SLAP.
The sharp stinging sound of flesh hitting flesh sounded out in the alleyway followed by a viciously hissed whisper.
"You've been acting out you little shit."
The voice was sinister and held the attention of Eustass Kidd as he stood behind his apartment building throwing his trash into the dumpster.
"Don't ever forget, I own you."
Eustass, a tall, heavily built man with flaming red hair, stalked quietly through the alley to see who was speaking so severely at this time of night. He was by no means a good man but he still had little tolerance for assholes and abusers and would not hesitate to rough up anyone acting out in his neighborhood. As he rounded the corner he saw the offender, an exceptionally tall man with light hair whose body appeared unnaturally bulky due to the mass of a pink feathered coat draped over his hulking shoulders. His back was turned to Eustass, his pink silhouette illuminated by the street lamps beyond the alleyway. Between the tall man and a brick wall was a dark-haired figure, dwarfed by the taller man's imperious stature, with his face clutched in the long-fingered grip of the blond man. It was an altogether jarring sight. The eccentricity of the tall man's appearance aside, it was clear that the other man's plight was pitiful. Verbally abused and pressed up against the clammy bricks, the dark haired man was trapped. His eyes were set in dark circles and were forced to stare back into the blond man's face due to the vice-like grip of long nailed fingers at his chin and throat. Eustass felt sick at the sight, and his stomach tumbled when the dark eyes of the shorter man flicked towards him.
"Now how should I punish you? Should I take you right here? I bet you'd enjoy that wouldn't you" the taller man hissed.
That was enough. Eustass stepped out of the shadows and growled, "What the actual fuck."
The tall man twisted his head around in a manner that reminded Kidd of a predatory bird. His face was obscured by sunglasses despite the hour of night, and his grin was perhaps more sinister than his voice. "It seems we have an audience. Would you like to watch?"
Eustass was not amused. "You're one sick fuck."
Thin lips contorted further into a twisted smile, appearing quite possibly pleased by the appraisal.
Stepping boldly towards the two figures, Eustass snarled, "You hit him again and I'll -"
A pitchy laugh broke out and interrupted the red-head's threat. The blonde man had thrown his head back and was cackling not unlike a movie villain. "Oh how cute," the man crooned. "Don't worry your little heart." He turned partially back to the dark haired man, patting a cheek with his hand, "this one likes it. Don't you?"
The other man's expression was stoic and he eyed his oppressor coldy. His silence was not appreciated and the taller man grabbed his chin sharply digging fingernails into flesh.
"Don't you?" the tall man hissed, clearly offended at having to repeat himself.
"I like it," the other man said in a calm voice.
Eustass grit his teeth. He had gotten himself involved with something more complicated than a simple alley beat down and he had no idea what to do with this situation. It angered him, but he felt it wasn't his place to intervene. The dark-haired man did not have eyes that cried for help, despite the fact that he was clearly being victimized in this situation. Lip twitching, he snapped out, "Take your fucked up shit somewhere else," and turned on his heels furiously. As he left, the feathery man's pernicious laugh echoed off the alley walls leaving a sickening feeling in the pit of Eustass's stomach.
His mood was soured by the appearance of the two men, and he was frustrated with himself for not knowing what to do. Normally Kidd wouldn't have involved himself in other people's business, and things like that were especially best left alone, but he couldn't shake the dirty feeling of having seen something wrong and not having done anything about it. That being said, Eustass was not a good guy, and did not usually care when it came to such things. This shouldn't have been any different. He stormed up the steps to his apartment and closed the door to the outside world. He'd knock himself out with a nightcap of whiskey after lifting some oversized weights.
A week or so later Kidd found himself at a hospital getting chest X-rays for potentially broken ribs. Such injuries were common in his line of work. Fortunately, there was no serious damage this time around and Kidd was able to leave without much fuss. His close associate, fondly nicknamed Killer, insisted that he get the X-ray's this time, as the last time he'd broken his ribs he had ignored them until one punctured his lung. It had resulted in an unfortunate waste of time spent in the emergency room.
