As many of you might have guessed, I have started shipping AceLaw (LawAce) which there is a surprising lack of! I managed to scrounge up ONE fic on FF, and a measly two? Three on Tumblr, Then my awesome friend Emy found three on Ao3 for me XD anyway I took it upon myself to add another, and if you do one too TELL ME, please :D!
Bata'ed by Emygrl99
Disclaimer! I do not own One Piece nor any other referenced Material. Enjoy!~
It was just a normal day at Sacred Heart Hospital for Trafalgar Law.
The middle aged man was unconscious, his entire midsection cut open with skin peeled back and pinned down on the Surgeon's table without a single care in the world. The nameless man's organs were on clear display and moving ever so slowly while they gleamed under the bright light that spotlighted them, showcasing them not only to the Surgeon that held the scalpel but to those other people that shared the room with him.
Law's tongue slipped past his lips, moistening his bottom one behind his surgeon's mask, how could he not marvel at the sight before him. It wasn't perfect, nothing was ever perfect when he had an audience, but it was as close as he was going to get and Law was fine with that. For now, he would have to be fine with that. Law would have to be satisfied for the time being as his gray eyes ran over his specimen, he no longer thinking of the man as an actual human being, but as something that he could play with, minimally of course and very very subtly.
Steel gray could see every twitch of the usually hidden muscles, the way the organs hummed and quivered, not used to the air they were being exposed to. Law could clearly see the veins and arteries that connected to the heart pulsing with the warm crimson that was the specimen's lifesblood. It was quite the sight in the eyes of the surgeon as he readied his scalpel, a small nearly invisible smile hidden behind his surgical mask.
Law often wondered if any of the other surgeons ever felt this rush of adrenaline whenever they were about to make an incision. He honestly doubted it, in fact there were some surgeons who actually looked displeased with their task. If they didn't want to cut into people then why the fuck did they go into a field that required you to slice bits of people away? Law never understood it, even as Sachi assured Law that he would get used to his job.
It's been two years since Sachi made that confession, and the man still got a little green at the sight of blood. It was times like those when he saw the earnest discomfort in his acquaintance's face that Law began to wonder about his actions.
Was he right to feel as he did? Was he right to get a near high from the simple act of nearing his exceptionally sharpened blade to the thin delicate tissue of people's organs? And the rush of relief, of release that he felt, that wonderful amazing feeling that had all of his nerves buzzing with barely contained energy when he finally cut into the flesh, into organs and muscle tissue alike.
Was Law wrong for enjoying that? Was it wrong that these actions felt oh so good!
Law pondered this sometimes, and the length of this inner discussion varied every time; there were times when he would debate with himself for hours on end. And then there were times that he gave the thought but a single second of his time, almost always coming to the same conclusion. A conclusion that said, ultimately, he did not care what others felt like in that moment, and all that mattered was the sweet release of endorphins that accompanied his actions. Law would revel in this feeling until he was forced to feign normalcy.
All the world could be damned, and Law for one, could never find it in himself to care too much. The rest of the world could go fuck itself with their ideologies. All he cared about was how felt in those moments, when the rest of the world didn't matter, where the rest of the world faded away along with its darkness, overpowered instead by his very own dark nature. It was in those small nearly insignificant moments that Law was the darkness, he was the one that was feared, he was the one in control.
That was what made Law feel as he did, he was in charge and Law relished this sense of euphoria. Law sought it out and chased after it, and fuck when he found it, Law fucking drowned in the sweet sensation of blissful release, he got fucking wasted in the amount of rightness that came with these actions!
Was Law sick for thinking this way, for living for that reason?
Possibly?
Most likely, but in his humble opinion, this scenario could have been infinitely worse considering his background. Law could have ended up being a malicious and highly feared serial killer, like the ones that were seen almost every day on television.
Law didn't just think this is a possibility, he knows it is with a complete and unwavering uncertainty. This is mostly due to the fact that he was a serial… practitioner of the deadly arts not that not that long ago−Law refused to think that he was a killer, yes he had ended lives, but that word was… Cora-san did not like that word.
Granted, Law left that life behind−because Cora-San was afraid for him−there was no telling how long he would be able to pull off the "Surgeon of Death" epithet. Reluctantly, Law had to hang up his hat, quite literally, and push away his dark tendencies. It had been hard, so terribly hard going through med school, and even now it was hard at some points, so it came as no surprise that every now and then he gave in. Law only gratified the need if he was positive there would be no slip ups and that no one would ever be able to uncover that part of him.
