stars on his skin (on indefinite hiatus)

✕ [pirate savings]pilawforhire gummi-monkey ✕ you drained my heart and made a spade [ace and law][awn roo]

gummi-monkey-archived-blog
sent a message

There are times that Luffy, being the selfish little brother he is, will barge into and interrupt a moment between Ace and Law. Tonight he has claimed the freckled man's chest as a bed, literally wedging himself between the two.

pilawforhire-archived:

A teenage modern AU, perhaps! @gummi-monkey @pxrtgasdace
“Under the bed?”
“Checkeroo!”
“In the closet?”
“Checka-checka.”
“Behind the cupboards?”
“Check! All clear, Colonel Traffaroo! Lieutenant colonel Portgas ready for disrobing!”
There was a soft but clearly audible sound of fabric ripping (imagine a piercing fart in a quiet room) as Ace yanked off his shirt – struggled a little with it being stuck before Law strolled across the room to help Ace out of the shirt like a kind boy friend.
Ace stretched his arms high and flashed Law a bright grin. Then he turned and dived onto his bed with a dull thud, sending all the pillows and stuffed toys flying in all directions and scattering the floor like the passengers of the Titanic. Ignoring Ace’s antics – although the tips of Law’s lips did twitch with a smile – Law locked the bedroom door and sauntered back to the bed. He picked up Grumpsy Pumpsy, a stuffed gorilla, and hugged it to his chest.
“Don’t you need to tell your folks you’re staying over?” Ace propped his back against the headboard and patted the empty spot beside him.
“Nah – Well, later. It’s still not yet midnight.” Law didn’t need further prompting. He scrabbled onto the bed and over Ace like a moth to a flame. Except Ace was his flame alone; his light, his life.
Minutes later, Law lay with his face pressed against Ace’s chest. Ace’s heartbeat echoed soothingly in his ears, a bedtime nursery rhyme bringing calm to his mind. While Ace combed and brushed his hands through Law’s hair, twirling and curling locks of unkempt hair around his fingers, Law traced Ace’s ribs, and then he slid his hand over Ace’s firm abdomen and over the slight dip of Ace’s hipbone. Neither spoke, enjoying the silence. Eventually, after exchanging brief murmurs, both allowed their eyes to shut and their consciousness to drift into a dreamland Utopia, troubles begone –
Law screamed when something burrowed itself between them. Ace screamed when Law screamed. A cacophony of screams exploded through the room. Law caught a glimpse of Luffy and screamed some more. Law lurched to the side and tumbled off the bed.
“Roo!” Ace exclaimed, peering over the edge at Law, who had his feet above his head.
“I – I’m okay,” Law mumbled sullenly. He picked himself up and dusted his clothes. “Don’t worry. Anything broken was already broken in the first place.”
Ace sat upright with Luffy clinging to his chest, refusing to let go. Before Ace could scold Luffy for interrupting and intruding, Law said, “I – I’ll leave. I’ll see you tom – later.” Law started toward Ace and Luffy. He planted a kiss on both their foreheads and he ruffled their hair affectionately. “Bye.” Law grabbed Grumpsy Pumpsy and showed himself out the room. While there was nothing wrong with the three of them lying together – just lying, sleeping – perhaps Luffy and Ace deserved some brotherly time together, and who was he to get in between that?

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][father's day meme]long post for ts ✕ and again you burn you just never learn [writing exercise]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

[What is your favourite thing or quality about your father? Has your father said anything that has stuck with you over the years? What is your fondest memory with your father? Has your father ever told or done anything that you disagree with but went along with anyway? Would you encourage or support your father if you thought something he did was wrong?]

@pilawforhire

Law was full of questions, just like always, but this time they were actually of an immediately perceived pertinence instead of idiotic enquiries which served no purpose other than a two-parter of entertaining the asker by means of pestering his interlocutor’s patience.

Parents, mothers and fathers alike, may be a simple matter that’s adequate for everyday chitchats but they’re by no means a small one, doomed to remain in the sphere of the mundane as Law’s questioning exemplified, not only due to the nature of his questions, but also due to the simple fact he was asking them.

Law couldn’t possibly have come up with all of those on the spot. After surfacing the topic of mothers - and very lightly so - it was only a natural progression that he should ask about fathers, more specifically, of Ace’s father.

Whitebeard. Of course. There was no other.

To Ace, the word ‘father’ could hurt as much as the word ‘mother’. While the latter was cause for great grief and some self-chastising, the former was the spark to an explosion that might or not happen according to whose face appeared first in Ace’s mind the instant his ears captured the word. Was it a black moustache or a white moustache? A defiant smile or an appreciative one, though both shared cockiness earned and justified by empirical knowledge and age?

