Hello!
Ok so I was pretty tired when I wrote this chappie so... (I mean, it was New Year's Eve yesterday after all...)
But I wanna thanks everyone who reviewed!
LaraLuvKakashi: Yea, Law really likes his little (big) redheaded idiot ( - v - ) And aah~ Thanks for being so kind! Smoker and Law aren't interacting very much yet, Smoker is pretty much for himself actually, but eventually they will of course! And thanks for reviewing! :3
YOO: Ahh, thanks for reading my fics! I really appreciate it! And now that you point it out, Kidd could be metrosexual! ( o v o ) And this chappie will have a little BartoLaw! ;3 Thanks for reviewing!
Guest: Law is always pretty cool, but hackers do have a charm of their own~ ;3 Thanks for reviewing Guest-sama!
Schlydie: Aa~ I always get so happy when people like my stories! *hugs* ((I really love the pairings too, they are taking over my life...)) And Law has quite a trip ahead of him! ;3 Thanks for reviewing dear!
Guest: I'm glad it looks interesting! Thank you very much for reviewing too, other Guest-sama! :3
Riinachaan: Yea... They are super adorable together! And so far, Smoker hasn't planned very much, but who knows really ;) AAA! I'm super excited to get so nice reviews, so I have a clue on how excited you are! :3
shirt: OMG A SHIRT IS REVIEWING IM SO HONORED. *bows to the shirt* AND THE SHIRT THINKS MY STORY IS AWESOME! BEST WAY TO START A NEW YEAR~! ((psst thank you shirt-sama, for reviewing)) ( u v u )
Once again, thanks everyone who bothered to review: *hands over cookies to each and every one*
And like every chapter, this one is also dedicated to the wonderful Amaitsumi-sama! :3
~Enjoy~
It was quite awkward, sitting in the backseat of Sengoku's car. Law fidgeted awkwardly, feeling itchy and dirty, despite just taking a long, hot shower. One week of captivity had managed to make him lose his sanity after all. He wondered how it would have affected him on the long run, sitting in that cell, listening to the other prisoners singing sad songs about the holy land Mariejois or Amazon Lily, where all the beautiful models lived.
Sengoku must have noticed how bothered Law was, because he suddenly started talking;
"When you were caught, the news spread over the whole world. Everyone thinks you are in prison, so that's another reason to keep your profile low."
Law snorted at this piece of information. What a disgrace. Now the entire world thought of him as a failure, as an idiot, as a loser. He wondered what Kidd must have thought, seeing the headlines in some newspaper. Maybe the red-haired baboon hadn't cared, trusting that it all was a part of Law's plans. Or maybe, he had completely panicked and was now threatening every police in the whole New World. Who knew what that uneducated, precious fool was up to anyway?
"You aren't the talkative type, I see", Sengoku persisted to talk. Law didn't know whether it was better to keep the conversation going, or just sit there in complete silence, watching Punk Hazard's snowy landscapes swish by. "May I ask you how you learnt hacking so well? Did someone teach you?"
"Yea, I had someone. He helped me. That's why he taught me. It's a long story", Law really was not in the mood to think of his past. He had never told anyone, he had merely given Kidd some hints, but never really shared the whole story with him.
"I see", Sengoku seemed to be out of topics, and Law was thankful for that. Unfortunately, it seemed like he came up with another topic to discuss. "So, had you ever been to Punk Hazard before this incident?"
"No. I lived here for six months before threatening Smoker-ya, however. If that counts", Law was hoping that they would arrive soon. The whole conversation was awkward. Of course, it had to be kept alive, in sake for politeness. Despite being a criminal, Law had always respected basic courtesy to a certain degree.
"You spent those whole six months preparing for that moment?" Sengoku seemed surprised, as if he had expected less from Law, which only made Law feel like letting out another snort. Stupid head of the government thinks he's superior to me.
"Yeah, I collected valuable information. It took me a good two months to find him, and another month to be completely sure it was him and not someone who reminded of him", Law explained. "Then I spent three months following him around, finding out who his coworkers were, following them around. That just proved to be waste of time, though."
"Where did you even learn to know about the CID, in first place?" Sengoku inquired. Law wasn't sure whether they were having an innocent conversation anymore. It seemed as if it had turned into an interrogation of some sort.
