a/n: I know Never Have I Ever isn't finished, but I intended to have it done by this time. I wanted to post this up for several reasons, but the general background is that Luffy challenges Kidd to prove he isn't Law's boyfriend with a game of Never Have I Ever after getting offended. Now everyone is asking him questions, and Robin takes the last question.
Did you guys expect Kid to lose the game, or nah?
Happy birthday Law! (and Tashigi *cough)
~No, I've Never and Never Will~
"You're too young to understand."
Kid still remembered the moment like it was still happening. His face buried in his hand, he could still see that far away gaze in Law's eyes as the man looked down at him.
How could he say that? How could Law possibly say that while he was holding him in his arms? That he was "too" fucking young? What the hell was that supposed to mean? That he was too immature? That he was incapable of grasping complex situations? What was it that his mind couldn't understand because as far as he was clear, Law was only two years older than him, and two years didn't mean anything. Was it his inexperience? Kid went through as much relationships and shit as he did, he was sure, and he was perfectly capable of understanding what Law was going through if Law would just tell him what was wrong!
He was so on edge. He couldn't do this. Kid couldn't stop thinking, but he knew it wouldn't change what had happened. But still-! He ran a frustrated hand through his scalp almost ripping hair.
What did "too young" even mean? Obviously, he wasn't too young for him to fuck. They've done that too many times already for it to be a mistake. Law knew what he was doing when they ended up in bed (and when they didn't), and he liked it, so how could Kid's mental and physical age be not up to par under Law's standards? It just didn't make sense! Was he just something Law intended to play with from the beginning? Was it just his body that the man wanted?
That distant gaze came haunting his thoughts back again.
So condescending.
So critical.
So fake….
So damn confusing.
A guttural growl left Kid's throat. He knew he was making a fool out of himself as he fidgeted on the couch worrying about such a damn thing that only happened yesterday.
"Why can't you just tell me?"
"Because it has nothing to do with you!"
Everything was going fine. He was comforting Law as he held him close, the man burying his face into Kid's chest out of pure need. Something was wrong with him, and Kid thought he was doing right by just holding him in his arms when the conversation just steered in the wrong direction the moment he asked about Corazon. It was risky, he knew, but that was the cause of why Law was acting so quiet and shaken so he felt he needed to ask. He didn't know who the man was other than he was related to Law in some way and that he died in some accident, but apparently, Law took it the wrong way. There was a flash of change in emotion that ran across the tanned man's face, and he pushed his way from Kid's hold.
"What do you mean it has nothing to do with me?! If it's bothering you, then clearly it's affecting me too!"
"Do you think the world revolves around you, Kid? Why does it hurt you if it's not about you?!"
"It's not about me! It's about you! I just want to know why!" Kid stood up from the couch and faced Law who was standing up too. "Why can't you tell me?"
Law's mouth turned into a frown like he was going to tell him off, but instead, his expression melted into something soft. Hurt - if it was one word that Kid could describe the look with, it was hurt that plagued the dark haired man's eyes. Law wasn't looking at him anymore. His lids lowered refusing to meet any contact, and he turned around.
"You're too young to understand."
The words came out as a whisper, and the same way Kid was twisting inside now, the very sentence was tearing his understanding into pieces. Inside, he was getting shredded.
"Too young?" he asked as if he didn't hear right. "I can understand simple things -"
"It's not that simple!"
"I know it's not! But I'm not here just for you to mess around with," he retorted angrily. "I want you to to talk to me, to at least tell me what's bothering you. Just your thoughts, why you're scared, what the hell is scaring you - whatever it is, just talk to me! I'm serious -" Kid stopped at his own sentence too late. His eyes widened as he continued to trail off at the same time Law jerked his own head to gawk back at him with a reflecting caught stare. "- about this relationship…"
His shoulders relaxed, and the fingers he didn't realize that had turned into a fist loosened. Both of them stood frozen bolted at their spot in Kid's living room. He had unknowingly slipped out the truth and now, as the taut air surrounded them, his heart was beating so loudly in his chest.
Was that… really how he felt?
As he looked at Law before him clearly shocked out of his mind, he gulped reaffirming his answer.
Yes.
