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The surgeon’s lips were warm against his.
Hot, heavy kissing rallied the two pirate captains up. Law’s thinner, smaller body pushing against the thick muscles on Kid was driving the red-head insane. Tongues took the air out of their lungs. Covered in bruises, the small wounds stung the longer they pressed their bodies fervently together.
It didn’t matter how exhausted they were. The Pacifista hadn’t been the easiest opponent for them to handle, even with their crews working together. An unspoken agreement had been exchanged through their eye-fucking that bandages could wait.
Pulling away, Kid felt his cock twitch at the sight of Law’s dizzied expression. The smeared red lipstick on Law’s lips didn’t go unnoticed. Law locked eye contact with Kid as he smugly licked his smeared lips.
“You don’t taste nearly as bad as I thought,” Law smirked.
“You’re about to regret those fucking words, Trafalgar,” Kid said, pushing Law’s body against the bed of their motel room. Law wasn’t fazed, his hands were clasped on the back of Kid’s neck to bring him closer.
“Eustass-ya~” Law teased, “You shouldn’t be making promises you can’t keep.”
“Fuck off.”
They didn’t stop. They couldn’t stop until the morning.
Every inch of Law’s body was ingrained into his memory. The touch of those expertly trained tattooed hands against his skin. Kid was sure the ghost of those touches would stay with him for nights after they separate.
If anyone were to ask Kid at the time, it had been nothing more than a hookup.
But a hookup didn’t explain the way their hands intertwined with one another. Or Law’s head resting right atop where Kid’s heart would be. Or the way Kid’s calloused hand scratched at Law’s scalp gently.
Their heaving forms fell asleep together.
The next morning they stayed to finally clean up their wounds and injuries. Kid’s cut actually had gotten worse during their session to which Law appeared annoyed by, bandaging the wound meticulously.
“Take it easy,” Kid grumbled at Law, who was tightening the bandages on his arm.
“Not used to a little bit of pain?” Law asked, teasingly before dropping the act, “These need to be tight. Considering your brutish movements. It’s called for.”
“Whatever,” Kid grumbled, “I don’t even need these things. I just walk it off, unlike some people.”
The annoyed glare from Law, made Kid crack a smile, “Oh right, you’re the doctor.”
“Even a child has common sense about infections,” Law said, unamused. With that being said, the surgeon stood up and began to walk towards the door.
But the red-haired captain wasn’t in the mood to leave so early. He wanted to stay with Law a little longer. Strange considering he would be the first after a casual hookup.
Walking ahead of Law, Kid pushed him aside lightly to make his point.
“Oi,” Law said, obviously not appreciating the jab, “What are you-”
“Come on,” Kid said, “There’s a pub nearby.”
“So?”
“So you got something better to do?”
The annoyed glare couldn’t fool Kid. The surgeon shifted his stance, considering it for a mere moment to follow or not.
In his mind, Kid claimed to not care what the other chose. He was going to gorge himself on food and booze anyways, it wouldn’t make a difference.
However, the moment Law seemed ready to push past him.
Sighing, Law replied with a simple, “Fine.”
Within twenty minutes of drinking at the pub, Kid had managed to push Law to limits … again.
Whoops, and yells echoed from the pub.
Kid had found out that challenging the other to a drinking contest had almost been a mistake. The surgeon could certainly hold himself together while drinking. But as the drinks kept coming and coming and Law began to sway, the less the two noticed the absolutely terrified pub owners.
Maybe it had gone a little too far when Kid and Law started to bet on who’s ability could override who’s. Law using his tact and Kid with his attraction to metal. Pieces of metal flew across the bar, angering the other pirates inside that had previously kept their mouths shut about their antics. Law and Kid couldn’t have cared less, having the time of their lives together.
But the moment one of lesser, but angered, pirate yanked a tipsy Law by his yellow jacket, the bar went silent.
Before the pirate could realize his mistake, Kid attracted the metal on the man’s belt to pull the man harshly towards him. Grabbing the man’s shoulder and belt, Kid hoisted and slammed the man face-first through the window.
The way that guy grabbed Law hadn’t bothered him at all, Kid told himself.
The dude just had a dumbass face.
Within seconds, the rest of the pirates were on them. The ruckus and chaos blinded anyone from noticing that the pub owner had long called for the marines to assist. The first few marines broke down the doors only to get swarmed in the frenzy.
“That’s our cue,” Law stumbled in the middle of the fight with a wonky smirk. Somehow avoiding all of the lackey’s attacks with ease.
The same could not be said for when Law shambled them out of the bar, right in the sights of the marines. The night barely covered them from the bullets, running through the archipelago. Adrenaline burst through their veins, Kid leading Law through as they laughed at the idiot marines chasing them.