Yet having these thoughts, Law wasn't perfect, he recognized that and he had Cora to thank for it, but he surely wasn't as unstable as many would like to think. There were even times in the surgery room where Law couldn't help himself and chose to indulge just the tiniest bit and cut just marginally more deeply than he should. Never too much though, he had to save his patients not slaughter them.
Law had always been careful, he had learned at a very young age the best methods to use when slicing into people and animals alike, how to best dispose of the… mess.
Did Law mention that he had a tutor in the arts? He hated to admit it, but everything he knew, he had to thank his stupid adopted uncle for everything he taught him. Donquixote Doflamingo was an interesting man to say the least; he was smart, cunning, and freakishly insane. Some may argue that Law had no room to speak on another person's mental health, but he would just tell those people to shove it up theirs, Law knew Doflamingo was unstable in the most demented way because he was just as jaded. Law guessed this was why Doflamingo had taken an immediate liking to the boy his brother's family adopted.
Needless to say that quickly Doffy had taken a young Law under his wing at the age of 13, and his training began.
Law was just as clever as Doflamingo, just as perceptive and infinitely more careful, or so he liked to believe.
That small near invisible smile went unnoticed as always and Law continued to do his service for society, he cut out the bad parts of people and was paid for his services, while also keeping the dark tendency of slicing into them at bay. It was a wonderful balance that worked 95% of the time and Law could rest easy that no one would ever figure that the patient who had just been
patched back up had served a higher purpose.
Law was what people feared most, he was the the cause of terror, and he was safe; in those sweet moments Law was purged from his own darkness, and he himself was immune to it.
That nameless man had given Law his fill to keep him going for the rest of the week. And in a way, Law was as thankful as most people were to the dead cow that fended off their hunger; actually he might actually care just slightly more than that. Silently Law watched as the man was sewn back up and shot up with his well deserved painkillers before being wheeled away.
'Goodbye now,' Law thought with the smallest hint of fondness, he truly liked his job, it was the best way he could cause damage to something while fixing it at the same time. An odd way of thinking for sure, but it was his life and he would spend it as he wished.
Law was a bachelor, barely past his mid twenties, and he was enjoying the life that was given to him by his most treasured person and that person's brother. Law knew his life wasn't perfect, Hell Law could barely call it normal. But it was his and he rather liked his lifestyle because he managed to live on in a semi state of normalcy, he was in control of his life and things were good.
Ace stretched out his arms over his head, his torso twisting to his right until he heard a satisfying pop and the immediate relief that followed made the young raven haired man sigh.
"That feels so good!" he exclaimed to no one in particular, as he walked over to where a lounging bench sat underneath a large summer umbrella. Ace picked up his orange towel and began to dry himself off, starting from his head, making sure to get as much moisture out of his wavy raven hair.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're enjoying your swim time Ace, but aren't you late for something, yoi?" a voice called from behind, and Ace turned with the brightest smile he had, the towel casually draped upon his shoulders.
"What are you talking about Marco, there's no class today, I thought it was some sort of state holiday or something… at least that's what Smoker said in the last meeting." Ace said with with a flippant shrug. If there had been class that day, then he would just have to call Smoker and let him know that it wasn't his fault he missed. Though why the gray haired man had yet to call him to inform him of his lateness he wasn't sure. So was there class today or not?
"I'm pretty sure there was no class today, otherwise Smoker would have definitely blown up my phone and it hasn't rung all day." he stated voicing his thoughts on the situation.
At the look he was receiving from his brother, Ace was forced to tilt his head in confusion. "We didn't have a family event planned either, did we?"
Marco shook his head.
"Ah, it's no ones birthday… not yours, Thatch's, Izo's, Haruta's… Oyaji's… not mine." Ace began to tick off all of the possibilities on his fingers, ignoring the way stray droplets of water began to trail off of his tanned skin, gliding along the drying tan skin before joining the growing puddle under his feet.
By this time, the blonde in front of Ace had rolled his eyes and walked over to affectionately poke the shorter man's forehead careful not to push his back into the pool. "No you dork, it's your check up, yoi . Now go get yourself decent and I'll drive you to the hospital."
"Oh… that." Ace frowned now, his good mood dampening quicker than the concrete under him. His lips parted, clear protest in his features. "But Mar−"
Marco held up his hand, "No buts Ace, you are getting in that car or I will personally restrain you and drag you there if I have to, yoi. You have five minutes to get ready, and besides, we're almost done with these visits. Dr. Hogback said these next few months may be the last ones you need, he just wants to make sure that you're doing fine."
