoes. “You don’t think it’s a good one.”
Sanji scoffs. “In case you didn’t notice, that oaf knows nothing about aesthetic.” He puts the last dish on the drying rack and turns to face Law. “I, on the other hand, have eyes.”
“But…” Law pauses, trying to form the right words. Surely he isn’t imagining things — the way Sanji hums to himself, pleased, a little smile ever-present in his face. “You like the gift,” he points out.
Sanji’s hand, halfway to his pocket to take out a cigarette, stills. Law watches the red tint of a blush slowly creep up his neck and across his cheeks.
“Well, it’s — I didn’t —” Sanji sputters, clearly surprised. Law watches the way his blush reaches the tips of his ears. “It’s just, it’s kind of,” he mumbles the last part, “romantic.”
Law doesn’t think they’re even talking about the same thing anymore. “What?”
“If you tell that mosshead about this, I’m going to kill you and feed you to my crew with zero remorse, you hear me,” Sanji growls, but the threats feel empty considering how red his face currently is. “It’s just, it’s kind of romantic, isn’t it? Just,” he shrugs helplessly. “It shows that he thought of me even when we weren’t together. The statue’s shitty, but the rest — isn’t.”
“...romantic,” Law tries, tasting the word on his tongue. This is all new, to him, and he kind of wants to ask more questions, but Black Leg looks like he’s uncomfortable by the entire conversation.
“Sanji-kun? Is the desserts done?” Nami suddenly calls out from outside.
“Right away, Nami-san!” Sanji replies, and practically flees the galley with plates of fondue in his hand.
“Torao!”
Law looks up just in time to see Luffy dumping a bag of oddly-shaped stones on his lap. Law watches them clatter messily, some spilling onto the deck, and when he looks up again, Luffy simply smiles at him, offering him zero explanation.
He picks up one of the stones. It’s… nothing out of the ordinary, as far as he can see. Probably some pebbles Luffy must’ve picked from a river bank.
“What do I do with these?” He asks.
Luffy tilts his head to the side, like Law is the confusing one here. “I don’t know,” he shrugs as he plops down on the deck, right across Law. “How would I know what to do with stones?”
Law stares incredulously at the mess of stones on his lap. “Why did you give them to me, then?”
“They reminded me of you,” Luffy says with a grin on his face, eyes glinting under the brim of his straw hat. “They look like those things on your hat,” he points out, hand reaching out to trace the patterns on Law’s hat. “It’s okay if you want to throw them away. I just wanted to show them to you.”
Luffy stares up at him, and it always surprises Law, the way Luffy looks at him. Like the world narrows down into just the two of them, and Law’s opinion on some random pebbles he picked up by the street is more important than the rest of the world. Like Law actually matters.
Law thinks of his conversation with Sanji, the way his eyes soften as he says, it’s kind of romantic, isn’t it?
It was never about the statue, Law realizes. It was never about the pebbles.
“No,” he says, and wraps his hands around the stone. It’s not quite night yet, the horizon an uneven scratch of color bleeding red into the sky, and Luffy’s smile seems to glow brighter than the sun. “I’ll keep the stones.”
“Okay,” Luffy says, and slides towards his side. Law feels Luffy’s shoulder press against his own, and lets him.