“Wait, wait,” Law mumbled, tugging back on Kid’s arm to slow him down, “I can get us out.”
“No, you can’t,” Kid said, but stopped running anyway. Kid was glad to be able to blame his quickened breathing on them running, not on how he was focusing how Law’s hand wrapped around his thick arm.
“Yeah … I can,” Law said, stumbling with a giddy grin.
“You’re about to get us both captured and killed,” Kid said with no bite, doing his best to hold up the dark-haired man.
“Noooo,” Law slurred, staring at his hand to conjure his room.
Flashes of white appeared among the dark trees. They were getting far too close that it made Kid want to grab Law and run. He was so far gone, he ignored the question of why he should stay behind for some skinny-ass surgeon.
Bullets flew past the two.
“Traf-”
Engulfed in a blue haze, Kid watched the shouting marines disappear and a dazzling carousel appear in front of his eyes. Law collapsed immediately into Kid’s arms, tired out from his ability.
Realizing they had ended up in the middle of Sabaody Park, Law and Kid met eyes and laughed giddily to themselves. The amusement park goers may have given them strange stares but they simply couldn’t give a damn.
Kid practically hauled a half-asleep Law with him to a place to rest for the night. One of the strange hotel rooms nearby sufficed. Law clung onto Kid as the red-head tried to drop him on the soft bed. As Kid climbed into the bed with a fast asleep Law, Kid realized to himself that this was the first time he had climbed into bed to not sleep with someone.
They weren’t sleeping next to each other to get something for themselves.
Kid pushed the thoughts away as he rested his head above Law’s, tucking him into his chest.
The next morning, the two didn’t bother to say goodbye.
Barely meeting the other’s eyes.
The next time Kid saw Law, he couldn’t bring himself to even speak to the other.
Stopping by at an island, his crew split off to gather supplies. They decided not to pillage any of the villages for the day. It would take too much effort to scare and attack the residents for their resources.
Walking past the stalls, Kid yawned out of boredom. Taking a glance around himself, Kid spotted a tall, dark figure walking down the end of the stalls. From the general way they carried themselves, Kid already had figured out it was Law.
However, when Law turned to one of the stalls, the setting sun perfectly accentuated the surgeon’s features.
Holy shit, he’s pretty.
How could a year or so amplify the young pirate captain’s beauty so gracefully, Kid would never know. But even from far away, the sight in Law’s eyes broke Kid’s heart.
He had seen those eyes before.
Kid would never admit to anyone (but Killer) how he kept those memories of the smile in Law’s eyes close to him. The image stoked his ambition to one day meet Law again and be stronger than before. Be strong enough for Law to stay maybe a bit longer. But those thoughts should have just stayed as wishful thinking.
And now he felt the need to take the shattered, sadden eyes away.
Law wandered through the town and Kid followed. All for tracking an important, rival pirate captain, Kid had told himself. That was until Law stopped at the edge of the beach. The surgeon let the sword rest by his side instead of his shoulder.
Kid didn’t need anything else to walk up to the surgeon freely. It almost embarrassed him how easily Law had spotted and led him there.
“I can’t stay long.”
The sound of Law’s voice took the air from Kid’s lungs. He couldn’t respond back.
“I need to do something.”
If it’s dying, I’m going to kill you.
“It’s … important.”
Kid wanted to believe he had imagined the crack in Law’s voice.
What could scare him this badly? What does he have to face?
However, Kid knew he was shit with words. He didn’t know how to deal with a situation like this, even if he desperately wanted to know how.
“It’s not going to be easy.”
Isn’t that cruel?
“But I guess … we never do know what will happen to us next.”
Us.
That was all Kid needed to know that it hadn’t just been him who remembered that night on Sabaody fondly. It hadn’t just been him who waited what felt like thousands of years to see the other.
“When it’s over … if it’s alright, I’d like to meet-”
Wrapping his arms around Law, Kid heard the other’s words go quiet. The presence of one another calmed their worries. Their needless worries of the future. Kid knew they didn’t need to think of the future, they would focus on the little time they had now.
The warm embrace was all they needed for the moment.
“Jealous I didn’t ask you?” Law asked.
“Ha?!” Kid yelled a bit too loudly. He nearly face palmed himself right there in front of the surgeon. His tone had given away his emotions all too quickly.
The announcement of Law and Luffy’s alliance hadn’t settled too well with Kid. In the middle of forming an alliance of his own, watching Straw Hat of all people stuck in a cage with Law rubbed him the wrong way. Then the two being successful in the venture to take down the warlord Doflamingo had sent his blood pressure through the roof.
After that … he didn’t have much time to think about Law.
