It was January 17th, a day he would never forget. A day that was forever etched into his brain. The memories haunted him, like a living nightmare. Some sounds you just never forget, some sights stay with you, smells linger.
~5 years prior~
"Remind me again why we have to go?" the redhead complained.
"Because it's my promotion and you are my loving husband who want's to support me?" the thinner, raven haired man responded.
"I can love and support from home," he continued to complain.
"Eustass-ya," Law started, walking over to his husband to straighten the man's crooked tie. "You will go and mingle with everyone and act like you like it."
"Or what?" Kid questioned, a twinkle in his eye.
"Or I will sleep on the couch," Law threatened, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"That's just hurting you. I will enjoy the empty kingsized bed all to myself. I won't have to hear you complain about me taking all the blankets," Kid pointed out, watching his husband from the mirror in front of him.
"I swear," Law mumbled. "Just stop with the bitching alright, shall I make it up to you tonight when we get home?" He turned around, looking at the redhead seductively.
"Why not now?" Kid suggested, winking at Law.
"Because you don't know how to tie a tie and we are already running late," Law said, throwing on a jacket before handing Kid his.
"Fine, I'll go but that doesn't mean I'm going to like it," the redhead grabbed the jacket from Law before the man grabbed him and planted a kiss on his lips.
"I love you," Law told him.
"Yeah, yeah," Kid grumbled, biting back a smile.
The two walked to their garage, opting for Law's Mclaren 650. Law slid behind the wheel as Kid slipped into the passenger's seat. Law started up the car, putting it into gear, pulling out of their six car garage. Kid turned on the radio, rolling down his window. Law glared at him before rolling it back up.
"What was that for?" Kid asked.
"I just spend the last half hour trying to tame that wild mess you call hair. I am not about to let you fuck it up," Law said sternly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you complain to much?" Kid questioned, watching for his husbands reaction out of the corner of his eye.
"Me? Complain? That's rich coming from you," Law laughed.
"Yes I'm rich but what does that have to do with the conversation at hand?" Kid taunted.
"You mean I'm rich," Law said. "I just cut you in on it."
"No I think you are forgetting, I'm the one with the money. You just live off of it."
"Because you just got the big promotion?" Law raised an eyebrow in question.
"How do I get promoted from being the owner of a business? Become president?" Kid asked.
"Always have to throw that in my face now do you?" Law feigned, hurt.
Kid grabbed his husbands hand, kissing it. Law gave him a smile, intertwining their fingers together. Many times they had had this very argument, one always trying to up the other. It was something they had done when they started from nothing, always telling the other they would be rich and the other would just stick around and claim it as their own. They spend many nights laying on their tattered sofa in their one bedroom apartment, no electricity or heat, just them. They had made it long way since they were teenagers. Kid had his own business, Law was a world renowned known doctor who had just been made COO of the hospital he worked at. Life hadn't always been so kind to the two men and many times they almost gave up but they always had one another to lean on.
When things got hard one of them was always there to pick the other up off the ground and dust them off. The struggle time and time again until they both made it. Law graduated, Kid opened a shop. Things were slow, no one knew them but as time passed their names made it out in the world.
Before either knew what was going on, Law was being offered high paying jobs at hospitals while Kid had to hire help just to keep up with the shop. Twenty years later the two had a huge house, a condo, a summer home, eight cars, two motorcycles, and every gaming console known to man. They did not need anything more. It wasn't about the material things to them though. They had each other and that was all they really needed in life. Having expensive cars and toys were all nice but if they had to give it up they could. However, they could not give up the other. They were two halves of a whole. One could not live without the other.
They arrived at the party, Kid immediately handing off his stuffy jacket to the guy at the door and heading for the bar. He ordered a beer for himself and a mixed drink for Law, a buron Old Fashion. Once served, Kid looked around for his husband. He spotted him talking to a group of important looking people. Kid hated places like this but he put up with them time and time again for Law because he knew it made him happy. He carried their drinks over, handing Law his as he wrapped his now free hand around Law's waist. The raven haired man never missed a beat, taking a sip from his drink as he continued his conversation.
Soon the group he had been talking to excused themselves only to be replaced by another. At some point Kid left Law's side, making his way back to the free bar to order another beer for himself. Law normally on sipped a drink or two, preferring to stay sober as not to make a fool of himself. The doctor couldn't handle his liquor well and he knew that, choosing to drink in the privacy of his own home where the only one who would see him make a complete idiot of himself was his husband. Kid on the other hand tried to squeeze as much free booze out of these events as possible. He was better at handling his alcohol.
