Archive of Our Own ^beta

Luffy tried not to let his smile drop as they were carted off of Alvida’s boat. He tried not to lose it when they were thrown in to cages for the whole street to see. Even when they were purchased and jerked around into a life of servitude his cheeks remained stiff and lips curled. If he dropped his smile then that meant they were lost. It meant the monsters of the world had won.

If he stopped smiling, he was afraid he’d never smile again.

Besides, his companion needed to see that he was ok. He was older so he had to take responsibility.

He almost let them win when Koby was dragged from him. He wished he could say he was kicking and screaming but the boy seemed to know when to give in versus when to fight. It itched Luffy’s brain wrong so he tried not to think about it. In the privacy of his cell, with only the dark cement walls to witness, the corners of his mouth dipped. 

The ring wiped his smile off with a fist to his cheek and a crack of a skull to his jaw. He couldn’t fight back. Wouldnt fight back. So he was black and blue and red when they tossed him back into his cell. “You’ll get a room when you make your first kill.” He’ll never get a room then.

Koby was in his cell when he finished his third fight. He was pretty sure he had a broken face. Definitely split knuckles. But when he saw that pink hair, he let his face twist painfully back into a smile. “Koby!” He greeted.

Koby flinched back into the corner he was sitting in. Unlike Luffy, Koby wasn’t restrained. Luffy dragged his chained hands up to wave. At least there was slack enough to walk around. The seastone was annoying though. He settled beside his friend and sighed as he finally got to rest his feet. Koby hadn’t spoken so Luffy tipped his head back and grinned at the ceiling. 

“Man these bozos gotta stop throwing me into fights. I could win easily obviously, I’m the best, but I’m not gonna be a loser and fight unfairly.” He laughed. It sounded rough. Koby was biting his lip and holding his legs close to him and he was very obviously trying not to touch Luffy. It stung. They had been close back in the cages before being bought, finding comfort and warmth in each other. Now the boy was doing everything he could not to acknowledge him. Well Luffy wouldn’t stand for it! He stretched his arms up until he felt a satisfying pop and then dropped them over Koby’s shoulders. “They’re idiots anyways. If they wanted me to fight well they should have taken the cuffs off. Don’t get why they’re so afraid.” He dropped his chin to rest on Koby’s shoulder and ignored the way he tensed up. “The guys I fight are weird. On somethin’ which is so unfair. Last one hit me so hard I think something came loose! Rattling around every time I shake my head shishishishi.”

“S-stop laughing.” 

Luffy paused in his ramblings. “Hm?”

“S-stop laughing. Stop smiling. Stop touching me!” Koby lunged out of Luffy’s grip and Luffy let him go. He scrambled back to press against the opposite wall. “Y-you’re so selfish a-and tone deaf! You think I care about your fights? That they slightly inconvenience you? They tell you how to make things easier and you just laugh in their face?” He was breathing heavily and sweating despite the cold damp room. His face was red and eyes watery. “Y-you’re a s-selfish jerk.”

Luffy’s face felt stiff. He knew his friend was just tired and scared and didn’t mean any of that but it still hurt his feelings a little. He was just filling the space with words so they wouldn’t have to sit here contemplating their fates. He didn’t want to laugh about being shoved into a ring with jeering crowds and having to fight a stranger just as unfortunate to stay alive but if he didn’t laugh it off it’d settle like hot tar on his skin and he’d never recover. 

Instead of remain calm, Luffy snapped back. “Hey! At least I’m not cowering in the corner like a weakling coward. Koby’s been gone for a week! I missed him! So of course I’m going to laugh and smile when I see him.”

Koby slammed a hand to the wall and glared. “Why would you miss me? You don’t even know me! You knew me for five minutes before ruining my life and since then you haven’t stopped ruining my life. Every second I’m with you I feel my life expectancy shorten.” He tried to get to his feet but his knees shook and he couldn’t get his legs to hold him. Perhaps that was why he wasn’t bound. Whatever they had him doing had made him scared and weak and Luffy didn’t like it. He gave up and ran his hand over his face. “You showed up on Alvida’s boat, picked a fight you couldn’t win, and now I’m stuck here in Hell with Satan’s laughing minstrel show. Do you even care that our lives are over?” He asked, eyes pleading with Luffy. “That we’re slaves? That no matter what we do we’ll never be free of this place?” He snorted before Luffy could answer. “No of course not. It’s all jokes and blind optimism and dreams with you. Laugh it up then!”