The prison meant to break him down was a giant wake-up call for him.
His dreams and goals could be shattered in a moment in this New World. They nearly were for a split second when Kaido had taken hold of his crew. But instead of tearing Kid down, it gave him a surge of motivation to take down those old, high, and mighty Yonkos.
Although, standing side by side with Law, Kid found it amazing how they both grew in strength to stand on the same ground with one another. More than ever, on an island cut off from the world, they felt like equals.
“My aim wasn’t even Kaido, so it doesn’t matter,” Kid tried to play off his blunder, getting a chuckle from Law.
The silence between them gave Kid time to remember the words Law had spoken that day on the beach. The look in Law’s eyes was completely different thankfully. Even if Kid knew the answer, he still asked.
“Did you do it?”
“Yeah, but this doesn’t count,” Law said.
Confused, Kid asked, “Count for what?”
“You barely let me say it but we meet again after I’m done. But,” Law waved to the weapons the samurai had gathered for the war, “we’re clearly both not done.”
“And what happens when we meet?” Kid asked with a smirk. He wanted to facepalm again, knowing just how suggestive that smirk must have looked. He really didn’t know how to flirt or act around Law. How does he not come off as a guy looking for a one-night stand only? Since when had he tried to work around his usual flirting tactics?
God, I need to get my priorities straight.
“Not sure,” Law said with a shrug, “Could be anything.”
“Now that doesn’t sound like the Surgeon of Death with a stick up his ass,” Kid teased, remembering how Luffy had complained in the prison about how Law wanted him to stick to the ‘plan.’ Kid didn’t know how Luffy knew he wanted to hear about Law, but he couldn’t complain … in his head. He complained loudly to Luffy directly to shut up most of the time.
“We could just aim higher,” Law said, then glanced towards Kid’s left side, “We could work together.”
The thought of being in an alliance with Law, to take down yet another Yonko that had defeated him before, raised many conflicted feelings inside of Kid. The last alliance he had been a part of had left him at his worst. And Kid had seen what Shanks was capable of.
Do I want Traf there with me? We both take risks but this is my risk.
“I’ll think about it,” Kid huffed, “Alliances are shitty anyway.”
“They can be a pain in the ass. But … I find them quite helpful,” Law said with an easy smile.
The relaxed attitude around Law softened Kid’s concerns. This was certainly a different Law from the one he had seen before. This Law seemed so much freer . While the past Law held himself inside, never wanting to reach out.
“Straw Hat really has softened you up,” Kid smirked., figuring it had been the alliance that changed Law so much
The smile disappeared in a moment, Law’s blank and annoyed expression killed the mood in an instant. He swiftly turned away, leaving Kid to stand at the dock. The sun nearly setting over the sea.
“It wasn’t Straw Hat-ya.”
Kid barely heard Law mutter those words before going off to his submarine.
A gut feeling told, shouted at Kid to make Law stop.
But he didn’t.
The rush of adrenaline put Kid so high he couldn’t know when he would come back down. The built-up anger and aggression finally had let themselves free.
Kaido and Big Mom had no mercy against the supernovas on that rooftop.
Combining Kid’s ability with Trafalgar’s had sent him back to that fateful day on Sabaody. The graceful movements from Law almost distracted him. It wasn’t his fault that Trafalgar’s body hadn’t stopped being so damn addicting for two years.
But the two Yonko’s in front of them brought back all of Kid’s rage. For once, Kid had to let off and let Luffy handle Kaido on his own. The old bat, Big Mom, had been a nuisance for far too long. They were here for Kaido, they weren’t here to deal with her tantrums.
The surge of confidence that flowed through Kid was nearly comical.
The gigantic Yonko took up most of the room in the halls of Kaido’s castle. Blood pumped through Kid’s veins, readying to do everything in his power to take her down. The inked headlines of Kid’s name spreading across the world flashed in his head. His name would be known for her defeat.
He could almost taste the blood spilling.
Then from the corner of his eyes, a patch of blue and yellow was spotted behind him.
“I’m proposing a temporary alliance,” Law had informed Kid.
A temporary alliance he claimed but both understood it was anything but that.
Eerie silence crushed Kid where he stood.
The ash filled the redhead’s lungs. Hues of orange streaked the fading midnight sky. The sun would peek over the horizon any second now. The wreckage hid the many bodies of both foes and friends.
The body of Big Mom laid at his feet. Unmoving.
Kid’s breathing had stopped for too long, he was sure he would pass out any minute.
He had won. He had won just as he said he would.
So why can’t I move?
Voices screamed, wailed at him to turn around. A dark terrifying feeling seeped into his chest the louder the noise got. He stared out into nothing hoping it would all just disappear. The noise wouldn’t go away.