Should Roger’s face appear before Ace’s mental avatar, Law’s curiosity would be entertained in a way which would not suit his intentions, through furious silence or equally intense barks for him to shut the fuck up and keep it that way.

But it was Edward Newgate’s proud smile that revealed itself and Ace’s lips mimicked it so Law’s chest could be filled with tranquility regarding this outcome.

“Pops has got the biggest heart out of any man I know”

Thinking about it, while the Surgeon could protest, if he so wished, about that ridiculous notion, made popular by romantic literature, that one’s heart held any power other than pumping blood through the circulatory system or any ‘personal’ will at all - ‘the heart wants what it wants’ - from which this statement ensued, he could not, really, scold Ace’s unintelligent words when Whitebeard, being huge of the physique, ought to have a proportionally huge heart to serve his anatomy.

And so, the first question was answered, the nearly endless ability for fatherly love being Ace’s favourite thing about Whitebeard, and Law didn’t interrupt Ace’s trail of words with logic.

“He once told me ‘everyone is a child of the sea’ and I’ll never forget these words nor the way he said them” The context was left unspoken but, by now, Law should know enough, have sufficient pieces of the puzzle to form not a picture but a framing for it and understand why the quote had stuck with Ace, always so tormented with his bloodline. With a handful of words uttered with what sounded like the wisdom of the ages, Whitebeard had greatly relieved his son’s worries in the short-run and given him a memento for the long-run, for Ace to think about every time Roger’s demons came out to play.

“I guess that moment’s one of the fondest memories I have with Pops, too. I mean, we had great times bonding, just drinking or fishing, but there was nothing like that one talk, you know?” Ace asked with the corners of his lips twisting in a rather feline smile.

Law’s last pair of questions, though - Has your father ever told or done anything that you disagree with but went along with anyway? Would you encourage or support your father if you thought something he did was wrong? - were not so easy to answer; a whole week of post-dinner discussions of parental matters was in order first, based on mutual sharing rather than a quiz-like one-sided exchange where one part did all the talking and the other did all the listening.

There were things Ace wanted to know about Law’s family, too! His past was as interesting and full of mystery to him as his own was to Law. In particular, it struck Ace as funny that Law had had a family, something which, to Whitebeard’s son, sounded like a concept which resulted beautifully in fiction but impossible to attain in real life. Yet, even if for a short time in his life, Law had had a family… and Ace was very curious about knowing how exactly a small, nuclear family worked, for his familial context was extensive and altogether different.

Rather than keep on talking about Pops, Ace giggled, signalling the end of the conversation.

“What’s with you today, Roo? Spent the entire night coming up with those, have you?” And he ruffled Law’s hair which, by the way, was starting to threat becoming too meager for the amount of flesh it had to protect and warm thanks to Ace’s generous hands.

Disclaimer: Of course, canonically, Ace didn’t listen to Whitebeard’s dismissal of the need for tracking down Marshall D. Teach and avenge Thatch but for the sake of this ask I’ve left it aside.

~~father’s day meme | askbox | quick answers~~ | not accepting

pilawforhire long post for ts [see the bad joke i did there? brain nut?]✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][since we wanted to make them talk feel free to answer sometime >.<[[ah you know you're always free to keep things going]✕ and again you burn you just never learn [writing exercise]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

It’s another day. Law notices that Ace has been quieter than usual. He doesn’t know if something is up or if Ace is scheming something naughty. Still, he decides to give Ace the benefit of the doubt. Law goes to find Ace, and asks, “Fine?” That sounded too vague, so he clarifies, “...What’s wrong?”

context: specific verse | @pilawforhire

Sometimes it seemed as though Law thought Ace as no more than the comic relief guy, the one with a plan for fun or who’d inadvertedly make a fool of himself. The one who, more often than not, acted ‘too happy’ for Law’s gloomy lifestyle and taste, causing irritation and tooth grinding behind stiff lips. In the older male’s defence, Ace’s strumming of the guitar and partying over brunch could be annoying. He was like olive oil to Law’s water.

Yet, there was more than the sight could grasp and the initial observation’s far from true. Law knew Ace, for all his love for merrymaking and pleasant company, the kind of personality anyone can enjoy, was burdened with sadness - sadness is a palette composed of different shades, after all, and no two painters will colour the canvas the same way even if they share the paints.

Law knew Ace’s napping antics were hardly a laughing matter, even when Ace was the first one not to make a big fuss of it. He observed that, though Ace would not scold other people’s laughter at his expense and tell them to stop, he would not partake in it. Maybe because his talents lay in the medical field, maybe because his eyes were as sharp as his mind was, Law was probably the only person in the world who acknowledged Ace’s narcolepsy and saw how limiting it could be. His acquaintance happened to do a good job at not giving a shit. A big shit, that is.