Waiting for the elevator to arrive, Eustass mused absently about the pain in his chest, and how much worse off his assailants must be. Elevator doors slid open to reveal, to his shock, the dark-haired man from the incident in the alleyway. Kidd stood quite dumbfounded outside the elevator for a moment as the other man reached his hand out cautious to press the door-close button, but Eustass extended an arm quickly to prevent the doors from closing and stepped inside quickly.
In the bright fluorescent hospital lighting, the man's appearance became much clearer. He was tall, though not as tall as Eustass, and wore the white coat of a doctor to Kidd's surprise. It appeared that he worked in this hospital. His skin was a warm caramel color that did nothing to reduce the appearance of the dark circles under his eyes. Despite his weary appearance his face was devastatingly handsome, his eye a cool, almost grey, color which remained averted and focused on the elevator door in front of them. They didn't speak.
Once again, Kidd's thoughts returned to that night in the alley, as they had many times over the past week, and he recalled his disappointment in himself for not having done anything to help this man. Quickly pulling out his wallet and a pen from the pockets of his leather jacket, he located one of his business cards and quickly scribbled his cell phone number on the back of it. Card in hand, and without turning to face the other man, he pressed the card into the doctors palm which hung loosely by his side. The doctor briefly glanced in his direction, taking the card, and brought it up to regard with a distant expression. After a few moments of studying both sides of the business card, the doctor took it between tattooed fingers and tore it several times, letting the pieces scatter to the floor, just as the elevator door opened.
A barely tamed fury spiked in Eustass's blood as the doctor stepped out of the elevator without sparing him so much as a backwards glance. The red head's pale face must have turned about the color of his hair as the doors slid closed in front of him, leaving him alone in the elevator with the shredded pieces of his business card littered about his feet. What a fucking prick. Eustass's intentions had been entirely pure, for once in his life, and he had only given the man his number in case the guy needed someone to call without getting the police involved. He had extended a helping hand. And the man had torn it up in his face.
Eustass returned home once again in a sour mood, resolving to never try being a good guy again. Good guys get treated like shit.
"Fuck!"
Eustass whipped his hand back from the wires he had been handling. One of them had still held a charge and given him quite a zap. It was more surprising than painful, but it pissed him off all the same. A few days had passed since the incident in the elevator, and Eustass was still feeling rather bitter. He was currently repairing some electronics in the apartment, somewhat of a hobby of his, as he'd always been good at taking things apart and putting them back together. His work was once again interrupted when his phone began ringing.
"What?" He answered gruffly.
A smooth voice came through the line, "Eustass Kidd."
Eyes narrowing, the named man responded, "Yeah. Who is this?"
"You gave me your number in the elevator."
Kidd's stomach flipped as he recalled the incident with the doctor, and his anger spiked, "you ripped it up," he growled.
"Not before I memorized it."
This threw Eustass for a loop and he was quiet for a moment, recalling that perhaps the doctor had studied the card rather intensely before tearing it to shreds. He suddenly felt oddly abashed at his anger, then muttered "That's fucking weird. And it was rude."
A warm chuckle rumbled through the line, "My apologies. But I couldn't risk it being found on me."
This was so fucking confusing. "Okay," Eustass replied after a pause, "So what do you want?"
The reply was straightforward, "May I come over?"
Despite the absurdity of letting this mystifying stranger into his home, Eustass replied without hesitation, "Yeah, sure," and gave the man his address.
He waited over an hour, pacing his room, picking up odd things that littered the floor, while deliberating over what this stranger's intentions were and why he had called him out of the blue. He found himself on edge, unable to go back to his previous work, and puttered about cleaning things here and there as he waited for his guest to arrive. He was brought out of his musings by a knock to the door and froze. The man was here.
What he saw upon opening the door quickly silenced all of his thoughts and suspicions regarding the man before him. His blood pressure spiked and his emotions turned to a mix of confusion, rage, and indignation.