Luffy’s throat tightened at the accusation. He really had no excuses to give. How was he supposed to explain that he’d never lost before? That losing to someone like Alvida was in fact laughable? And why was Koby the only one allowed to have feelings like this? He wanted to cry too! To get angry and scream and cry like he would when Ace locked him in a headlock and refused to let him go. The pirate settled against the wall behind him and tipped his head back to stare up at the little window that let light into his cell. “Of course I know that, dummy.” He mumbled. “Of course I know we’re stuck here in an impossible situation and that I caused it all. But if I stop thinking there’s hope at the end of all of this or I stop laughing in the face of those pompous jerks?” He shrugged. “They win. And I won’t allow that.” Luffy threw a smile at Koby after that. “Besides, if I lose, Koby will be alone.”

Koby stared at him with wide, wet, blue eyes. He hiccuped and curled over himself, hands fisting on the floor. “W-why do you c-c-care?” He whimpered.

That was easy too. “Koby’s my friend.”

Koby shook his head trying to deny it. Jokes on him he didn’t get to decide that! He was Luffy’s friend until they both died. Looking at his friend now that he was paying attention he saw the injuries he was sporting. Scraped and bruised knees and elbows. Palms shredded. He had bruises around his throat and wrist that sent Luffy’s blood boiling. There was a splash of red on his chin and dark circles under patchy worn away makeup. It looked like he’d been in a fight but he never showed up in the ring. “Koby,” Luffy felt anger on behalf of his friend rise. It was close to a boil by the time he found the words. “What are they making you do?” 

Koby sobbed and covered his mouth again shaking his head but this time in a decline to talk. 

Luffy stood, chains rattling, and moved to sit beside the pink haired boy. He didn’t touch him but he left his side open in an invitation. They sat there in silence for a few minutes as Koby wrangled his reactions. He was shaking pretty heavily and Luffy wondered how much was from this emotional gutting and how much was from exhaustion. He felt so helpless waiting. 

Finally Koby collapsed against his shoulder and rested his head. “I-I’m in training. To entertain p-patrons and clients.”

“Like juggling?” Luffy asked.

That got Koby to laugh at least. He relaxed a little more. “No not juggling, idiot. Sexually. As a prostitute.” It squeaked out, clearly Koby forcing the info out.

That boil turned to a simmer and Luffy felt rage harden his resolve. He breathed through his nose and put an arm around his friend. “Why do you think they returned you to me?”

Koby shrugged. “Probably to break you. And break me in the process. I’m not exactly handling this well. I think they’re betting on me scaring you into doing what they want.”

The pirate blew a raspberry in response which startled the other. “As if. Everyone gets mad and yells at me. Koby’s the least threatening I’ve seen. Kind of like a wet napkin in the breeze.”

“Hey!” 

“You’re like a big eyed bug flailing on its back.”

“I need these glasses to see…”

Luffy chuckles and even gets a small smile out of Koby. They settled more comfortably and talked idly while Koby came down and Luffy stowed his anger for later. Eventually they end reclining in the slab of a bed Luffy was provided, cuddled close and alternating between enjoying the silent company, and turning their traumatic experiences into little jokes and anecdotes to catch up. Luffy reached out and thumbed away the blood on Koby’s cheek. 

“What’s this from?” He asked boldly. 

Koby turned red and looked away as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I got mad and bit my trainer in a uhhhh sensitive part of his body.” Luffy snorted and laughed uproariously. Koby grinned but shook his head in embarrassment. “It was stupid! They’ve done all of these horrible things to me but what finally got me was the guy kept calling me girl. And he was the only one! Even Alvida stopped once I came out! So when he e took out his dick and told me what a pretty girl I was, I leaned in and bit down.” He rolled his eyes. “They threatened to have my teeth pulled but I guess shoving me in a dank cell with you was the better option.”

Luffy was rolling in the little space they had, holding his stomach and  laughing until tears beaded on his eyelashes. “Y-y-you bit his dick!” He sniffed and rubbed his eye. “You actually… oh my God I bet that was agony. I take it back, Koby isn’t a weakling. Koby is fierce! Like a tiger!” 

It was Koby’s turn to giggle. “I don’t know about that.”

Luffy smiled and dropped his head to rest against Koby’s chest, hand coming up to thread their fingers together. “Hey. I know we’re stuck here with no way out and I’m gonna be fighting and you’ll be fucking whether we like it or not, but let’s promise to have each other, even when we hate each other. I think hell will be easier with a friend rather than alone.”

Koby hummed and grasped at his friend. “Ok.” He said simply. 

Luffy grinned.

When Luffy fought next, his smile was brighter than ever. He got his shit rocked but he didn’t stop laughing for even a second. He had a reason to smile now and an even bigger reason to resist what’s thrown at him. So long as Koby needed him to stand strong, he could get through anything.