Hence, Law found himself in a paradox. He was among the people who could say were intimate with Ace while what he actually knew of him made for a very meager book.

What was it? What could possibly weigh so much in Ace’s heart that he would wake up drenched in sweat and babbling the same from a very limited set of words? That some scarce nights would make him look at without seeing, as though something else occupied his vision, something that was not there? It was an old evil, deeply rooted. However, if Law were to check Ace with all his expertise, he would only scan ventricles and atria and find a healthy heart. No evils of old whose shadow would present itself when Ace let his guard down.

Even if he were a neurologist, Ace’s brain would be a tough nut for Law to crack without more chapters being added to that biography he kept.

Ace saw Law coming to him, the shadow restless on the floorboards and the steps muted, as though sounded had ceased from existing. Sitting by the window, arms crossed over the windowsill and chin resting over them, Ace batted his eyelashes and darted a coal black eye in Law’s direction, quickly returning to the landscape. If his mood and puppy eyes were poor indicators of his ill, let it be said this window of theirs showed naught but the shrub which separated their lawn from the neighbour’s and currently the others’ parked car, as well as their own trash can, which sometimes a raccoon Ace had dubbed as Roy in homage to Law and the bags he had under his eyes that made him look like a mammal of that very species came to dine at.

If Roy was there, chances were Ace would be postponing his sulking and urging Law to pop some corn for them to feed the critter or ask him just one more time why it was that they could not keep a raccoon as a pet.

That would always result in Law rolling his eyes, sighing deeply and voicing a list of cons starting with the risk a pet racoon would pose to their health, as fitting of a man of medicine, and end with an abrupt “We just can’t!” following the mention of the country’s laws, as though they cared much about legal matters.

But Roy was not there to distract Ace and keep him busy with his world renown humour. Only Law was, with prettier eyes and lesser hair. Ace did like him better than he fancied the raccoon.

“I was thinking about my mother?”

Though saying ‘nothing’ was wrong and look away would have been easier, Ace was not a fan of lies and folly in conversations and saw no point in claiming to be fine when he was not, no matter how clear the truth of it might be.

He glanced at Law again, but this time his visible eye did more than take notice of the man: it invited him to get closer so they could sit together, side by side or facing one another. He could talk if Law was willing to listen.

“She died before I opened my eyes. Never got to meet her or see her face… I can see her, though. In my dreams I can”

That, at least, explained Ace’s weariness even if by a minimum. He called them ‘dreams’ but ‘nightmares’ would have been more appropriate, for the former would always mutate into the latter, never allowing him to fully enjoy Rouge’s company.

pilawforhire ✕ but don't play with me 'cause you're playing with fire [ooc]

pilawforhire replied to your post “Magic!Baby!Law did not understand the words Ace threatened him with,…”

[btw I love your metaphors!! Ace wearing Law’s hat and those glasses would’ve been cute. Thank you for writing this too!!]

pilawforhire replied to your post “Magic!Baby!Law did not understand the words Ace threatened him with,…”

[OMG that was so sweet. Is!! omg the “b word” is now a thing!! and I loved the “daily bread” reference too! Ace sounds really good with kids! Aw that playing peekaboo was really cute. Ace’s efforts are wasted on Law ;~; He… He will remember all of that. Mostly thy Ace used the “b word”, but also the song :’)]

The b-word is now a thing… It works for baguette, bun, bread, brioche… Everything Law hates, censored in a single word! Well, at least real!adult!Law will remember Ace being cute to him and not complain about it… which is more than Ace can say of the time he was magically babysat? -sitted? by Law! Ace does a mini private concert for the baby!

You’re too kind!!!

pilawforhire long post for ts ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]✕ [crack]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

Magic!Baby!Law did not understand the words Ace threatened him with, but at the word ‘baguette’, he burst into shrill crying and reached out with his pudgy fingers for Ace’s nipples in an act of defence. He kicked out with his little legs as hard as he could. He would continue crying and screaming, whether or not Ace placed him down or dropped him or carried him tighter, at least, until Ace said the safe word: raisins. Or if Ace promised to kill all the bread. Alternatively, a song could work.

previously in lawsitting

Ace was not even in possession of a baguette, the word alone being enough for baby!Law to cry. Who else was capable of reacting with such vehement hysteria to the name of a piece of bread? In all truth, Ace felt his heart twist itself in a knot at the sound of baby wailing produced by the infant’s vocal folds, coming straight and deep from his healthy lungs - to hear a baby cry in fear was something awful, even if this was grouchy, mean, sick, frequently unbearable Law. That sourpuss was, so to speak, Ace’s daily bread.