"I had been suspecting that Sir Crocodile worked together with the government for quite a while. It was merely my instincts telling me thusly. He is also one of the few wealthy men who do not speak badly about the governmental arrangements. In fact, whilst watching every interview that had been undergone with him, I recognized that he promoted the government, speaking warmly about it. Of course it made suspicion arise within me. But when his business suddenly started to bloom and the government, at the very same moment, got a bigger yearly budget, I was sure of the connection. You hid it well Sengoku, but everyone must have noticed it. You were getting help from a rat", Law spoke calmly, watching how Sengoku tensed in the front seat, watching the driver with nervous eyes. Law thought it was weird that Sengoku sat in the front seat. Usually the driver would sit there alone.
"Why did you even watch all of Sir Crocodile's interviews to begin with?" Sengoku was obviously panicking, despite hiding it behind a polite, calm façade. Law smirked.
"The leader of the Family has to be wealthy in order to be able to finance the costs of producing CANDY. From what I've read, it must be a very expensive drug, in order to get symptoms like that to appear. My guesses where also that the leader is a man, only due to the fact that the fashion company Criminal's daughter company 007 Suits have been selling more suits lately. 007 Suits is known for being ridiculously expensive – not anyone can afford them. There has lately been a lot of big orders, and when I say big, I mean in the sense of mafia-gang-big. There have been group orders, probably to suit the higher ups in the gang. But what made me sure about the leader being male, were the orders with special customizing, especially since of the suits ordered had been ordered by a man named Bellamy."
Sengoku took a deep breath, apparently amazed by everything Law had managed to find out on his own.
"Do… Do you think this Bellamy is the leader?"
"Hardly. He is most likely a mere puppet. He made a mistake to order by his own name and has probably been killed. But that suit was special in some way. I don't know why. The designers and the tailors said there was nothing special about it, but one of them knows something. He was way too nervous when I went there to talk to them. Oh yea, I kind of stole one of your workers badges in able to get them to talk. I pretended to go by the name Coby. They bought it", Law continued to smirk, seeing how Sengoku's shoulders shuddered of tension. "And why Sir Crocodile? Well, once again the suits. Considering that there had only been ordered suits, no dresses, I recognized that when checking the expensive dress shops, I came to the conclusion that the stuck-up bastard leading the Family probably looks down on women. We could probably find him through some prostitutes, he seems like a man like that. That's why I started investigating all rich and wealthy men in the New World, whom he could possibly work together with. That's how I found Sir Crocodile."
"You work as if you've been into investigation you entire life", Sengoku relaxed in the front seat, breathing heavily as if he just had been told a horrible, grotesque ghost story. "And you have to return that badge. I didn't even know it was gone."
"Neither did Coby. It was only gone for a couple of hours. It wasn't hard, he is a normal ticket cop, his badge hanging out from his pockets all of the time. I took it and pretended it wasn't a normal badge. I came up with some secret department, spit out some bullshit, and inquired each and every designer and tailor in 007 Suits", Law leaned into his seat, satisfied with everything he had been able to find out on his own.
"I could make you go back into prison because of that. Pretending to be a police is a serious crime", Sengoku sounded a bit angry, even offended. He probably didn't like it when someone was able to fool him and his employees.
"Accepting money from a half-criminal with a casino that sells underage prostitutes, is also a crime, Sengoku-ya", the smirk on Law's full lips grew wider. He had the man right where he wanted him to be. There was no way Sengoku was going to fire him now. Too bad he hadn't found Sengoku first, and had been forced to threaten Smoker.
"You really are a criminal. Well, I should have known that you would cause some trouble. Once a criminal, always a criminal."
"And yet I've come farther in my personal investigations than the CID ever could dream of, by just 'criming' around, like the horrible criminal I am."
"Don't belittle your crimes Trafalgar."
The car suddenly stopped by a tall skyscraper. Law recognized the building as the headquarters for Safety and Security for the People of the New World, the SSPNW. A long name for a simple organization. Did the CID have their headquarters here too? Well it wasn't a bad place. The building was situated in a good, accessible place, had modern equipment and the police school was just behind the corner, available for training.
"This is it. We're at the 14th floor. The top floor is reserved for governmental meetings where we decide about Safety and Security issues", Sengoku explained, got out of the car, opened the car door for Law and pulled him out of the car. "I'm keeping an eye on you until we have the GPS locator attached to you."
"Aye, aye, sir", Law replied sarcastically.
S
Law was hungry and thirsty when they were finished with every test. There had been questions about why he wanted to join, why he had become a criminal, why he didn't have any family and why he was interested in the Family overall.
Thanks to the fact that there were no official facts about Law, and the ones there had been he had made sure to disappear from the world, Law had been free to come up with a story of his own. He told them he came from a foreign, undeveloped country, that his family had starved to death and that he had escaped over the border to the neighboring country, where a man had taught him to hack in order to get money to live.