Ace scowled, he was annoyed with these sessions, but at least they weren't weekly anymore, or monthly. Now they were bi-monthly and soon he could stop going altogether. With a heavy and exaggerated sigh he pursed his lips. "Fiiiiiiiiiiine, promise to buy me ice cream after?"
Marco chuckled, his half lidded eyes amused as he shrugged. "Depends how fast we get there and how quickly the examination goes, yoi."
Taking that as a yes, Ace whooped and ran into the house, ignoring Marco's cries asking him to slow down and not run in the house because it could be dangerous.
Not even ten minutes later Ace was sitting in Marco's passenger seat and as ready as he could ever be to face the creepy doctor. Ace didn't like Sacred Heart Hospital, he had never really liked anything that had to do with sterile places and bleak hallways filled with sick strangers, but he would never hear the end of it from anyone if he failed to make his appointments, which he had neglected plenty of times in the past−for very valid reasons mind you. It wasn't until Oyaji appointed Mother Hen Marco to take him to his sessions that Ace's attendance became perfect.
Ace hasn't missed a session in a year, all thanks to Marco's diligence.
"It's been two and a half years now Marco, I don't see why I still have to go to these silly things." Ace complained on the way there, the same tired song that Marco was used to yet never reprimanded Ace for.
"You know why, yoi. We don't want you to go back into remission. Just bear with this for a while longer, Ace c'mon you know what Oyaji says right?" Marco asked giving Ace a smile and causing him to nod.
"It is not a child's place to die before their father." Ace said quietly and that, as always, calmed his displeasure for having to go back to that hospital.
Marco gave Ace a sad smile, reaching out to gently ruffle the younger's mop of raven hair. No further words were exchanged beyond that point.
"I still don't see why you have to take that every time." Ace said from where he was lying on two large yet extremely uncomfortable pillows that hospitals always seemed to have an abundance of. Ace was now dressed in a gown and forced on his side as Ace "recovered" from the sample the man had just taken from his back.
"And I'm sure I've told you plenty of times that this is just protocol. We are nearing the critical point in your treatment Mr. Portgas, and I just want to make sure that there are no signs of remission, even this late in the recovery process the cells could decide to act up again. I assure you that such an occurrence has not been unheard of." Dr. Hogback answered as smoothly as he had all those other times before.
Ace merely huffed and gazed around the room, vaguely wondering why anyone would even want to work in this sort of environment, it was so dull! So clean, so constricting, everything that Ace hated. Ace shivered at the thought of having the unfortunate luck of having to work in such a place.
"Please remain still, Mr. Portgas." Hogback drawled behind him and Ace rolled his eyes, making a noise to signal that he understood.
"This is such a pain." he muttered and closed his eyes, vaguely aware that his narcolepsy was kicking in. Ace barely managed to smile as he was whisked away to unconsciousness in a rare gratefulness for the attack.
Upon waking up, Ace blinked to gaze up at Marco who was flipping through a standard hospital-supplied magazine on parenting. "There something you want to tell me Marco?" Ace asked, his voice heavy with sleep followed by a jaw cracking yawn.
Not even bothering to glance up from his skimming, Marco smiled warmly. "Glad to see you've come to, and no, nothing in particular, yoi. The doctor said twenty more minutes and you can go back and change."
Ace made a displeased noise and pouted, "I was hoping I was free to go by now."
"Almost, would you have rather woken up when you still had an hour left?" Marco inquired as his eyes went over the lines, finding an article he liked within the magazine.
"No." the word sounded more like a sulk than he had meant to and Marco chuckled. "You just worry about the flavor of ice cream you're going to eat."
That alone lifted Ace's spirit and he went off listing all of the possibilities he could have, until he was distracted by Marco's thoughtful hum. "Oyaji was complaining the other day that he was nearing a certain age and had yet to see any grandchildren, yoi."
Ace's brows furrowed. "That's the first I'm hearing about this, why doesn't he just adopt a kid?"
"He say's that if he does that then he'll be gaining another son, or daughter, he wants a child without the adoption I guess. However, considering none of us have actually settled into a childbearing relationship or have the capacity to give one, means he's out of luck, yoi." Marco shrugged.