Even as a baby, by definition a hapless, unsullied creature, Law was capable of evil mischief or mischievous evil - how inherent it was to him, how quintessential! - and his small hands were everything but hapless and unsullied as they grabbed Ace’s nipples with surprising strength, making him release a painful “Ouch!” Luckily for him, and Ace could really thank Heaven for it, baby!Law did not think of giving the adult’s nipples a twist.

“That’s enough now” Ace said after a good pair of minutes of Law crying his little heart out. It was painful to the eyes and even more so the the ears. What could Ace do? Lifting him by the armpits up to the ceiling and then lowering Law, only to lift him again was not doing the trick. Boy, he really couldn’t have fun with anything, could he?

“Stop crying! Please?” He pleaded, guessing his request had sounded too harsh. “Alright, alright. I am sorry for threatening to shove a baguette in your diaper…”

That ought to do the trick, right? Only… it didn’t. The apology alone might suffice but Ace made the mistake of repeating the ‘b word’ in front of Law and the small faucets operating in his lacrimal glands stayed open and kept on running a torrent of tears.

Ace tried everything he could think of: he hugged the baby; he sat on the sofa and Law in his lap and rocked him up and down as though to mock the movement of a horse… He hid his face behind his hands only to reveal himself afterwards, goofiness plastered all over and across his features… Nothing worked. Not even as a baby would Law laugh. Worse than him being stern, a look that certainly did not fit such infantile features, Law would not stop crying.

Ace did not lose his spirit between attempts and performed each and every one of them with the same joy and patience, as though Law were any other kid and, truth be told, he was quite good with children, maybe because a part of his soul was still firmly glued to the threshold of childhood, never to cross the frame into full, sad, corrupted adulthood.

After all these failed attempts to make Law stop cry, though, Ace was beginning to despair. What else could he try when nothing ever cheered that grumpy man up? Even a trip to Disneyland and breakfast with Donald Duck wouldn’t put a smile to the baby’s face!

…let there be light: at thinking of what they said was the happiest place on Earth, an idea came to Ace’s mind. He took Law to his bedroom, laid him on the bed and searched the corner behind the door for his guitar. Babies liked music, right? Of course they did! Everyone did! And Ace was particular about Disney songs, which his mate was normally indifferent to. Still, Ace remembered (and would never forget!) catching Law humming the Aristocats’ overture and knew he paid attention to his string tirades and covers of the popular songs from the studio’s animated movies.

What better time to put Law’s ear and memory to the test than now? But wait! Why do some generic singing when he could put on a show? Before he started playing, Ace searched Law’s own belongings for his fur hat, which he pulled down his head, and a pair of amusing glasses he’d gotten for New Year’s Eve in the shape of the year they were meant to welcome - any sane person would have gotten rid of them once their purpose had been fulfilled, still Ace had kept them, not paying attention to Law’s question of whether he expected a goddamn infinite progression of time to go full circle…

Maybe a new messiah would present themselves soon and a new year one would come, what did Law know? And maybe they would live enough to see the return of the year of 2015, anno Domini the sequel.

“You ready?” Ace asked his very meager audience, who still managed to sound like a full amphitheatre, what with the sounds Law’s throat was capable of performing! He might come to do some background vocals for a Death Metal band…

Anyway… Contrary to his pitiful rockstar attire, Ace sat across from Law, on a chair, and adjusted the guitar over his leg to sing in a more melodious way than what the clothes, allied to his own penchant for mischief, seemed to demand.

“ Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities. Forget about your worries and your strife…“

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]✕ [crack]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

He flops beside Ace with a giant bowl of raisins in his lap. One by one, he pops the raisins into his mouth while staring at Ace. He makes satisfied noises (to the best of his ability). "Mmm... so good."

Ace watched Law, first with curiosity. What reason did he have to join Ace in his Will & Grace marathon? Other than it being the greatest sitcom ever, that is. And what snack could he be carrying in that enormous bowl of his which they’d normally use for popcorn? Ace knew for a fact it was not popcorn Law was carrying because the air didn’t smell buttery and delicious.

Then, his expression changed and contorted in disgust at seeing the massive amount of raisins Law had shoved inside the bowl. It was an ungodly quantity… What had Law done? Bought the entire local stock of raisins to satisfy his sweet tooth?

Ace stuck his tongue out in the purest form of disgust. How could Law like raisins?! He could like blasphemy, maiming, stealing, killing, everything wicked a man could do to another or to a superior entity all he fancied - all crimes and sins paled down when compared to a man’s love for dried grapes.

“Jesus, Roo! You know that shit’s gonna get you killed, don’t you?”

