Oke,so...
I think I have figured out how to continue with this story now that the past is out and I realized that a few things didn't work out anymore. Writing scenes between Cora and Doffy is really weird, since my view their relationship is different now... But as said,this is an AU now, so I hope it works anyway!
I am also planning/writing another story about them, which will then turn out a bit more like I imagine their relationship now.
Never judge a person's behavior without knowing their past.
I once heard that sentence and it made me laugh.
I had to think of you, and how you never knew anything about what happened in your past.
Or Cora-san's past.
I knew nothing, still don't know anything.
But it wouldn't change anything, nothing.
I am standing here before you with only one intention;
I want to kill you.
Whatever happened in your past doesn't concern me.
You're an asshole.
A tragic past doesn't excuse this.
And Cora-san...
Cora-san is still dead.
And he won't come back even if I'd know everything about you.
You're reason to kill him,there was none.
None at all.
Chapter 9
He is running.
Running and running and running fast and faster, as fast as his scrawny legs can carry him.
Run,run,run!
His lungs burn.
Take another turn, to the right, grab his arm, tug him along.
"Don't stop don't stop, run faster!"
Please run faster!
They are going to get you, they are going to get you and you'll be dead.
They are going to get us.
"Stop them, get a grip."
Everything is turning dark, where is he going?
The scene is changing in front of his eye; the people are gone, or are they?
How old is he, fifteen?
Where did he go,where did his brother go?
He has no clue; brother is gone, has been gone for ages.
Maybe he is dead.
He surely is dead.
Maybe that is better.
Crying all the time,too weak for that world; without his protection his brother is dead for sure..
"We need to go!"
Someone is grabbing his arm now.
"Hurry, they found us!"
They run,again, again he is running and running.
All his life he is running.
This is not the life he wants, this is not the life he deserves!
He is a world noble, he is above them all!
"I am done running!" he screams.
He is so angry.
He is so angry at the world and all the people, at everyone!
How old is he again?
He cannot remember...
"Your fault, this is your fault!"
Is this his own voice?
Why is everyone screaming?
People grab him.
They yank at him.
They tear at his clothes, the little clothing he has left...
Let go.
Let go, let go of me, let me go!
Don't touch me!
Don't you dare to touch me!
He is hurting all over.
It hurts, everything.
He's so hungry...
Hands everywhere, no matter where he runs they try to grab him,they try to pull him down,down into the ground down even deeper.
He is sure they are trying to pull him into Hell.
But,isn't this Hell already...?
"Kill that brat!"
"He knows too much!"
"Kill him!"
Everything is an endless maze made of streets, dark streets without any light.
He falls.
It's too late.
He cannot run anymore.
They are going to get him, he can hear them already.
"Kill the brat, kill him!"
It's too late,he can see the knife glistening in the dark and-
He gasped, coughing, and sat upright with one swift movement, his body trembling as he tried to calm himself.
One,two three.
Take a deep breath...
Calm down, wilde heart...
It was beating so fast, his heart.
There were times where he was sure he had no heart at all,but tonight he got a grim reminder that he still had one indeed.
Just like any other person...
Like any other human ...
But he was no human,was he?
He groaned slightly, rubbing his forehead as his free hand was searching for his glasses.
They had been on the table,he was sure...
There was a headache coming and his throat felt dry.
He needed a drink, or maybe two.
Maybe a whole bottle would do.
His hand was still moving over the table top,knocking over the box of pens and the empty glass.
He couldn't find them,his glasses, which only made his mood worse.
Damn, he hadn't meant to fall asleep...
"I didn't know you're having nightmares."
His head moved so quickly that he was sure he heard something snap, his eyes narrowed now.
"And I didn't know I gave you permission to enter my room while I am asleep." he hissed back, his body tense again.
Every fibre of his body was now set on defense.
Never let down your guard...
If living on the streets thought him one thing it was to never fall asleep without anyone watching your back.
His brother only smiled at him, cocky as he was. The red lipstick only seemed to add up to that grin, and Doflamingo couldn't help but scowl.
"You're so moody after getting up." Corazon pondered, his head tilted as he stood a few feet away from Doflamingo's desk. The light from the table illuminated his soft features and was casting dark shadows over his eyes. "Some things never change I see."
He always looked like a kid to Doflamingo.
Not even the make up could make him look older.
To be honest, if anything it only made him appear even younger.