Of course, that all had been a big fat lie.
When they had asked him about his reasons to why he wanted to join, Law had come up with some bullshit story, how he had had a friend living in the streets that had gotten addicted to CANDY and had died in the process. His real motives were his private thing.
Law had been surprised when the lie detector hadn't noticed him lying. He had thought it was hard not to be caught, but apparently if one just was calm enough, the stupid device wouldn't notice a thing.
Besides the long interrogation, with detailed inquires after inquires, they had also forced the dark-haired man to do a lot of psychological tests and physical tests. He had been forced to run laps while they had measured his heartbeat. And then he had been forced to do a certain amount of push-ups and sit-ups within a certain time limit. They tested how well he was able to handle guns, and how flexible he was. And then they run some intelligence tests. More psychological tests. A bit more interrogation. Running a few more laps. Hitting the shower to get rid of the sweat from the physical tests. And finally, have a stupid black device attached around his left ankle with a black strap.
Law slumped down on the sofa in Smoker's office, while both Sengoku and Smoker looked over the test results from Smoker's laptop. He felt the GPS locator against his ankle. If he was to try to cut it off, the CID and the rest of the SSPNW would be alarmed and immediately start searching for him. There was no use in trying to do that, especially not if Law on top of everything was supposed to live with a CID-worker.
"You prove to have a somewhat stable mental health. The results from the physical tests could be improved, not your stamina, but you muscles and your flexibility. You had outstanding results from handling a gun, you hit both objects that were still and objects that were moving with accuracy", Sengoku spoke with a cold voice. He was most likely still mad at Law for the whole stealing-Coby's-badge-thing. When Sengoku mentioned the whole gun-accuracy thing, Law felt himself missing Kidd. The redhead would probably have gotten a perfect score, he was incredibly talented with handling all kinds of weapons. Law just wanted to sleep next to him, taking a break from everything. "The lie detector couldn't detect a single lie and you scored… very well on your intelligence test."
Law smirked, while lying on the sofa like a tired, shrunken pile of papers. He knew very well how high his IQ was. And he knew that people always got a bit startled.
"Does this mean I can stay?"
"Yea, you're hired. From now on Smoker will be your boss, and you can't go around threatening people anymore. And definitely no stealing badges. You'll get your own if you behave", Law just rolled his eyes while Sengoku spoke. "Smoker will now take you to your team, so that you'll be able to meet them all. Then you'll go home with Bartolomeo. He is the guy you will be living with. Tomorrow Smoker will introduce the other teams along with the project we are currently working on. Also, Trafalgar, be sure to share the information you got your hands on. I hate to admit it, but it's utterly valuable information."
"Bartolomeo?" Law thought, following Smoker out of the office. He and Smoker hadn't gotten the chance to talk yet, and Law wondered if the man was angry at him because of what had happened a week ago. "If his name is Bartolomeo then it surely can't be too bad. It's a fancy name after all."
Smoker led Law through a long corridor with many offices. He heard how phones ringed, how people said goodbye and went home, how someone screamed at someone, how papers were copied, how someone typed on keyboards. Everyone seemed busy in the CID. Apparently there were many different teams investigating many different things. Law got curious, wanted to ask Smoker how the different teams differed from each other, but he decided not to. Smoker was most likely still mad at him, and he would still get to know more tomorrow, so he could be patient and wait.
Finally Smoker stopped walking and walked in into one of the many offices. It was spacious, there were many desks and all of them were occupied. Law wondered where he'd work, and suspected he'd most likely get a desk of his own as soon as possible. None of the workers in the room seemed to notice neither Smoker's nor Law's presence, until Smoker demonstratively cleared his throat.
"Okay, so this is Trafalgar Law, the famous hacker. He will be working with us from now on. Please introduce yourself", Smoker turned to Law who hadn't been expecting to have to perform an introduction as well. Well, there was no turning back now, was there.
"Yea I'm Trafalgar Law, you can call me Trafalgar. Or Law. Whatever", Law said sloppily, feeling how a disapproving glare pierced through him, obviously coming from Smoker. Not that the dark-haired man really cared. All he cared about was getting started as soon as possible.
The others smiled, waved a little, until Smoker roared at them to introduce themselves as well. They stood up one by one.
"I'm Shachi, I mostly check through evidence we get and send them to the lab. You can call me Sha-chan!"
"No thanks", Law replied coldly. He was not going to call a grown man Sha-chan, not over his dead body.