Ace would rather Law die in a peaceful way in his elderly days, as old as his hate quota which poisoned his insides let him. But now Ace was seeing and sensing death coming closer to the man who knew it by name and who’d dared tattoo it on his fingers, coming on swift wings, ready to take him the moment he pulled down his boxers and locked his ass with the toilet ring for a raisin-induced pooping apocalypse.

pilawforhire long post for ts [today i'm the one apologising for rambling]✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]✕ [crack]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

For Halloween, they watch a horror movie together because Law insists on it. Seated on the couch together, side by side, Law waits until the suspenseful moment when the protag is about to die and being stalked by the ghost or whatever. Law leans toward Ace very slowly hoping Ace doesn't realize. Law stretches his arm behind the sofa and taps Ace's other shoulder before quickly withdrawing his arm. If Ace asks who did that, Law feigns ignorance. "IDK, the ghost?"

Ace would have preferred to go our trick or treating instead of staying home, rubbing is candy-less ass on the sofa but he reckoned this was for the best. Law and him could not agree on their arrangements for the night.

Law wanted a scary Halloween, Ace wanted a childish Halloween. When Ace agreed he’d do a scary Halloween provided they still got lots of candy, Law thought it better and figured a more childish Halloween might be a better idea - childish, but not child-friendly. What child would suspect men in unsuspecting, friendly and furry suits of teddy bears to scare the living daylights out of them with a fake blood pump?

Luckily for Law, Ace, who, I recall, was not a hater of practical jokes, told him his idea was sick and criminal in a whole array of levels which he was not seeing and the consensus got broken.

Right. When the two men decided not to match their costumes and the promise of harmony shone bright upon them, they could not agree on logistics: timings; routes to walk on foot, or maybe on Law’s motorbike; how many plastic pumpkin baskets for sweets they should take; and what pranks were naughty enough for them to perform without getting them locked up for life.

So, to save them from all sorts of trouble and annoyance, Law had suggested that they should get Ace candy from the supermarket, stick it inside the pumpkin buckets and stay in, watch a movie or two. As someone who was starting to get used to being the voice of reason around those parts - a fascinating, albeit weird new experience - Ace agreed. Oh, he made Law spend a big one at the supermarket but it was all in the name of peace for that micro-cosmos called ‘the neighbourhood’.

Ace and Law should get an award. They were probably the only two people in the world who could simultaneously look liked elders and little boys and nail it. Sitting next to each other on the sofa, they had a blanket over their legs and candy wrappings littering it, Ace’s hand permantently shoved inside the treat bucket. He’d complain about a tummy ache later, no doubt, and ask Law if he had any medicine for it, to which Law would reply no pill would be more powerful an agent than a handful of raisins… An expert’s advice which would get him a middle finger waved on his face.

The movie of Law’s (arbitrary) choice was shit but it entertained. If anything, Ace could complain of how badly done it was while Law would agree and this would make Ace happy until he realised ‘Edgar Allan Roo’ was not talking of poorly concocted fake blood when he proceeded to explain exactly how using a saw or a screwdriver as a killing weapon would not result in the damage patterns shown in the movie - Ha! Ha! Ha! Old Roo and his sense of humour, amirite?

Speaking of which, Law thought it a good idea to poke Ace’s shoulder in cue with the ghost murderer of the thousand tools and blame it on the ghost. Who the hell did he think Ace was to believe a ghost would, of all the ghostly things it could do!, enter their house just to play stupid with him?

“Very funny, Roo, but I know the ghost is not here… It’s outside, getting candy and making fun of us for staying in here like losers”

[best boyfriends][you're the fucking best srsly][everyone look look][at how wonderful this is][ohman now we have an artwork that is special to us][thank you so much for this]✕ [pirate savings]✕ you drained my heart and made a spade [ace and law]pilawforhire

pilawforhire:

[ other versions, because I couldn’t decide if the galaxy background looked too ridiculous. I’m pretty sure it does… [x] for @pxrtgasdace ]

pilawforhire ✕ [dashrep]

pilawforhire replied to your post “Law sits beside Ace on the couch. He places Ace’s feet on his lap….”

[he is trying that again with a helmet for sure :3 also that was hilarious still. Thank you for writing ;w;]

Even when they try to be cute, stuff like this is bound to happen… The fools!

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][no regrets law]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

Law sits beside Ace on the couch. He places Ace’s feet on his lap. They watch a movie. Law keeps still and gently massages Ace’s feet. Then, when Ace least suspects anything, Law grabs a feather duster and tickles Ace’s feet.

Lovely and caring gestures such as massages were uncommon with Law and it was not hard to tell why. They did not fit, as though these gestures and Law were more than pieces from different corners of a puzzle, but pieces from two altogether distinct puzzles.

Ace spoke nothing of Law pulling his feet up and releasing them onto his lap. Why, he doubted his living companion had any idea of what he was doing other than make himself comfortable in the first place, as his behind would find no available seat on the sofa were it not for this change of position.