Ace couldn't help but laugh at the statement. Their father had a fair point, Marco was not interested in anyone at this point, he was the sort of person who was okay with not having anyone other than his family in his life and the occasional friend. He swore he wasn't an asexual despite his family's teasing, he just had not found his other half yet. Then there was Haruta, the youngest brother who couldn't possibly care less about dating and spent his time invested in his own little world where he had no one other than himself to focus on. Everyone in the house wholeheartedly agreed that if anyone was asexual, it was Haruta.
And then there was the oddest couple in their household; Izo and Thatch were dating, which was cool and everything, it had just been a rather unexpected turn of events, yet they could all see how amazingly balanced they were for one another, Thatch, with his wild and energetic side made it his personal mission to make Izo smile as much as possible, while Izo kept Thatch grounded and calm when the situation was needed. Seeing that play out was rather endearing if you asked Ace.
Then there was Ace, the last possible hope for their father to give him a biological grandson, and he met that with a nervous smile. Ace was not interested in women, thus could not fulfill that destiny. Instead he handed it over to Marco, who still had a chance.
"I dunno Marco, my money's still on you." Ace said with a grin, receiving a flick to the forehead in return.
"I told you to call that bet with Haruta off yoi, one of you is going to end up butt hurt and we've all seen you two prank each other for ten months straight, no one wanted to set a foot in that house for most of that."
Ace laughed, a hearty and contagious sound that soon had Marco smiling through his stern, no nonsense face. Instead of laughing though, he rolled up the newspaper and gently tapped it against Ace's head. "It isn't funny, we were all terrified during Christmas Ace, and rightly so. What you did to each other's presents." he shuddered.
Again Ace laughed and this time Marco didn't hold off on joining in with his own laughter.
Ace was finally on the right track of his life; he was young, 22 to be exact, and there was a world of possibilities ahead of him. Ace was even a well liked swimming coach at New World University. Sure he was just about to overcome one of the toughest ordeals he had ever been faced with, but he had come out on top! Over two years ago Ace had been given the harsh news no nineteen year old should ever have to face. But he met the challenge head on, and he fought a near incurable disease along with his family and the needed doctors. Now Ace was well on his way to ridding it from his body for ever.
Life could not possibly throw anything worse than the possibility of death at him.
The next week, Ace received a rather weird phone call while class was in session. His questioning look was met with a shrug from Vice Principle Rayleigh. "It's the hospital, Sacred Heart, you might want to take it." the older man suggested and Ace nodded, dread coiling in his stomach.
Ace had beat the odds right, he wasn't relapsing was he?
Ace felt his stomach roll, fresh adrenaline pumping through his veins as he picked up the phone and managed a choked "Hello."
The message was brief and not the least bit reassuring, yet somehow Ace managed to confirm that he would in fact be at the Hospital as soon as he could in the next half hour with an unwavering voice. Immediately after hanging up, Ace dialed Marco.
"Hey Marco, you busy?" Ace paused and smiled tightly. "I just got a call from Sacred Heart... Could you drive me there?"
Law frowned, not overly so, but enough to make his displeasure known. He was sitting in Dr. Kureha's office and had not been given an explanation as to why he of all people was in her office. He knew he hadn't screwed up, none of his surgeries were ever botched, he made sure if that, painstakingly going over every single detail.
The older doctor didn't offer any explanations and Law was not going to be the one to break the silence, he was still working and if the old bat wanted to pay him for sitting in her office, so be it.
Ten minutes passed and she finally put down a rather extensive file, her grimace darkening as the door opened and Monet ushered in a couple of men, Law noted that he knew neither of them. Law's cool silver eyes ran quickly over the pair, one blonde and taller and nicely dressed, the other shorter raven haired one soaked through his clothes.
Law did not fail to notice the wary glances that were sent in his direction, especially the way they lingered on the patch that defined him as a Cardiovascular Surgeon. Odd, Law distantly wondered what possible connection he had to these two.
"Mr. Portgas, Mr. Phoenix, thank you for coming on such sort notice, please take a seat." The director of the hospital greeted motioning to the two empty seats next to Law.
Again, Law did not fail to notice the rigid posture the two men held, the way they sat rigidly in their seats wary eyes now on Dr. Kureha.
The older woman sighed, her fingers steepling before her as she leaned forward. "There is no easy way to say this, so I'll just come right out and say it as it is. Dr. Trafalgar I have called you and Mr. Portgas here to inform you that you two..." She paused considering her words.
"Fuck it, you two are now parents, both of you have created a single biological child."
And there you have it! I'm so excited for this one like you don't even know! Do you guys want to know what happens?
Any thoughts, comments you want to share? Please let me know what you think? Thanks for reading!~