"This is Hina, she is an assassin and interrogates whoever we find that needs to be inquired. Hina is also a very good double spy!" a woman with pale pink hair talked in third person, and Law wondered how she had passed the psychological tests. Then again, people perhaps thought it was cute, and that's why they used her as a double spy. Law did find her a bit terrifying as well. She seemed ruthless.
"My name is Penguin. I do both lab stuff and computer stuff. I also interrogate people and sometimes work as a double spy, but I'm not as skilled as Hina-san." He seemed to be the sanest one so far, in Law's opinion.
"I'm Rebecca. I'm a specialized assassin. My skills are mostly in close combat fighting and poisoning, but I'm also skilled with small weaponry, such as smaller guns", there was another woman with pink hair. Law wondered if it was a trend to dye your hair pink amongst women. Maybe it was, maybe not, Law was not very good with keeping track on fashion and things of that kind. But this Rebecca girl seemed nice and sane, not as creepy as Hina. She seemed more professional, as if she had been training for years.
"I'm Drake", a man with reddish hair announced. "I've been working with gaining information from databases, but I suppose you are more skilled on those kinds of things."
"Well, it's still good that there are two of us. Either of us might die, after all", saying it bluntly, Law recognized how people got a bit tense. Had someone recently died or? Well, whatever.
Finally, there was only one person left, and Law was sure that this had to be Bartolomeo. It was a green-haired man with a tattoo in his face. He was shaking with eagerness and had been staring at Law the entire time. Law wondered if the man was okay in the head. Maybe the tattoo needle had accidentally pierced through not only his skin, but his skull, damaging his brain? Law blinked when the green-haired man didn't do anything, just sat there and looked at Law with a goofy smile all over his face.
"What..? Is something wrong?" Law asked, getting really bothered by the long stares.
"Ah, yes that is Bart-"
Smoker got cut off by Bartolomeo, who suddenly flung out of his chair, ran up to Law and attacked Law with a big, tight hug.
"Aaaa! Law-senpai! It's such an honor to finally meet you! You've been hacking into our systems since forever!" the green-haired man did not let go, as he rubbed his right cheek against Law's face. "You're so handsome in real life! Such smooth skin!"
"H-Hey..! Let me go..!" protesting seemed to be completely hopeless, Bartolomeo didn't listen to Law at all.
"Um, yes, I forgot to mention that Bartolomeo here has been admiring your skills as a criminal for quite a long while. He loves people like you, who have extraordinary abilities", Smoker explained, obviously amused. That bastard thought it was entertaining seeing how Law suffered. "Not that you are his biggest idol. He is even more obsessed with Luffy, working in team Straw-hat. They are one of the teams here on the CID, you'll get to meet them tomorrow."
"Waah! Law-senpai is so cute! I'm the luckiest person alive to get to live with him!" Bartolomeo continued to cuddle the newcomer, until Smoker started to feel too sorry for the suffering dark-haired male that he told Bartolomeo to let go. "Oh sorry senpai! I didn't realize you weren't a people person!" he laughed goofily.
"Yea, well, I'm not. So leave me alone", glaring at the goofy man, Law tried to shake him off, but Bartolomeo just stood there, a few inches too close, and looked at Law while smiling happily. Law sighed and turned to Smoker. "Is he always like this? Will he ever leave me alone?"
"No, he won't leave you alone. This is how he is", Smoker didn't seem to care. "Bartolomeo works as our assassin and sniper. Okay people, get back to work. Bartolomeo, show Law around and then bring him home to your place. And keep an eye on him, he's a sneaky one."
"Yes, sir!" Bartolomeo seemed very determined, making Law question his life choices. Maybe it had been better to continue the investigation alone after all… "This way senpai! I'll show you the entire floor! And we have a hot chocolate machine as well! I'll teach you how to get hot chocolate from it for free! Oh, oh, and… Woah you have really long legs senpai!" Bartolomeo suddenly bent down to stroke Law's thighs, but there was a limit to how much harassing Law could endure throughout one day, and Bartolomeo was crossing that limit. So Law just angrily kicked him in his stomach.
"Next time it'll be your crotch", the angry tone pierced through Bartolomeo's heart, who was now holding his stomach, shuddering in pain. Law heard how some workers laughed in their offices. Then he got even angrier. It was not a laughing matter that this crazy greenhead was obsessing with him. It was annoying as hell.
"T… There won't be a next time senpai…" Bartolomeo mumbled.
"I sure hope so, or I'll also be charged for murder."