Then Law’s fingers started working on Ace’s feet and only then did he understand how tired they were, as though Law had just brought forth a pain which had remained hitherto concealed. As Ace shifted in his seat, he asked himself whether he thank Law for the massage and how good it felt now or keep his mouth shut for now and leave his thanks at a later time? Damn, he hadn’t had the faintest idea of how badly he needed this!

Ace closed his eyes, not caring if he missed a good minute of the movie. The plot was simple enough for him to catch up in another minute, really. “That… That actually feels nice, Roo” he purred. “Really nice”

Upon being tickled, Ace laughed so hard a bird standing outside their window flew away, scared and scarred for life at the strange growl of the no less strange animal. His feet were too sensitive! Law insisted on his feather duster shenanigans although Ace begged him to stop - oh, great, so we’re establishing they were feather duster men now - no doubt in the hopes Ace’s sides would split or that his bladder would not take it well, but little did he know the spell would turn against him.

A mighty kick sent Ace’s foot against Law’s face! Poor misbehaving bastard spit blood and profanity and Ace joined in the latter. “It’s all your damn fault! I told you to stop, didn’t I?!”

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [crack][i am having so much fun with this idea]long post for ts ✕ [ic answer]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

It’s the dawn of a new day. When Ace wakes and goes to prepare breakfast, he would see a chubby baby!Law sitting in the middle of the kitchen in only his diapers, surrounded by mangled loafs of bread. Law is tearing bread up into shreds as if it was the most devilish evil to exist. He glares and glowers at the bread. After tearing out chunks, Law throws the bread all over the kitchen. One of the chunks is thrown at Ace. Followed by a shower of chunks Law fires like a machinegun.

Ace stepped into the kitchen looking upset. Often he would leave a few snacks around the house for him to eat on that exhausting pilgrimage to the kitchen or to keep his bored stomach busy, or even for ‘medicinal’ purposes. What? He had to keep track of his meat and sugar intake.

He was currently looking for his chocolate-filled brioche and certain that Law had misplaced it. Though a sweet bread, brioche was still a bread and thus deserving of all the loathing Trafalgar Law could muster. He must have gotten rid of the innocent treat when Ace was in the bathroom.

So, Ace entered the kitchen hoping Law would be there, perhaps moving the bread to the trash bin - its place! - with the aid of a pair of tongs so as not to toch the bloody thing. He found Law, yes, but instead of the grouchy adult, Ace found its baby version, just as prejudiced about everyone else’s favourite staple food.

“Hey, Roo! Have you seen m-? What the fu-?!”

You wouldn’t think much of a tiny person in a diaper but Law’s hatred was running deep still. Maybe even stronger for now it had to accomodate to a small body - kinda like small dogs are nastier than bigger ones because they have to contain their evil portion, albeit minor, inside a more compact body, or so Ace’s theory went.

Roo, the kangaroo, or in this case, Roo, the joey, not satisfied with his ‘cereal kill’, used the corpses of his victims as projectiles against Ace. And, believe it or not, that was what truly annoyed the adult.

“You’re so much in trouble, little man!” The baby had fast hands, Ace could give him that, but Ace had the bigger arms and that made it easy for him to catch the little miscreant. Law wriggled in his arms and teethed on his hand, perhaps catching a note of that bread-y scent on Ace’s flesh.

Ace, on the other hand, looked at Law like he was something nasty, not because he thought him so, but out of confusion. What the hell was going on? How could Roo have been transformed into a baby? Such an ugly baby… No. Law was not an ugly baby, he just had a terrible personality!

“Seems like we’re gonna be stuck like this for a while, eh?” If Law had changed just like that for no apparent reason, logic dictated he’d return to his tall, dark and handsome self soon enough, no biggie. “You’d better behave or I’m shoving a baguette in your diaper, you understand?”

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]long post for ts ✕ you drained my heart and made a spade [ace and law][well ;; dunno if whitebeard exists in our... crackish/meta verse but ;;][also... this is pillow talk]✕ and again you burn you just never learn [writing exercise]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

Ace has never spoken of his family... or his friends. This makes Law wonder. However, if he pries too much, Ace could be bothered... One day, Law decides to ask. "So, in case you don't wake up one day, is there anyone else I should call? To let them know... you are dead." He figures that is a good subtle way to ask?

Death… Didn’t the dude think of anything else? And right he was; Ace thought a good deal about it too, though he’d rather put his focus on life. If Law shared his feelings and attempt at optimism, he did not show it. Ace doubted it - Law was capable of much higher thinking than he was, expressed in ways and vocabulary Ace had trouble understanding sometimes. He knew that, the more people think about stuff, the more questions they ask, leading to more and more doubts that far outweigh the achieved answers, and the more they think the more they have to be upset about.