He was in heads over heels for this man, and apparently crazy to say such a thing out loud.
Neither of them spoke, and Law was trying to comprehend too much to respond so Kid took it upon himself to speak. He stepped forward drawing the distance between them shorter and pulled Law close, his hand circling around a limp wrist.
"Why are you scared?" his voice was quieter, and all the anger was gone.
Law snapped out of his spell, and his eyes shot up at him with all the grace of a frightened deer.
"It's not for you to know. You…" His dark eyes tightened full of misery. He was holding something back. So much pain that he was hiding, but why couldn't he let it all burst out?
Kid's fingers sunk at the older man's wrist bruising him. "What the hell, Trafalgar?!" All the calm he had collected disappeared.
Was he not considered capable enough to shoulder Law's secrets? Did Law think he wouldn't be able to support him if he knew? What was he lacking, because he just confessed right there and now that he was here for him! Wasn't that enough?
Or did he... just get rejected?
Kid's fingernails were tempted to rip the skin on the thin wrist, but his hand just threw the weak limb away.
He fucking knew it.
Law just wanted his body. To toy with him, and nothing more. He didn't need him.
He was done.
"Why don't you go fuck somebody else."
He just wanted to be away from Law.
What he said came out like spat venom based on the stiff expression he received. Was that - no. Kid couldn't believe it, but Law's bottom lip quivered. The older man said and did nothing except stare at him for a few moments. He looked at him one last time before he turned around, walked to the door, and left.
The sound of the door sounded so hollow when Law closed it.
Now, he was here - at Law's apartment. And how long had he been doing this and pouring out all the stupid crap during this intense inquisition? He's been confessing for hours about what idiotic and embarrassing things he did for Law all to prove himself that he wasn't what they defined as a "boyfriend."
Never Have I Ever? It was still the stupidest game that he had ever played, and the worst idea Luffy had ever came up with. All of Law's friends were nosy people that should mind their own business, and Zoro and Ace shouldn't have sided with them because he was going to do some major payback after this was all over. Why did they even want to know how his and Law's relationship was like anyway? He wasn't even in a relationship with him based on how smooth things went. Law made that clear, so why did they ask? There was no point. Nothing could be accomplished on their useless badgering. Why did they make him confess with -
Never have I ever:
Checked out Law's ass? Yes, he has. One of the first things he noticed actually.
Gave Law a tattoo? How did they think he even got into this mess in the first place? The dark haired northerner just had to come to his tattoo parlor.
Woke up to Law drunk? He should've never took it upon himself to try and outdrink Kid to steal all the booze, and force Kid to go home all because it was "doctor's orders" not to consume alcohol after being recently released from surgery.
Carried the man on his back? The guy was drunk. How else was he supposed to get Law back into the car?
Role played? It wasn't his fault the pre-med student wanted to play doctor and volunteer to check out his injuries after the motorcycle accident and (unintentionally) make it lead to sex. The way Law forcibly made him strip his clothes for an examination wasn't going to end up with just a check-up.
Did it on Zoro's motorcycle? It was something interesting he had wanted to try out. It was Law's fault for looking so damn sexy when he picked him up that one time, and the truck's fault for ruining his bike so he had to borrow Zoro's.
Broke up with an ex because of him? His ex-girlfriend was the one that mistook the spotted cap in his room as someone's forgotten item after sleeping with him. At that time, the most action he got with Law was knowing that his lower back was his weak spot. And technically - yeah, let's get technical here - she wasn't his girlfriend anymore. He thought they had broken up so when she dumped him, it shouldn't even had counted.
Held Law when he was scared? He didn't know what else to do when Law forced himself into his bed one night because he was paranoid about someone haunting him.
Had gotten so mad that he couldn't take back what he had said to him? Kid just clenched his jaw at that.
So yeah, he had done nine of those things, and nine of his fingers were down. One more and he'd lose. Big freaking deal. And now everyone - Luffy, Ace, Zoro, Sanji, that redheaded chick that was Luffy's girlfriend, long nose, Law's three roommates, and that girl - was just staring at him in the middle of Law's apartment waiting for his answer for the last question that'll send his last finger down. Especially that girl. That raven haired chick that seemed to see everything and was looking at him as if she had him all figured out. What was her problem? Kid licked his lips nervously when the girl just continued staring with a blank expression.