The dark haired man stood before him in a loose black hoodie zipped up the front staring up at him with a rueful smile. His lip was split and swollen, crusted with dried blood, and a purple bruise had bloomed across his left cheekbone. The length of visible neck had darkened blotches not unlike one would receive from being choked violently, and Kidd was sure that beneath the layers of clothing the man's body harboured more evidence of abuse.
"May I come in?"
Eustass's shock was interrupted by the velvety voice, but he did not miss the slight tremble in the chords. He stepped aside and ushered the man into his apartment, closing the door quickly before turning and releasing the anger that had risen within him.
"What the fuck did he do you you?" His voice came out sounding foreign to his own ears, hushed and painted with fury.
The reply was cool and dismissive, "The usual."
This only spiked the red-head's anger further, "What are you talking about? How can you let him do that?"
"You heard didn't you?" The man turned to face Kidd, a little too close to comfort, and dropped his voice lower, "He owns me."
"You can't own a person," Eustass growled.
The dark haired man flicked his eyes up to him with a mirthless smile and sighed, "How naive, Mister Eustass," then turned away from him to step further into the apartment.
Eustass Kidd was at a loss for words.
"May I use your shower?" the man asked, already unzipping the sweater and letting it sag around his bare shoulders. Kidd swallowed when he saw that the man was shirtless underneath. The revealing show of skin being exposed, the inky patterns of tattoos, and the marring stain of fresh cuts and bruises littering the man's flesh struck Eustass with a twisted combination of emotions that left his body unsure of whether to be disgusted or aroused.
"No." Kidd managed to bark out, his voice coming out deeper and rougher than he had intended.
The man turned to face him, sweatshirt open and draped around his arms exposing a surprisingly toned chest, covered in tattoos which bled into injuries. "What would you have me do?" His voice was a husky whisper, suggesting possibilities which would involve great self-restraint to be exercised on Kidd's part.
Averting his eyes, Eustass pointed at a chair and demanded, "Sit the fuck down so I can dress your wounds."
The doctor laughed, a pleasant sound despite it's clear condescension. "Mister Eustass, you're going to dress my wounds?" He regarded his host with amusement. "Please. I'm a doctor. I can dress my own wounds."
Angered, Kidd taunted him by repeating his words, "Please yourself, mister -"
"Trafalgar," the doctor chuckled. "Trafalgar Law."
Eustass clicked his tongue, "You look like shit, Traf."
Law lowered his head to hide a flush from the unexpected nickname. "Well this piece of shit would like to get cleaned up," he muttered.
"You're not a piece of shit. You just." Eustass was flustered, "Whatever. Let me clean those wounds."
"These can hardly be called wounds," Law said, gesturing over his body.
Kidd scoffed, "You're bleeding everywhere."
Looking down, Law insisted, "This is a minimal amount of blood. It just needs to be washed off In the shower, if you'd let me."
Feigning anger, Eustass argued, "So you just invite yourself into my apartment bleeding everywhere and making demands, is that right?"
"Well," Trafalgar's tone changed and he let the sweater fall from his arms as he stepped towards the taller man. "If you had other intentions when you gave me your number... that can be arranged."
A flush crept up Kidd's pale face which he quickly masked with a look of disgust, turning to his closet to grab a towel. "Just go clean yourself up," he growled, tossing the towel to the shirtless man.
Law smiled triumphantly as Kidd pointed him in the direction of the bathroom.
With the door closed behind the doctor, Kid roughly ran his hands through his hair and over his face, being more agitated than he had let on, and distracted himself by rifling through his drawers to find a clean set of clothes that might fit his guest. He found a black t-shirt that was too tight for him and some black gym shorts he hadn't worn in years and brought them to the bathroom door. He knocked and received a "come in" from the man inside.
Opening the door just enough to slip an arm inside he muttered, "I brought you some clothes. I'll just leave them on the counter," and placed the folded garments on the counter by the sink.
"Thank you."