So, he did not dismiss the question. Though he did not share or comprehend some views of Law’s, Ace understood death was an inevitable thing and if it could not be helped, then it could not be helped. It had been a constant in his life, though in different ways, from blaming himself for what he then considered to be his mother’s murder, to indeed consider it as an option as a teenager, before deciding on soldiering on.

Now, though, his view on death was much simpler, though it remained personal: rather die young and strong than old and pathetic.

But he and Law had never shared anything openly about this or other topics, preferring to find comfort and satisfaction in everyday shenanigans, perhaps because both needed the gaiety in life and would thus seek it in the most unsuspecting of places. If they ever shared their stories with seriousness, sincerity and an open heart, Ace would do his best to try and understand Law with an equally open mind.

Indeed, he was willing to talk to Law. What better confider would he find? The man was a better listener than he was a speaker; he did not speak much and plenty of what he uttered was plain bullshit. Law would listen, ruminate, perhaps allow a non-shitty remark to leave his lips but never make fun of him about a serious issue or share it with the world.

Right now, he might as well be asking Ace what he’d like for dinner, what with how effortlessly the theme was introduced. Ace did think about it: should he die tomorrow, whom should Law warn?

While there was - and Ace felt blessed just thinking it - a generous number of people Ace had for friends or otherwise dear to his heart, there were two who seemed both logical and practical.

“Call my father” Ace replied, his voice rather distant as though he spoke through an opening in another dimension or through a dream. “Edward Newgate”

Yes… Whitebeard ought to be the first to know as it was a father’s right, even though no father should have to bury his child. For all the good the old man had done him, Ace figured he owed Whitebeard the bitter honour of being the first one to know of his death, after Law that is. Also, through Whitebeard, many others would learn of Ace’s death, so this choice was not devoid of planning, either. It was a smart move on Ace’s part. This should make Law’s life easier…

Then, there was another person Ace thought as being just as important as the first. Another man.

“And my grandfather, Monkey D. Garp” Never in his life had Ace called Garp his ‘grandfather’ or the sweeter version of ‘grandpa’. He’d always call him ‘gramps’ or ‘old gramps’, first out of his little rebellious heart, then it became a guilty pleasure as well, as the disrespectful word would drive the elderly marine insane.

Now, though, Ace could use a more proper word in front of Law. It could be their little secret; hopefully, the first of many.

Just like with Whitebeard, through Garp several others would know of Ace’s death, facilitating Law’s grief - would he grieve for Ace? - easier. If anything, Ace thought a man such as Law would appreciate the minimised social contact during what was arguably the only time people actually thought about each other and bothered to ‘show up’. Two calls or letters or physical visits were better than a multitude of these forms of contact and having everyone who’d known Ace knock on the front door.

He wondered how his mate would cope with him being gone… Ace turned his head to Law and sank his head as deep as he could on the pillow, his eyes deeper and more aware than ever, as if he was seeing Law for the first time.

“And you? If I wake up tomorrow and you don’t… Do you have anyone else?”

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]long post for ts ✕ you drained my heart and made a spade [ace and law][fun fact my mum and i are constantly repeating russell's pledge and gps line to each other][together with the whistling sound of it falling][dude i laughed just thinking about it]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

One stormy night, Ace and Law are watching Up because there's nothing else "good" on tv. Law is half watching, half reading. At the scene where the dog says, “I was hiding under your porch because I love you", Law glances at the tv. Then he looks at Ace. Law moves to lie down with his head on Ace's lap. //ahh i'm sorry for spamming you with all of these though

~~Lies, lies, lies… You’re not sorry and you know it. Woof you.~~

Animated movies had to be, without a doubt, Ace’s favourite genre. More than half of the DVDs he owned either alone or in a joint collection with Law fell within this category. They did not look that impressive next to titles of comedy but they made quite a contrast with those of thriller and horror. Anywho, any guest of theirs would believe there lived a child in the house upon glancing at the spines of the packages - and they would not be mistaken, as Ace lived there.

Whenever they couldn’t reach a consensus on what kind of movie to watch, attention would be directed to the juvenile collection and the unspoken rule was the choice belonged to Law. Any title would be fine by Ace, and since Law was not as big an enthusiast about what he insisted were ‘cartoons’ (whereas Ace preferred the ‘animated films’ designation), it was fair that he should choose one according to his mood. Talking animals or humans? Musicals? Princesses?

For this stormy night, Law chose ‘Up’. While it was not Ace’s favourite, he was glad to share some quality time with ‘Roo’ without him going crude or gross. Oftentimes it seemed vulgarity was the only weapon in Law’s arsenal for expressing himself regardless of what feeling he wished to convey and what emotion best worked as a vehicle for it. Whether he despised or loved you he’d be vulgar, one way or another. Ace doubted anyone knew of this truth as well as him, with all due respect for Law’s small but neat group of friends.