The only thing that gave away his age was his voice. It wasn't as deep as Doflamingo's, but it was as smooth as his and definitly deeper than one would expect.
"Did you wait here at my side for me to wake up only to tell me that I am a moody person?" Doflamingo raised one eyebrow, grinning lazily as he got up. "Too bad,I already knew that."
Grinning was so easy.
He had taught himself that.
Never let people see what you really feel, or else they will find your weakness and destroy you.
As long as you smile though, and never give away your fears, you'll be above them.
And that's where you belong,that's where you stand; above them all.
That was why he needed his glasses.
One can tell very little of what is going on inside of you when they aren't able to see the emotions displayed in your eyes.
And no one was allowed to see anything of what was going on inside his head, not his crew and neither Corazon.
His thoughts and emotions where his and his alone.
Doflamingo was walking around the room,searching for his glasses, and Corazon didn't move; in fact his brother simply stood there and watched him with an unreadable look on his painted face.
"What?" Doflamingo snapped, after several minutes of silence.
His glasses were gone.
But he was sure he had left them on the table...
"He won't make it any longer."
Doflamingo looked up, his eyes leaving the table to look at Corazon who stood calm and tall.
He was so tall, his little brother.
When had he gotten so tall?
Doflamingo couldn't tell.
"What?"
Corazon blinked, his face showing no emotion at all as he repeat the words with a clarity that made Doflamingo shudder slightly.
"He won't make it any longer."
He knew,of course, what his brother was talking about. How could he not, he was very aware of the problem.
"His condition is getting worse and worse by day." Corazon continued, as if Doflamingo didn't know that already. "He has difficulties to get up in the morning, he gets tired easily and the nosebleeding got worse."
Doflamingo knew.
He knew that very well because he saw it every day.
It was almost funny, how easy the human body was to be defeated.
"He'll be fine." He shrugged, simply waving his brother off. "He's strong and I am close to finding a cure. There is a Devil Fruit that has sparked my interest..."He trailed off.
She died just like him, a voice told him quietly, and he'll die just like her.
That's why he shouldn't have gotten attached to that boy in the first place.
"Time is running out." Corazon said, stepping closer, one step and then another. "We need to hurry."
His voice was urgent,so different from all the times he had cried as a child.
Rocinante had cried all the time. About so many things. Often not even for himself, but because for others. He had cried for the dead cat on the street, he had cried for the little girl that had no food just like themself. He had cried for mother, and he had cried for their father. He had cried when people had beaten them, because it had hurt and because he had been able to understand them.
Empathy, Corazon's greatest power that was yet his biggest weakness.
It was something Doflamingo would never have, and even if he did, it would never be as great as Corazon's.
Attaching yourself to anyone makes you weak.
"You were a crybaby." Doflamingo said quietly, as if they weren't talking about the dying boy at all.
People died every day.
That was life, what did another little boy matter.
Weird, how much it did matter,though.
"You cried all the time."
Corazon stopped, blinking in surprise at those words.
Doflamingo looked at him, looked at the face that was so much older now and still didn't seem to look any different.
"You've changed a lot."
Corazon laughed at that. He actually laughed, quietly but bitterly, as if those words were venom to him.
"I wish I could say the same about you."
Those words didn't hurt, not at all: Doflamingo hadn't changed. He had grown stronger, yes, more ruthless, colder..
But he hadn't changed.
"You're still that arrogant brat that tries to order people around." Corazon was standing before him, watching him with his blue eyes that seemed so much warmer than Doflamingo's own pale eyes, as if they had absorbed all the warmth the world had to give, taking it all for themself, while Doflamingo had been left with nothing.
He grinned.
He grinned,like he always did, and he hoped it was reaching his eyes.
Did it matter,though,if it did? His eyes were cold anyway, so whatever he did, they would never shine as bright as the eyes of his brother.
"That's no way to speak towards your captain." He reminded his brother.
He leaned forward, until his cold eyes were boring into Corazon's.
His brother didn't flinch.
It was almost cute, how he tried to fit in now. Bright clothes had never been his, and showing off his position wasn't something he had liked to do.
Now,however, he was wearing a shirt with pink heart prints, as if trying to show that he had finally accepted the position that he had been pushed into.
Was it because he didn't want Law to get it? Because he didn't want Law to get tied to Doflamingo?
He couldn't see through his brothers intentions.
He couldn't trust him.
And now, since Law had joined them, things were getting even more complicated.
"You know very well that I don't care about that." Corazon retunred, his voice smooth and calm.