A bit of steam escaped the bathroom as Kidd closed the door again, feeling strange and uncertain about what to do with the man on the other side of the door. His stomach grumbled, offering him a quick solution to occupy himself and he set about boiling water for pasta.
The doctor took his time under the hot water, which Kidd didn't mind, and by the time the door to the bathroom opened again Kidd had finished making spaghetti, just about the only thing he could cook well and properly. He turned to regard his guest and nearly dropped the wooden spoon he held when he saw the man, hair wet and dripping down his face, dwarfed by the oversized black t-shirt that went down to his thighs. The shorts he wore were barely visible beneath the hem of the shirt, and the man stood with his weight on one long leg, the other bent slightly at the knee, ankle casually tucked behind the other. He was devastatingly sexy. Standing there, still wet and wearing Kidd's clothing, he looked like what Eustass had imagined a perfect boyfriend would if he ever had one, minus the bruises, and a strange and offensively sentimental part of the otherwise coarse man was terribly affected by the sight. He turned quickly back to the stove and spoke, facing away from the doctor.
"Are you hungry? I made pasta."
He could hear the soft padding of bare feet approaching, and Law replied in a soft tone, "Sure."
Eustass felt uncharacteristically domestic as he pulled a chair out from the dining table for his guest to sit and served him a heaping plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce before serving himself. They ate in silence, save the occasional hum of appreciation from Trafalgar, which Kidd enjoyed a little too much.
Partway through finishing his plate, Trafalgar spoke quietly, "Thank you, it's very delicious."
Kidd grunted in acknowledgement, brushing off the compliment saying, "It's all Killer eats so it's about all I can make."
"Killer?"
"Oh," Kidd wondered for a moment how to describe his friend, "He's like my right-hand guy."
Law nodded, and they finished eating without voicing the many questions they wanted to ask. Kidd stood and collected the dishes to place in the sink and turned back to his guest, pointing to the bedroom. "There's only one bed so don't take up all the space."
Law looked up at him questioningly.
"You look tired." Kidd looked to the side and ran a hand through his hair, trying to hide his discomfort with himself at being so uncharacteristically kind. "Go to bed. I'm still finishing up some things."
Law nodded, standing up from the table, and padded to the bedroom. The loose shirt creased at his hips and kidd couldn't avert his eyes from the man walking away. He had to control himself. It had been an excruciatingly long time since he'd shared a bed with anyone, but he willed himself not to lay hands on this injured man. It wouldn't be right.
Loitering around the room for a bit Kidd finally turned back and reluctantly washed the dishes, then directed his attention to the electronics he had been working on. He would clear his head and cool off by working on something before joining the other man in bed. Where they would sleep. And only sleep.
Eustass managed to fix up a few things properly and by the time he had brushed his teeth and showered he found that he had calmed down significantly and was tired enough to just pass right out. He carefully pulled back the covers to reveal the sleeping man in his bed and slipped in beside him. Law stirred at the movement, but didn't appear to wake, and Eustass settled in, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep when he felt cool fingers drag up his shoulder and to his neck. He turned to face the other man and found a pair of dark eyes gazing back at him.
"Mister Eustass." The voice was raspy with sleep, embellished by tattooed fingers trailing over Kidd's neck.
The red haired man had to breathe deeply to stabilize himself. "Just call me Kidd."
The tattooed man smiled coyly, "But you like it so much when I call you 'Mister Eustass,'" he whispered, lacing his fingers behind Kidd's neck while pulling himself in closer. Kidd's heart rate was accelerating rapidly and he found himself unable to resist the other man's attention. He could feel the man's warm breath on his lips and found the sensation dangerously enticing.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Law's response was breathed across his lips, the words vibrating the space between them, "What does it look like," he replied.
Swallowing thickly, Kidd pulled away with great effort. "If this is some fucked up way of you trying to repay me or some shit I'm not interested."
"It's not," Law replied firmly.
"Then what is it?"