Thus, something any other adult would deem inappropriate or basic and uninteresting was more than a delight for Ace. It provided a pleasant moment for him and his significant other, as Law would suffer the musical acts for some reason. Ace suspected he secretly enjoyed watching animated mice and bears sing their oo-de-lallys, even though the non-musical movies were his first option and there was a lot that could be said about that artefact called the remote and the power a man feels when in control of one.

Ace was one of those goofballs who liked to point fingers at fictional characters and say which one was himself and which one was Law; nothing nasty or child-inappropriate ever being implied, as his comparisons were drawn from personalities and not based on relationships of any kind. In ‘Up’, Law was of course old Carl - cranky and most likely with a special love for raisins on the account of advanced age - while Ace was Russell - enthusiastic and foolish.

Ace cracked the same jokes like he never got tired of repeating them and, in reality, he didn’t. Every time Russell delivered his ‘Wilderness Explorer’ lines Ace would repeat them with a swollen chest, as though he too were proud of belonging to the group of scouts.

He hardly felt Law shifting on the sofa and placing his head on his lap. Pity, for Law’s sense of time was one of the few things in him that kissed the mouth of that goddess called perfection and had Ace paid attention, he would have understood that the gesture was his own way of saying ‘I love you’ to him.

With a ‘uh?’ he glanced down to find Law’s eyes staring back at him. A curious thing it was that the moody man would have brighter eyes than his more joyful companion, though both pairs revealed their core in their sharp coldness and timid warmth, respectively.

Ace smiled and giggled. That was it. That sufficed for him to show his feelings. His eyes returned to the screen and even if Law’s lingered on the other man’s chin or neck for another moment, to the tv they, too, must return.

Peace ruled for a while longer until a mischievous idea played on Ace’s mind. First he ruffled Law’s hair, then he got his nose and both things he did while parroting sounds of the movie’s bird, Kevin. Just because it had it easier than Law in the emotional department, that did not mean he would let Law get too comfortable on him.

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer]long post for ts [let's face it law would french kiss the hell out of that toothpaste uwu]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

Mouth full of minty toothpaste, Law leans over and grabs Ace’s wrist. He pulls the toothbrush out of Ace’s mouth and steals a messy kiss on the lips.

Ace’s mouth was free of toothpaste as he was starting his dental hygiene after dinner. Law would not have it thus and grabbed Ace’s wrist before he could squeeze some toothpaste onto his red toothbrush, currently shoved in his mouth as both hands were busy getting bottles and tubes out of the way in search for that one tube of toothpaste Law had left who knew where after using it.

This was an annoying habit of his, as though it was physically impossible for him to pass the toothpaste to Ace like, say, normal folks living together do, or leave it in the holding glass at least. Maybe Law did it for the fun in seeing Ace searching for the tube; maybe he did it in the hopes Ace would skip his hygiene so as to call him a pig.

Anyway, before Ace could get to the toothpaste, Law grabbed his wrist and pull the toothbrush out of Ace’s mouth as to fill it with his own mixture of mint, saliva and tongue.

Ace shoved Law away. Boy, did he know how to be repulsive sometimes. And this coming from a man who would fall asleep with gravy in his mouth should that be part of his meal! He spit everywhere on the sink.

“What the hell, Roo?!!”

pilawforhire ✕ set the world on fire [answer]✕ [ic answer][awn law ;;]

pilawforhire-archived
sent a message

When Ace is sitting down for breakfast, Law tiptoes up to Ace and buries his nose in Ace's hair. He drapes his arms over Ace's shoulders. "...Sleep well?" Law gives Ace a kiss on the head before pulling away.

Ace? Sleep well? Hell no and Law should know it. Then again, it wasn’t like Ace could complain much about his nights when he knew Law’s were not much better, though for different reasons. There was no point in comparing misery, just like there was no point in lying, so Ace did bother to explain his night to Law.

“Not too bad. I don’t remember what I dreamed of but at least didn’t have any nightmares” Ace shot a look at Law both daring and apologetic. He knew it was rather emasculating for a man to speak of nightmares, which tradition would have as figments made for children, but nightmares were a big part of his sleep and of his life - why hide their existence? Ace would not insult Law’s intelligence any more than Law would mock Ace for something he had no control over.

For all Ace knew, he might be crying or shouting in his sleep and Law might listen to whatever noise he uttered. To pretend those were lies… would be an insult to both men.

The kiss was unexpected and a bit weird, but also good. Was this Law’s way of mocking Ace and his childish figments after all? Those Bambi eyes became serious, as though Ace was expecting Law to come up with something mean to serve as the blow of mercy. Yet, he decided to trust his mate this time.

“How did you sleep?”