M
Small crystal-like snowflakes fluttered down from the sky. The sun had set a long time ago, hiding behind the horizon. Only dim streetlights were there to light up the streets, accompanied by the lights coming from homes and stores. The decorated trees also illuminated the dark lanes, making the snowflakes glitter in a fairy-tale like manner, as if they were fairy dust. The streets of the town were filled with people, desperately trying to get home. Some of them were coming home from school, some from work, some from a friend's place. Nevertheless, everyone seemed busy with their own merry life.
Except that Law's life wasn't very merry at the moment, having a glad, laughing Bartolomeo walking next to him, showing him the way home to his apartment.
"Oh! This is the closest convenience store", Bartolomeo stopped by a small convenience store, with orange and blue colors. Law looked up at the text illuminated above the door. Snacks & Knacks? What kind of knacks did that store have, Law wondered, while he looked into the somewhat empty store with a bored young man as the cashier. "If you want to buy anything right now, we could go and get it. Ah, right, you probably don't have a tooth brush. Nor anything else. Let's go buy the most essential ones!"
Law merely let out a groan, indicating that he already was suffering, before even entering the store. But Bartolomeo had already grabbed his wrist and was pulling him into Snacks & Knacks.
The duo walked around in the store, Law desperate not to be seen. He had no idea where Kidd was for the moment, the red-haired baboon could as well have come to Punk Hazard in order to find Law. And Law really didn't want to be seen with a chicken-looking greenhead that was way too eager all of the time.
Fortunately, they found what they needed quickly. A toothbrush, a few razor blades, shampoo, a deodorant and things like that. Law had really hoped that they were done there, but Bartolomeo wanted to buy some more ingredients and a few bottles of lime juice.
"Does Law-senpai have any favorite dishes?" Bartolomeo looked at the shelves filled with different kinds of bottles, cans and packages. Cheese, meat, vegetables, root crops… The convenience store had a lot of ingredients for being such a cheap-looking place. "I could cook you whatever you like for dinner."
"I'm not really hungry. Let's just go."
"No! You must eat more, Law-senpai! You need to build more muscle! I'll make something with a lot of protein! And tomorrow morning you'll eat a boiled egg!" looking at Law with determined eyes, Bartolomeo filled the basket he had borrowed from the store with a lot of beans, meat, seeds, eggs, a few cans of tuna, a piece of halibut, cheeses of different kinds, curd cheese and other protein-rich viands. When Bartolomeo took a package of bread, Law stopped him and put the package of bread back on the shelf. "Huh?"
"No. No bread. I don't like bread", using a stern voice, Law glared at the other man. "If I ever get bread as breakfast, I'll kill you and leave the CID."
"Oh. Okay, so no bread. What do you like then? Are croissants ok? Bagels? Anything bread-like?"
"Pancakes and waffles are fine. And croissants are ok if they are chocolate-filled. But no donuts, no bagels, no panini, no focaccia."
"So nothing else besides waffles, pancakes and croissants with chocolate? D… Does this mean that senpai has a sweet tooth? Ah, so cute!" Bartolomeo squeaked and tried to hug Law again, but the latter just stepped aside and glared at the greenhead.
"No, I also think tortilla bread and naan bread are okay. But I don't really like them."
"I see. What does senpai like then?" Bartolomeo was once again standing a few inches too close. Or then Law just had a very big personal space.
"I like grilled fish and rice balls. Rice crackers are also good. And black espresso", Law tried to think of other things he liked, but none crossed his mind. He was pretty indifferent when it came to food. He had never really cared about how food tasted, except that he hated bread and salt plums. "Oh yea, I also hate salt plums. And mayonnaise. Please never put mayonnaise in anything. And preferably no ketchup."
"Woah senpai, you're super picky! Like a small child! Super cute!"
Super cute? Kidd had always complained that he was a spoilt brat and had forced him to eat all kinds of different things. He missed the fights they would have before every meal, Law refusing to eat stuffed mushrooms and Kidd insisting that they tasted wonderful, especially if they were stuffed with Crème Bonjour's garlic cream cheese and grilled bacon strips rolled around them. Or stuffed with neutral cream cheese and pesto. In the end, Law had really liked the mushrooms.
"Whatever. Are we done now?" the memories with Kidd made him angry for some reason. Maybe because he really wanted to eat those stuffed mushrooms with Kidd again, but he was stuck in Snacks & Knacks with a slightly mentally unstable, green-haired chicken-man. And he couldn't escape anywhere, thanks to that stupid GPS locator.
"Yea. I can grill this halibut tonight. And tomorrow for breakfast you can get tuna", Bartolomeo smiled.
Even though he was indescribably annoying, he was also indescribably kind.