The dark doctor was back on him, this time his face a breath away from Kidd's neck, whispering over the rapidly beating pulse. "I think your sexy," he began, ghosting his lips over Kidd's jaw, "You think I'm sexy," he continued, hovering his lips perilously close to the others, "It's natural."
Kidd couldn't stop himself from closing the distance between them. He sunk into those lips like the Titanic, taking on water fast and sinking deep, arms wrapping firmly around the slender frame, pulling the lithe body close until they were pressed up flush against each other, connected at the mouth. The doctor kissed him with a hungry urgency, open-mouthed with tongue and teeth, and Kidd could taste the blood from the injured lip which only spurred him on more. He was a twisted man, but Law seemed to enjoy the sting of pain when Kidd sucked at the injury, and the metallic tang of blood was electric on his tongue. Hands moved desperately, sliding under loose fabric and tearing off clothing until the two men were naked under the sheets, biting and groping and moaning into each other.
Law made a move to kiss down Kidd's chest, lowering himself as his hands brushed down muscled abs and found purchase on the hardened length between Kidd's thighs, but he was promptly dragged back up and flipped onto his back where Eustass could pin him and gaze down at the doctor's battered body. Kidd's stomach twisted into knots as he felt an uncharacteristic guilt at his own arousal for seeing the abused figure. In the dim light he could make out the vague shadows of bruises like watercolor paints splashed all over the man's body. He started with the cheekbone, planting a soft kiss over the dark, swollen blemish, working his way down, kissing the split lip, nipping at the choke marks encircling the neck, and travelled down the doctor's chest appraising each injury with his mouth. He could feel Trafalgar's breathing become labored, pulse quickening, as he lay still underneath him. Both hip bones were marked with the bruises of being gripped roughly, and Eustass kissed each contusion as if willing them away. His hands snaked to the neglected shaft of Law's arousal which poked into his shoulder, smoothing his palms over it before attending to it with his mouth.
The doctor's breath hitched when the hot tongue met his erection, painfully hard and aching for attention. Within moments he was enveloped in a merciful warmth, and Eustass sucked at him in earnest, drawing out a low moan from Law's lips. Kidd hummed his approval of the sound, growling into each bob of his head sending throaty vibrations through the doctor's insides. Law moaned in response, threading his fingers through red hair and arching into the ministrations. Abruptly, Kidd popped his mouth off of the organ and stopped. He sat up slowly and gazed down at the enraptured doctor. Slipping one hand under Law's thigh to fold the leg upwards, and letting his other hand fall to the doctor's face, he stroked a cheek and grazed his fingers over open lips. Law slid his tongue out to lick at the digits and eagerly took two fingers into his mouth, worshipping them with his tongue, as he stared back into Eustass's eyes. The sight was almost too much. Kidd's eyes burned as he regarded the doctor working the fingers in his mouth. When they were slick and wet he pulled them out and lowered his hand between the doctor's legs.
"Can I?" he asked in a gravelly voice dripping with want.
For some reason the question seemed to affect the doctor deeply, he pulled Eustass down for a searing kiss and breathed a needy "yes."
Slick fingers found their way to Law's entrance, smoothing around the ring of muscles until they relaxed enough for a finger to slip inside. Law rolled his hips impatiently, pulling the finger deeper into the plush heat. Kidd pressed a second finger against the first, rolling his wrist to ease the digit past the barrier and into the impossible warmth. The doctor groaned and bucked his hips, begging the fingers to dance inside of him. The resistance of skin against skin was barely mitigated by the slickness Law had provided with his mouth, but he didn't seem to mind the friction as Kidd finger fucked him ruthlessly.
Once again, he stopped abruptly, pulling his fingers out and leaving the doctor a panting mess. Kidd reached over to his nightstand and roughly pulled open a drawer, clawing through it until he found what he needed, pulling out a bottle of lube and a condom. Tattooed hands found his own and dexterous fingers curled around the products in his grasp.