Turn around.
Shut up.
Turn around.
Shut the fuck up.
Turn around.
“Shut up,” Kid whispered to himself.
“Eustass-ya?”
The world froze in place.
Slowly turning around, Kid's heart caught his throat. Sitting against the wreckage, Law looked at Kid with a curious and slightly pained expression.
There was too much blood.
There was too much fucking blood.
The yellow shirt Law wore now had only a small patch of yellow. The open wound across Law’s stomach was nasty to look at. The bone of his ribs poked out, leaving a hole in its place. Kid had seen many injuries from his time fighting against marines and his gruesome childhood. He may have even seen injuries worse than the one on Law at this moment.
It didn’t matter in the slightest.
The injury sent Kid’s mind into further madness. He heard everything and nothing. Whatever wounds Kid had couldn’t dare to hope to reach the level of aching in Kid’s chest.
“It doesn’t hurt as bad as it looks,” Law weakly grinned.
“Shit,” Kid muttered, stumbling his way towards Law. The next words spilled from Kid’s mouth mindlessly, “I can find one of the doctors. Maybe Doc or the raccoon shit is nearby. Just hold on to-”
“You shouldn’t be making promises you can’t keep, Kid,” Law sighed.
Law speaking Kid’s first name went right over his head.
Kid understood Law had the ability to take hearts away from other’s but Kid felt like Law had just ripped it straight from his chest. Law had told him himself that there was no hope. There was no point in trying. There was no saving anything.
Falling onto his knees, Kid didn’t know what he could do. Law reached out with a shaky hand. Kid had just noticed that was the only hand Law had.
Shushing gently, Law said, “It’s alright. But … can you take me to see the sea … please?”
Blocking all other emotions out of his head, Kid gently took Law’s broken body into his hands. His aching arms wanted to do nothing more than rest but Kid fought against the feeling with everything he had.
The two made it to the edge of the broken castle. A large part had been blown away from the fight against Big Mom. Slowly, Kid set them both down on the hard floor. Kid carefully positioned Law to lay his back against Kid’s chest.
The labored breathing from Law pained Kid’s chest.
The blood kept spilling, soaking Kid’s clothes that touched Law’s.
Law said nothing, staring out into the sea. The sun peaking above the horizon, mixing the deep blue with orange and yellow.
The realization kept slamming into Kid’s head over and over again.
Breath hitching, Kid’s eyes stung and poured. He did everything he could to stop it but the tears would not listen. Just knowing that he couldn’t do anything. No matter how strong of a pirate he was, he could not stop Law from dying right in his arms.
“Hey, hey,” Law whispered, turning away from the sun to look up at Kid, “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I knew what I was getting myself into-”
“No …” Kid said shakily, wrapping his one good arm around Law carefully, “Don’t go. Please don’t leave me, Law.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Yes, you fucking are!” Kid yelled, his voice cracking. The waves of dread hurt so much. Everything hurt so much. But Kid knew it couldn’t compare to the agony that currently plagued Law.
“I’m sorry.”
Burying his wet face into Law’s shoulder, Kid shook with tears. Anxiety ate away at his very being. It terrified him knowing that Law’s breathing was becoming shallower every second. The warm blood started to dry.
“Don’t be sorry,” Kid mumbled, “Just stay.”
“I … can’t do that, Kid.”
“You’re supposed to meet with me again after this shitty war. We were supposed to figure out what we do next,” Kid whispered, Law’s delicate, blood-covered hand intertwining with his.
“You still can.”
“Not without you. I’m … I can’t imagine it without you.”
The small pause from Law sent Kid’s heart racing with fear, until Law spoke again, “What a waste.”
Waste? Waste of what?
“We’ll meet again …” Law said, shifting his body to lean on Kid’s arm. His stunning golden eyes looking up to meet Kid’s. Slowly, Law reached up to caress Kid’s cheek, leaving a mark of his blood with his thumb.
“Another time … we’ll meet,” Law said breathlessly, his weak grip pulling Kid forward.
The weak, soft kiss between them made Kid want to crumble into a million pieces.
“Please tell them I’m sorry I left,” Law whispered.
His crew.
Law coughed violently, making Kid hold him tighter.
“Law-”
“We’ll travel together another time. But for now … please stay.”
Kid stayed.
The red-head wouldn’t let go of Law until the other allies found them. Kid was breathing but the cold body in his arms froze his lungs. He wanted to scream and shout at how unfair the world was. To have someone he loved breathing in his arms for one moment to disappear from the world.
Kid begged Law’s words to be true.
He would wait another lifetime to meet Law one more time.
This time they would stay.