The redhead made his way back to his husband, earning curious glances from all the uptight people there. It was nothing new. Their fiery redhead covered in scars, he was a sight to behold. An accident years previous had left him nearly blind in his left eye. That wasn't all though, it had also left a nasty looking scar that went from his forehead, right through his eye all the way down to his cheek. Even with some of his vision missing, he never missed the stares. Everyone did it. For a long time he would get pissed and call them out on it. Law was always there to back him but Kid realized it wasn't doing much good and it was causing his husband distress. So he learned to keep his mouth shut and just get over it.
He joined Law just as a voice rang over the speakers asking everyone to take their seat. Law once again intertwined their fingers, leading them to their table right in front of the stage. Their took their seats, waiting for the program to start.
Many introductions, speeches, and tears later, Law was called to the stage. He shook hands, thanked the men on stage, and took the microphone.
"I think we are all about ready to head home so I'm going to keep this short. I'm not on for public speeches as I prefer to let my work do the talking. So here it is, I just have one person I want to thank tonight. A person who stood by my side when I had nothing, when I was no one. A person who, without him, I wouldn't be the man I am today. He worked so I could go to school, he listened to me complain about school, not knowing a word of what I but listened nonetheless. A man, who when I was asleep, would try and read my books so the next day he would have a better understanding of what I was talking about. He was my light in the darkness. He stood by my side through it all. Anytime I wanted to give up he was there to shove me in the right direction. Anytime I had a breakdown, he would buy me my favorite icecream and send me back out into the world. We started with literally nothing except a dream. Now here I am today, all my dreams coming to fruition and he is right by my side. On this very day, January 16th, ten years ago I said I do. That man, my husband, none of this would have happened without him. So, I'm rambling at this point but it's our anniversary and even though I had to drag him here, kicking and screaming I might add, he is here. So," Law raised his glass, "here's to the future."
Everyone clapped as Law left the stage, walking back to his table where he was greeted by a grinning Kid.
"Just had to be sappy didn't you? Had to tug at their heartstrings to make them feel sorry for you?" the redhead teased.
"I told you I would make it up to you didn't I?" Law whispered, taking Kid by the hand to pull him through the tables. "I said my bit, made them feel sorry for planning this on our anniversary. No one will expect us to stay after that."
"Cunning and cute," Kid laughed. "I like it."
"Shut you, you and I both know you married me for the sex," Law joked, picking up their jackets on the way out.
"Not entirely true," Kid mused. "You're not that bad on the eyes."
"You're half blind, that doesn't count," Law pointed out, handing his number to the valet to collect his car.
"Ouch, hit a man where it hurts," Kid pouted, earning a quick peck from his grinning husband.
"You and I both know the only way I could hurt you was if I offended the size of your dick," Law scoffed.
"Yes, I know, my dick is huge. He also never shuts up but that doesn't mean I love him any less," Kid grinned, earning a slap from Law.
The valet boy drove up with the car, holding open the door for Law. He climbed in, Kid climbing in on the opposite side. This time when Kid rolled down the window, Law didn't stop him. He rolled down his own window and they let the salty sea air fill the car. Kid turned up the music, belting out the lyrics off key as Law just laughed at him. Law took the long way home, enjoying the brisk air and the good mood of the night.
"Want to go to the beach?" Law asked, glancing over at Kid.
That moment, that was the exact moment time froze. Bright lights shone through the windshield. They were too close, too bright. Something was wrong. Law looked back at the road, realizing it was too late. Kid was screaming but he couldn't make out what he was saying.
The impact happened so suddenly, glass shattered, metal crunched, airbags impacted with flesh. Even then it still wasn't enough. A head cracked against a window, metal pierced flesh.
Copper, the night air was tinted with the taste and smell of copper, blood. It stained the inside of both vehicles, it painted the pavement red. The drunk driver of the truck that had collided with them had died on impact, received a quick and nearly painless death.
Red and white lights flashed, sirens sounded, bodies were pulled from cars to be put on stretchers. Breathing, they were both still breathing. They were loaded into ambulances, IV's pierced the skin, paramedics yelled out instructions.
A hospital, bright lights, the smell of anesthetic clogging their nostrils. Copper, he still tasted copper. His mind was foggy, nothing was making sense. As they were wheeled in separate rooms, the anesthetic took effect, placing both of them in a coma like state.