"So, Mr. Eustass," she addressed him the same way Law had when they first met, "what is your answer? Never have I ever forgotten Law's birthday or missed to greet him, not even once. How about you?"
Kid frowned with all the eyes on him.
The special upcoming occasion had been in his mind the whole time. For months, it has been, and he'd been counting down the days since April when he first found out about the date. The day they had been fighting was October 4th, and now, as he looked at his phone trying to count how much time had passed since he'd been tricked to leave work and barge in to Law's apartment, he saw that it was one minute past midnight.
12:01.
It was already two days since they fought.
"Mhn," Ace hummed feeling bad for the redhead. His friend's face had turned pale at the question and had stayed eerily silent for quite a while. "'I don't think that's fair to Kid, Robin. You've been friends with Law since forever, but they've only met each other last December. He hasn't even gone through one birthday yet."
"Yeah," some of the others agreed while a few nodded, but Robin didn't change her question.
Kid stared at his right hand. His index finger was all that was left in the game; did he really want to lose it? His eyes were fixated on the glowing black numbers on his phone still marking a minute after midnight.
"No," he slammed his phone on the table.
The room silenced, and Kid looked up meeting the black haired woman's eyes. She might be one of Law's closest friends, but he wasn't going to lose to that. He stood up from his seat on the couch and straightened his back.
"I've never missed one of Law's birthdays since I've known him, and I never will."
He turned his head towards the locked door at the end of the hallway that connected the living room to the individual bedrooms, and headed straight towards it. Kid wasn't able to see the smile that lifted Robin's face or the curious stares that followed his back as he disappeared into the hallway; he just had one thing in his mind.
He calmly made it through, and meeting the door which he knew was locked, Kid leaned back and kicked the door hard. The door swung open with a loud bang breaking the lock, and just like he expected, he found the bedroom dark with all the lights off. His eyes shifted to the corner next to the window where he found a body leaning against the wall hunched up with their legs to their chest, the person's silhouette just visible with the faintly incoming moonlight.
"Eustass-ya," Law looked at him wide eyed.
Kid stomped over grabbing the man by the arm pulling him to his chest as his knees broke down to kneel on the floor. Law let out a surprised noise as he was met with a tight embrace, the redhead's arms wrapping around his neck and holding the back of his head.
"Happy birthday, Law."
The older man dumbly leaned over to the redhead confused as to what was going on. "Kid…"
The anger the medical student was hoarding all this time was shot out with dumbstruck. His eyes bore into to the muscular male gently holding him, the softness so different from what he'd pin the redhead for.
"I'm the first one to wish you that, right?"
"Y-yeah…" his voice came out shaky. "Kid," Law lifted a hand to the younger's shoulder to pull away so he could see his face, but Kid held on tighter.
"I'm sorry," Kid's muscles tensed refusing. "I'm sorry… about what I said."
Under him, he felt the older man gulp and silenced. He didn't wait for a response. There wasn't a need to, and they stayed in their desperate hug with neither of them uttering a single word. Law could feel Kid's chest breathing, his chest expanding and deflating, and the rapid beating he felt matched the one fluttering inside his own rib cage. Why they were both nervous, they didn't know why. After hours of having himself locked up in his room, Law felt his previous feelings faltering and breaking like a brick wall. His hands moved by themselves brushing across the expanse of Kid's back, the familiar feeling of defined muscles tingling his fingertips, until they made it to opposite ends of shoulder blades.
"My uncle died when I was twelve," Kidd suddenly blurted out, "and it was my fault."
The calming spell he casted between the both of them stopped working as Law tensed up again. The mere mention of death set things out of balance like it did two days ago, but he continued anyway.
"I asked to ride in his motorcycle, and if I hadn't asked, then he wouldn't have ended up in the freeway. I didn't know he had driven all night from a job and all the way back just so he could make it for my birthday before he had to set of for another one. He was tired and out of it, but I always looked up to him. I wanted to ride behind his bike, and I already didn't see him enough as it was so I asked. He agreed, but when we got to the freeway, he couldn't focus and he didn't notice that we strayed in the wrong lane. We were going too fast to brake or swerve, and we hit a truck. Both the driver and my uncle died, and I was the only one that survived. Heh -" a broken breath wavered out of his nose. "I killed two people, Law. I killed my uncle and a man I didn't even know. The man's family probably blamed me for what I did."