I
Kidd anxiously rolled turned around in his bed.
It had been about one week since the news had spread around the world. Trafalgar Law had been caught.
What was he supposed to do? Was it all a part of some intricate plan that Law had come up with? Or had he made a mistake and been caught for real? What if he really suffered in prison?
Kidd turned around again, feeling hot and sweaty underneath the thick blanket.
Law had been gone in six months and Kidd wondered how much longer he'd have to live in this uncertainty. It was pure torture, not knowing how his Law was doing. Of course, he worried even more because he had heard the tanned man have nightmares dozens of times. Who would be there to hug him when he was at his worst, crying in his sleep, refusing to eat, refusing to sleep and refusing to talk? Who would be there to stroke his black locks, telling him to calm down? Who would be there to ignore these periods when Law wanted them to be ignored?
Not matter how much Law insisted that he was strong and that he was doing fine, he wasn't. He was just a fragile piece of glass on the inside, even if he had built a strong barrier of metal around him, making it impossible for anyone to get close to him.
Kidd turned around his third time within two minutes, kicking the blanket away, sweating like a pig. Why was it so goddamn hot in this apartment?
He was currently staying in Zou, he had moved trice during the past six months. That's how a criminal is forced to live, or they'll be caught. And Kidd was completely okay with that. But he was not okay with Law being gone somewhere, probably behind the bars, losing even more weight.
Kidd would literally do anything for Law. He would find those bastards who made him see those nightmares, who had tortured him so badly that he was unable to live his life in peace. He would find them and kill them, even if it would cost him his life, if it would get Law happier. And Kidd knew Law was the same, even though the tattooed man always told Kidd he'd leave him die if something was to happen. But Kidd knew it was a lie. Law would help him with everything and a little more, not making a big fuss about it. He'd remember that Kidd had once half-heartedly mentioned he'd love to have something, and Law would buy it for him as a Christmas present.
Speaking of Christmas, Christmas Eve would be in about one week. Kidd wondered how he'd deliver his present to Law this year, when Law was mysteriously gone. He could always try to send it to the prison Law was staying in, but he knew the prison guards and other staff members would open the present and investigate it before giving it to Law. The present was rather personal, and Kidd really didn't want some strangers to read his love letters to Law.
Eventually Kidd gave up, sat up and walked to the balcony. He stood there, looked over the park. Zou was a countryside-like unit, with a lot of forests and other natural wonders. In the park beneath Kidd there was a small pond, gurgling and bubbling in a meditating manner. It shimmered beautifully in the moonlight. Zou was the perfect place to relax, but it still was impossible for the buff redhead to relax completely. He wouldn't be able to relax completely until he saw that Law was okay.
Different scenarios started to swirl around in Kidd's head, most of them only making him worry even more.
Little did the scarlet-haired man know, that Law had been released from prison the very same day. Not that the job Law had taken on was any better. In fact, it would have probably made Kidd worry even more, if he only had known.
A small wind passed, making Kidd remember that he stood on the balcony only wearing his boxers. He shuddered gently. He had never gotten used to cold places, and Zou wasn't even a very cold place.
L
Ah, what a soft bed and a thick blanket. It was so warm and cozy it was almost illegal. He snuggled closer to the wall but pulled away quickly, when he realized how cold it was. He stretched a bit underneath the blanket, turned around, and curled himself to a ball again. He was not getting up in a few hours, even though he was almost awake. It was just way too comfortable to lie there, feeling like an emperor in a huge bed, feeling the sunrays peeking through the curtains land on his face. A morning couldn't get any better. Wait, yes it could. If he was to wake up next to Kidd it'd be even better. Or maybe not. The big man would always snore and take a lot of space, but not only that, he was also incredibly warm and liked to be close to Law the whole night, making them both hot and sweaty.
Law's stomach was still filled with warm food from the night before. Bartolomeo had literally forced him to eat until he had started to feel sick, but Law was grateful now, feeling warm instead of feeling cold, like he always did when he hadn't eaten enough.
Planning to stay underneath the warm blanket even longer, Law failed to hear the door to his room being opened. But he did notice when someone suddenly sat down on his bed and pulled away the blanket.
"Good morning senpai! Time to wake up and get to work!" Bartolomeo smiled at the tanned man who just whined and turned away, trying to kick the greenhead away from the bed. "Oh, senpai isn't a morning person either! Very cute and very good to know!"