He wasn't moving away, no,in fact he was moving forward a little more, until their noses were touching.
Doflamingo almost feel Corazon's heartbeat, could almost hear it.
And here they were standing,so close to each other that it would only take inches for their lips to meet, and yet they were so far apart that a world could fit between them.
Doflamingo chuckled quietly, and moved,turned around.
Was that a sign of weakness?
Maybe.
"I know."
He moved towards the big glass front, his eyes roaming over the sea before him, cold and dark.
It would only take one punch from Corazon to throw Doflamingo through the glass.
His brother didn't move through.
Corazon could have killed him so many times, but he had never dared to do it.
In return, Doflamingo had never tried to kill him either.
He wondered why.
Why wasn't he able to kill his brother?
"The Fruit I was talking about-" Doflamingo began, not facing his brother. "- is the Ope Ope no Mi. "
Corazon was quiet, and Doflamingo was surprised by that. Surely his brother knew what it meant for Law to eat the fruit. Doflamingo had talked often enough about his plans for the fruit.
"You plan on sacrificing him." Corazon's voice was dry, sharp, like a knife cutting through the silence of the room.
"Yes."
It was funny,how easy those words left his mouth.
He had never planned on sacrificing Law some day. The boy was meant to be his right hand,after all. Oh,but since his brother already had a fruit...
Of course,he could sacrifice someone else of his family. One life for immortality, they all would gladly offer themself for him.
"Medical knowledge his requiered to use the fruit to its whole extent. You can see how perfectly Law is suited to be the user of this fruit."
He paused before adding, "It is the only solution to cure him."
If it wasn't, if there was another way...would he still use the boy? Would he still force him to eat the fruit, knowing the boy would die in order for Doflamingo himself to gain immortality?
He couldn't tell.
He couldn't tell if he really was that heartless.
The boy was reminding him of himself. He didn't want to kill him, but if he had to in order to gain immortality...
"You are a monster,after all."
Doflamingo turned his head towards his brother, and laughed.
It was a shallow, empty laughter, that filled the whole room.
Corazon was quiet, his gaze directed at Doflamingo, and his beautiful eyes were filled with hate.
Doflamingo turned around now, walking towards his brother again, his steps steady ans sure. He stopped in front of him, his eyes narrowed and cold.
"I am a Celestial Dragon. And I will do whatever it takes to get to my goal."
"You were." Corazon said quietly. "And even if you still were one it would be no argument to justify your actions. Nothing would."
How naive he was, how good he tried to be...
His little brother,always trying to play the hero even though he was not made for that role at all.
Maybe Corazon had thought Doflamingo would be angry, which he was, but he didn't show it the way Corazon had probably assumed.
In fact he smiked, his hand now on Corazon's shoulder while his thumb was moving over the soft skin of his neck, up and down. That gestured could be interpreted as kind if anyone saw it, but Corazon knew very well that the intention behind this gesture was not meant to be kind at all.
"You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand." Doflamingo purred, a dangerous edge in his voice. "One day something like this will get you killed."
Corazon's mouth turned into a smile, his painted lips forming a perfect fake grin.
"If speaking the truth will get me killed than so it be. I won't keep quiet."
Doflamingo chuckled, his thumb digging hard into the soft skin underneath his hand. Corazon hissed slightly, more angry than hurt, but didn't try to stop his brother.
Doflamingo leaned down until his lips were at his brother's ear. "I know what you're planning on doing." He whispered, enjoying the slight shudder his words caused to go through his brother's body. "I know that you plan on taking Law away from me, now even more so after I told you about what I am going to do. I am not stupid. But I want you to know.." He increased the pressure on the skin, knowing that it would leave a bruise. His other hand was moving up the slender neck before grabbing the chin forefully, forcing Corazon to stay still. His brother was very quiet."...that I won't show you any mercy if you try to get through with this."
Before leaning back up to look at his brother he licked at his ear, his tongue moving over the elegant jawline, an action that caused another shudder to run through Corazon's body.
"You're allowed to leave now." Doflamingo whispered against his lips, before letting him go with one sudden movement, almost pushing Corazon away from him.
Corazon stumbled a little but said no word as he turned around and left the room as quietly as he had entered it. Doflamingo stood and watched him leave, a big grin on his lips.
"I have warned you, brother. This is the only warning you'll get." He called after him,right before the door closed with an audible click.
Everything that happens now is up to you.