"Let me ride you," Law whispered, biting his lip in a way that made it impossible for Kidd to deny him. Relinquishing the items in his hand to the man below him, Eustass sat back on the bed then laid down beside the other man who quickly rolled on top of him, smothering him in a breathless kiss. The doctor's hands roved over the wide set and heavily muscled body beneath him, fingers tracing the well defined lines of muscles and travelling to the well endowed weight between the legs. Breaking off the kiss, Law draped a leg over the other man's body to straddle him, sitting above him to grind their lengths together as he let his head fall back contentedly. He ripped open the condom wrapper, tossing it aside, and smoothed the latex over Kidd's arousal, stretching it down the entire length and giving it a slow stroke before turning his attention to the bottle of lube. Flicking it open, Law poured a generous amount into his palms before returning his hand to Kidd's length, slicking it, then held the bottle inverted over the erection and let more of the liquid pour out over the shaft and his fingers. A delighted grin split his face as he revelled in the profuse wetness. Rising up on his knees and bringing his slimy fingers between his legs he began fingering himself with his eyes locked on Kidd's, who could only stare open mouthed at the erotic display. When he felt loose enough he reached down to take Eustass's cock in hand and positioned it, dragging his tongue across his lips before lowering himself onto Kidd's arousal.
Eustass was all but sucked in. The excess of lube had him gliding into the tight heat in one smooth thrust, and Law beared down on him as they both melted into the connection. Then the doctor began riding him.
The expert roll of hips, the timing of every rise and fall, the way the muscles clenched around him all had Eustass seeing stars. He didn't remember sex feeling this good. When he came to his senses he found his arms wrapped tightly around the body above him with Law biting into his neck, moaning through every roll of his hips which Kidd met with well timed thrusts. They were like celestial bodies perfectly aligned and moving at the mercy of the other's gravity. Lips met lips and they kissed arrhythmically between breaths. When Law pulled back, supported by palms on firm pectorals, there were tears dripping from his eyes. Kidd ceased his movement at the sight and shot a hand out to touch the wetness, confirming their existence.
"What, what is it?" He breathed out with concern, "Does it hurt?"
Law smiled endearingly, rolling his hips to encourage Eustass to resume moving, "No," he assured, "It's just," his voice was barely a whisper, "good to know I can still fuck of my own free will." He chuckled darkly and it sent a cold chill through Kidd's veins.
"Traf.." both his hands were now cradling the smaller man's face, thumbs brushing away the tears that glistened on his cheeks. He wasn't sure if he should stop or keep going, as an uncomfortable feeling in him was screaming "save him" but he didn't know how.
The doctor smiled, leaning into the hands on his cheeks, turning to brush his lips against fingers. "It's good to know I can still enjoy it."
Kidd felt immense pain, somewhere deep inside him, as he pulled the man's face down to meet his in an ardent kiss. Still buried inside the man above him, he stilled his hips and kissed him deeply. He felt the wetness of tears dripping on his face and he felt emotions he'd never felt before in his life. Holding the man tightly, he rolled over until he lay on top of the doctor and began moving slowly.
Eustass Kidd made love to the doctor in a way he never knew he was capable of. The movements were achingly slow, painfully gentle, deep and passionate and thoughtful. When they came it was dizzying and Law buckled beneath him, keening loudly into his shoulder, both of their bodies quaking and trembling and messy.
Before the yearning for sleep overcame them, Kidd muttered into the doctor's jaw, "I'm not giving you back to him," and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Dawn came with a chill and Eustass Kidd awoke alone. When he read the note on the nightstand he ripped it to shreds and roared, throwing a pillow across the room. The note had simply said "thank you" but it might as well have said "goodbye."
...TBC
Notes: Don't worry, it's not the end! There will be at least one more chapter, maybe two. I wanted to make Law suffer, since I have Kidd suffering in my other K/Lfic lol. and I know it's weird that I spell Kidd with two d's, I just like it better that way. I hope I was able to keep the boys in character, it ended up being really emotional which is pretty uncharacteristic, but I hope it's believable. I'd love to hear your thoughts so far. Stay tuned and check out the other fics I post in the meantime :)