Law groaned, getting tired of being called cute and adorable and handsome all of the time. The compliments were losing their value, being repeatedly used. "Go away Bartolomeo-ya… Please let me sleep… Just a few more hours…"
"No can do; Smoker would kill us! Hehe! Now get up I made some really nice breakfast! I made porridge, and boiled a few eggs, then I went to the local bakery and got you chocolate-filled croissants. Oh yea, we have tuna too! And if you don't feel like eating any of those things, I have fruit loops!" Bartolomeo grinned, making Law just groan even louder. He didn't want to get up yet, the bed was ridiculously comfortable, and spending the whole day sleeping was really tempting. Especially since he was a bit sore from all those physical tests the other day.
Bartolomeo persisted to wait, while Law turned around in the bed, not even trying to get up. Then Bartolomeo got tired of waiting and started to shake the tanned man, making Law lose his temper, hissing at Bartolomeo and slapping his hands away. The greenhead sighed, not knowing what to do next, so he just looked at his new roommate with exhausted eyes. That changed, however, when he noticed an odd burn mark of some sort on Law's inner thigh. It seemed to form a perfect circle.
"Senpai, what's this?" Bartolomeo tried to touch it and move Law's legs to see it better.
Law jumped at the touch and quickly proceeded to kick Bartolomeo as hard as he could in his head. Law hadn't even been able to react himself, his body had reacted on its own and now the green-haired chicken-man was lying on the floor.
"Never… Never touch me again", Law breathed, feeling his heartbeat raise. He hid the mark with the blanket and swallowed nervously. He knew he should have tried to contact a doctor and remove that stupid burn mark a long time ago. But the doctor would also have asked questions. He didn't want to answer any questions, particularly not if they revolved around that burn mark.
"Hey, senpai, are you alright?" Bartolomeo had sat up, rubbing his swollen forehead carefully. His nose had also been damaged a little. But he didn't care, he only noticed that there was something wrong with his senpai.
"Go away."
"But, that burn mar-"
"I said go away didn't I!?" his eyes glistened dangerously as Law let out an angry shout. He was usually not a person who lost his temper, but he was getting incredibly tired of Bartolomeo's intrusive behavior. He'd ask if it would be possible for him to live with someone else. Bartolomeo asked too many questions.
"Okay senpai. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
Law didn't bother to reply, he just sat on the bed, staring into the wall. The door was closed carefully, in a silent manner, which only bothered Law even more, for some reason.
"Great going Law, now they all will start to suspect things. Bartolomeo-ya will surely tell everyone and they'll fire me right away and I'll be sent back to prison", Law thought, biting on his right thumb. It was a bad habit of his, he usually bit on his thumbs when he was nervous. Eventually both of his thumbs would be patched and he'd bite on the patches until they'd be ruined too.
Hearing how Bartolomeo was fixing stuff in the kitchen, Law started to feel a bit sorry for the greenhead who obviously tried his best to befriend Law and to make Law feel like adapting to the new situation was possible. Unfortunately, however, he did it in all the wrong ways, making Law feel cornered. He didn't know that Law was like that, that questions bothered him a lot and that he definitely was not okay with someone invading his personal space. And Law's personal space was very large, he preferred to be at least two meters away from most people.
After sitting deep in his thoughts for a while, Law sighed and got up. He needed to shower. So he stretched his neck carefully and then quietly walked to the bathroom. Bartolomeo was in the kitchen, placing the breakfast he had prepared in plastic boxes, obviously intending to put them away and save them for later. Once again Law felt sorry for him, so he just quickly walked into the bathroom, trying not to bother too much.
He let the warm water run over his body, cleaning every inch of him. When rubbing soap on his shoulders, Law felt the bones sticking out, and grimaced. He really had to build more muscles. It would be useful if he would be forced to fight someone. Right now the enemy probably could sit down on him and he'd be crushed. Law shuddered at the thought, but then smirked a little for himself. It was a really stupid thought.
When he was done showering and drying himself, Law found himself a bit lost. What was he supposed to dress himself with? Currently he was only wearing a pair of boxers but he had no proper clothes, only a few old hoodies and worn jeans, but they were surely not CID-material. So, no matter how awkward it was, Law was forced to pop his head out of the bathroom and ask Bartolomeo:
"Bartolomeo-ya, what can I wear for work today?"
The greenhead seemed super happy that Law was talking with him once again. He rushed to Law by the bathroom door and smiled happily. "What would you like to wear? I have a few sweaters, black ones. And then some shirts. And jeans and a bit fancier pants. Just tell me and I'll bring it to you! Oh, but they'll probably be a little big on you, since I'm a lot wider than you are…"
"It's fine. If you'd bring me a black sweater and some jeans, I'd be happy."