He bent his head burying his nose into the crook of Law's neck confessing his guilt, and a comforting hand gripped at his back.
"That wasn't your fault,"
"That's not true."
"It isn't," Law insisted.
"Then does that go the same way for you?" Kid asked in a low voice. When he didn't hear an answer, he tilted to the side and kissed the older man's jaw and continued to trail down tracing the edge of his face until he found a pair of soft lips. "I don't know what happened to your uncle, Corazon - whoever he is - but if you tell me that I'm not guilty, then you shouldn't feel guilty either. It wasn't your fault."
With their faces so close, he saw when Law closed his eyes, his lashes falling to his dark circles.
"Why shouldn't you feel the same?" Kid closed his eyes frustrated and brought their foreheads together.
"Because it's not the same…." Law gritted. "You don't know what I did to him. I killed him. What happened to you was an accident, but for me - what I did can't be forgiven. I see him everywhere. He haunts me… He comes back to anywhere I go, and I can't shake him. I've moved to two cities to run away, but he's always there. He's always there to remind me that -"
Law choked on air unable to continue, and Kid cut in by taking his lips with a slow kiss.
"It's okay," Kid breathed. "It's okay…."
His consoles were responded with a shaking head.
"Wherever I go, I get these calls as if he's calling me. It's always an unknown number and no one answers, but behind the line, I know it's him. I know Corazon is still there. A few days later, I see him. I -"
"Where's your phone?" Kid interrupted him.
Law paused knitting his brows, but he pointed to the drawer beside his bed. Kid got up leaving him momentarily and walked to the bed stand where he found the cellular device and took it into his hands.
"Kid," Law called out, but the redhead went ahead and cracked his phone in half.
He cringed at the sound and at the thought that he'd have to buy a new one later. At least it was an old version and gave him an excuse to update to a newer one, but for the people who would be needing to contact him for work... it was going to prove quite troublesome for at least a while. Kid leaned out the open window and threw the broken electronic out to the next house.
"There," he turned to the older man. "Now you don't have to worry about anyone calling you. If anyone wants to reach you, they'd have to get through me first."
The idea was touching - everyone having to face the big, bad bodyguard who was Eustass Kid - but Law's brow couldn't help but rise with an accompanying scoff.
"You do know that I have other people who contact me through that phone right? Like my friends."
"Who cares," Kid scowled grumbling. "Most of them are annoying anyway." He couldn't help but refer to the meddlesome people in the living room. He walked back to Law who was still on the ground and scooped him up. The medical student let out a yell accidentally hitting Kid on the temple to take him back down, but the redhead just shrugged it off. He spun on his heels leaving Law no choice but to just hang on and cling around his neck, though it was just a few steps anyway until they got to his bed where Kid plopped the both of them. Law quickly readjust himself on the mattress, but Kid was too quick for him to escape and he was dragged into the pair of muscular arms once more. "It's your birthday today so all you need is me. And besides, today's Monday so you won't have work at the hospital, and you can just skip class. You won't need your phone today."
"Graduate school is different from college," Law rolled his eyes.
His back met with Kid's chest as the redhead wrapped his arms around his slim waist, and a kiss marked itself on the length of the dark haired man's neck. A light heat bubbled up to Law's face as he pushed on the hands that clasped around him.
"What are you doing?" he hissed. "I'm still mad at you."
"Hm? For what?" Kid nibbled on his ear. The more Law seemed to squirm, the more passionate the redhead's kisses got.