Minutes, hours, days, Kid didn't know how much time had passed when he cracked open his eyes next. His mouth was dry, his muscles felt like lead weights. He couldn't even move his head. As his good eye adjusted, the realization that he wasn't in his own bed and it hadn't been a nightmare hit him like a ton of bricks. The heart monitor went crazy as he tried to pull the IV's out and sit up. Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, injected a sedative to calm him back down. Darkness took over yet again.
The next time he woke up he was more aware and didn't freak out. He hit the call button, requesting water and an explanation. He was given the water but no explanation. It wasn't until a familiar face stepped into the room that Kid would be given what he requested.
One of Law's doctor friends, a big man nicknamed Bepo, took the seat next to the bed.
"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.
"Like hell, where is Law? No one will answer my question. What happened?" the heart monitor picked up as he grew more agitated.
"A drunk driver, he hit you head on at 100 miles per hour. He was killed on impact. You and Law were rushed here. We operated for hours. We couldn't save your arm," Bepo looked away, like he felt responsible.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kid asked, confused. "I have both my," he looked, actually looked down at his left arm, or better yet where his left arm should be.
His whole body felt heavy so not being able to move his left arm made sense in his head. However, there was no arm to look out. There was a stump, a white, bandaged stump. He looked from the doctor to his arm.
"Kid, I'm sorry," Bepo apologized, looking like he was about to cry.
"You tried, there was nothing that could be done," Kid told him, still a bit in shock.
"No Kid, you don't understand. We couldn't save your arm," then the tears started. "Or Law."
A ringing started, Kid couldn't hear anything but the ringing. He didn't hear his heart monitor alarm going off. He didn't hear the nurses or doctors rush in. He didn't even realize when they gave him another sedative, not that it would have mattered, he was numb.
For the next few weeks, Kid spent his days in and out of consciousness. He begged for death, he pleaded for someone one to end it. He tried to end it himself. Nothing took the pain away. Then he was checked out of the hospital by his brother who took him to his place.
He dressed him in a suit and made him go to the funeral home. He was forced to look at the dressed up corpse of his husband. He was forced to listen to everyone tell him just how sorry they were for his loss. Then he was forced to watch them take the wooden box the love of his life was placed in a hole in ground and covered with dirt.
Copper, he tasted copper. He hadn't realized it but he had bitten his cheek, causing blood to flood his mouth. He stood up, stumbling away from the ceremony. His brother followed him, he didn't even make it across the street before he fell to his knees and threw up what little bit he had in his stomach. His brother stood back and watched, waiting until the redhead sat back on his knees and cursed at the sky. That was when he collected his brother, guiding him to the car to take him back to his house.
It took Kid months before he even stepped foot back into his own home. He refused to sell it but he also refused to live in it or let anyone go inside. He paid a maid to go in once a week and dust things but she had been given specific instructions not to move anything. He bought a house, a small one bedroom piece of crap. It reminded him of the apartment him and Law had once shared. The pipes leaked, plaster was falling off the ceilings, mice left droppings in all the cabinets.
Every night he woke in a cold sweat, the bright lights terrorising his dreams. He would go days without sleeping just sitting against the cracked wallpaper staring at nothing. His brother came everyday, feeding him and forcing him to bath.
Life moved on around him, yet Kid stayed stuck in the past. He paid his phone bill every month on time, calling Law's phone just to hear him say his name over and over again. He would play the video he had of his husband on repeat until the battery died and the phone slipped from his hands.
Year, he went on for years in a state of confusion and numbness. The only reason he was even alive was due to the fact that his brother took care of him. He felt no more than a shell of a man. He was nothing without his husband and he knew that.
Five years, it took him five years to step foot out of his rundown home. The date was January 16th, he held a bouquet of primrose flowers, his husbands favorite. He was dressed up in a suit, much like the one he hard worn on the same day five years previous. The tie wasn't tied properly, his collar was sticking up, and much to his dismay, his hair was still an untamable mess.
His brother pulled up and Kid climbed into his truck. They drove in a tense silence, his brother knowing better than to say anything. They drove through the cemetery gates, his brother stopping near Law's grave.
"Call me when you need me," and with that Kid stepped out of the truck, stumbling to a tombstone he knew to be his husbands.
Copper, the smell of copper flooded his senses as he collapsed against the cool headstone.
Trafalgar Law
October 6 1980 - January 17 2017
Beloved husband, friend, and son
"In death I will wait for my love to return to me."