"Alright, I'll be right back!"
Law waited patiently for Bartolomeo to return and while the other male was gone he took a look at the reddish burn mark on his inner thigh. It really was discernable. Kidd had also seen it, and tried to ask about it. Law had half-heartedly given him a half-true explanation. He wondered if anyone at the CID would ask about it too, when they'd go to the gym together, changing clothes in the locker rooms. Would it cause suspicion? He didn't know. People would surely ask, because one could tell it was a fairly old mark. Something he had gotten as a child.
Soon Bartolomeo returned with the clothes and a belt too, remarking that Law most likely would need it, or the pants would just fall down. Then the greenhead proceeded to suggest that the two of them could go and buy Law some clothes after work today. Law had lost all of his money, it all had been stolen money after all, but Bartolomeo offered to pay for the clothes, saying that it was the least he could do for being so rude earlier.
"Okay so now it's settled, we're going to buy some clothes for senpai after work! Do you have any brand you prefer?" Bartolomeo asked, walking back into the kitchen to continue putting away the breakfast he had prepared.
"Nah, as long as the clothes are comfortable. It's just hard to find clothes in my size. I'm pretty tall I need pretty small sizes, so most of my clothes always end up being too short", Law remarked from the bathroom, pulling the pants on. They really were loose; Law ended up looking like some teenage star with loose, hanging pants and a somewhat loose sweater. Well, there was nothing they could do about that right now. He would just have to live through the day looking like an awkward teenage star with dark hand tattoos and finger tattoos.
"They are a bit big on you, but as long as they don't fall off, it should be ok", Bartolomeo said, when the tanned man entered the kitchen. "Are you hungry? Your plate is on the table, there's a boiled egg, a small fruit salad, a croissant and yoghurt and a little bit of tuna."
"Oh god, I'm still completely stuffed from yesterday…" Law waddled to the dining table and sat down on one of the chairs, looking at his meal with hopeless eyes. There was no way he'd be able to eat all of that. No fucking way.
"But breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Besides, eating a healthy, well-balanced breakfast makes you last much longer throughout the day!" the greenhead smiled and sat down in front of Law and started to eat. That was when Law realized that Bartolomeo had waited for him to be ready, so that they could eat together. Now Law felt even more like a burden. "Now eat up senpai! Then we have to go!"
Law merely sighed, gave in and slowly started to eat his food. His stomach gurgled, telling him that he already was stuffed and that there was no need for any more food. But Bartolomeo was persistent and had determined that Law would finish his breakfast. Then again, Law had noticed himself how bony he really was, when showering a few minutes earlier. So maybe it really was for the best that he got used to eat a bit more. He would be working hard from now on after all.
While eating, Bartolomeo babbled on about the weather forecast and about pop stars and singers and actors. He told Law that the famous Queen of Pop, Boa Hancock, was currently on a world tour, performing on gig after gig. Law wondered if the leader of the Family could have any bonds to that woman, but then remembered that he already had come to the conclusion that the leader most likely looked down on women and girls. Well, if the leader really was the person who Law suspected it was, then that image would fit perfectly. But Law would not make any assumptions that his suspicions were correct until he had solid evidence. And if the leader would be revealed to be someone else, Law would be really pissed off.
"Are you done eating already senpai?" Bartolomeo asked abruptly, when noticing that Law had stopped eating and was leaning backwards with his chair. When Law nodded as a reply, Bartolomeo blinked, as if he was confused of something. Then he just chuckled. "So, you really still are stuffed from yesterday?" He laughed, as if it was something hilarious.
"We ate quite a lot", Law mumbled, looking down at his not-even-close-to-empty plate and wondered if there really was something wrong with his lifestyle. Well, at least Bartolomeo didn't seem offended that Law left some food on his plate. In fact, he seemed happy that Law had eaten anything at all.
"Maybe you're just nervous", the greenhead hummed.
"Nervous?"
"Yeah, you're meeting the rest of the teams today!"
Oh yea, that was true. He really was going to meet the rest of the CID. He wondered how they were like, especially who this Luffy-guy was, who Bartolomeo obviously admired. Well he'd get to know that soon enough.
"Yeah, that's true." Law hadn't been nervous before, but now he grew to be a bit eager.
"If you're finished eating, I'll just put the dishes in the dishwasher and we can go", Bartolomeo stood up and started collecting the dirty dishes, throwing away the food Law had left on his plate.
Only three minutes later, Law and Bartolomeo were walking to the CID, Law wondering what the other teams would think of him.
E
~Thanks for Reading~