"You thought I was only seeing you just to use you and told me off," he made himself sound indignant, but to his own ears, it just came off pouty. And it was not a soft mewl that purred from Law's throat as he tried his hardest to frown. He was angry damn it. Trafalgar Law doesn't let anyone tell him to go fuck off, and he meant no one. "I can't believe you actually made me as someone who only went through many bed partners without thinking about anything else. I don't stay in relationships if it's only for the physical, Eustass-ya. Ow-"
Kid stopped his biting when he realized that he had bitten Law at the ear. The med student winced, and he made sure to look at the swollen spot to check if it was bleeding. There was only a slight pink marring the soft skin so it was okay, but for Kid, the mistake somehow just suddenly drained the energy out of him. He slackened his hold around Law's upper belly and relaxed it down to rest at the man's thighs. With a deep breath, he sighed as if the life of him was being sucked away and old age was quickening in his soul. He dropped his head rubbing his forehead at the bone of Law's spine and sighed again.
"You know," he started. "I've been actually hoping that this day would never come. Your birthday, I mean. I really, really hate it."
He heard a questioning sound, and he felt the dark haired man twisting to look at him. His golden red irises lifted upwards lazily, and Law was looking at him worried. Kid didn't want to get back to that argument again about age, but he couldn't really lie about it not bothering him. Well, it wasn't that big of a deal, but it still did.
"When we first met, we were three years apart and I remember you looking down on me because I just got out of high school. You made it pretty clear you already thought I was reckless for getting into a motorcycle accident. But then January came, and I felt," Kid shrugged, "I felt that I caught up to you. Somehow, with just me being another year older and turning eighteen, I closed the gap between us. When I found out your birthday was October, I kind of hoped… I hoped that it wouldn't come because that would mean that you would get farther away again, and I'd have to work that much harder to reach you. But how can I keep trying to catch you when your birthday is going to keep coming a few months right after mine?"
There was silence, and Law was just staring incredulously at the redhead when he finished. Both of his brows were raised this time, and he wasn't moving so Kid shook him with his arms still wrapped around his stomach.
"What?" he demanded.
There was a slight movement at the corner of Law's lips, and like a domino effect, the rest of man's face started to curl. A loud laughter erupted from Law's lips and he tackled Kid down to his back causing the the bedsheets to bounce.
"What?" Kid repeated annoyed. "It's not funny!"
The sudden fit of laughter ceased, but the increasing curl to Law's lips that he felt on his chest was telling him that the man was still enjoying himself.
"You're not supposed to be cute, you know," Law kissed his cheek and the redhead threw his head back against the pillow grumbling.
"Yeah. Like that's not cute," he could feel himself turning pink. "Just kiss me on the nose already. This is making me sick. Can we stop? It's really making me want to hurl."
A chuckle reverberated through Law's whole body as he hugged Kid's big hulk.
"You're only going to embarrass yourself if someone walks through that hall," Kid continued to mumble.
"Well, that's your fault then for breaking my door and leaving it open," Law retorted.
"Then get up and close it."
"I don't want to close it," the older man teased. "Don't order me around."
"Then I'll close it."
"I don't want to get up." As if to state that it didn't matter who got up to close the door, the older man made it clear that he wasn't going to be moved in any shape or form from on top of the redhead and hugged him tighter.
Kid let out a tired sigh whereas his eyes were focused on the wide gap of the open door. Damn, he cursed. He really should have remembered to shut that thing when he entered, but he was too distracted to even take notice of what he had already walked past. His only goal was to find Law, and he guessed he had his goal… The man was now next to him and… he was happy.
Yeah. He was pretty damn satisfied even with the ominous feeling that someone was going to pass by and see them like this.
God, were they really cuddling?
Kid closed his eyes trying to pretend that the idea didn't slightly embarrass him. Out of all the idiotic things, even openly confessing that he had sex on Zoro's bike, this was the moment that was getting the skin on his face hot.
"Hey, Kid," he opened his eyes again when he heard Law call his name. The voice was deep and slow as if the man was nearing sleep. He looked around to see if Law was tired and found that the dark haired male was situated in the same position that he was before, but he noticed a great difference in the darkness of the room. The ceiling was completely pitch black, and the reflection of light coming from the window was brighter than before.
How much time had passed since he closed his eyes? Did he fall asleep? He didn't hear any noises that indicated people were still out in the living room as the orchestra of night was taking its full tune.
"Hmn.." he replied not wanting to break that music and found himself sounding tired as well.
"Hurry up and have your birthday," Law said softly. "I'm waiting for you to catch up to me so I can be your present too."