A/N: Apologies for the delay of this chapter! I have been dealing with some issues (motivation, school, the holidays), so this took waaaay too long, but here it is! I hope you guys had a merry Christmas, and let's hope for a good 2015!
Thank you for all the reviews, faves and alerts, I appreciate them all.
Runaway Train
chapter X
baby, when the clock strikes 12
.
.
.
Law couldn't sleep that night, which wasn't anything unusual, even despite the physical exercise his body had gone through a couple hours prior to this moment. Now that the euphoria had worn off, he had more time to dwell on everything that had happened, and most of all, more time to plan what to do from there on out.
The surge of panic that kept circling him from afar hadn't overtaken Law, perhaps due to the warmth encircling him, and for that he was glad, though the heat pressing against him was a complication, a distraction where he needed concentration.
Telling Doflamingo that he'd get off the ship little ways from the City probably wouldn't do much good, he realized now as the said man's arms lay around him, possessive even in a subconscious state. While Doflamingo had been the only one he knew could help him escape, Law wasn't so sure Doffy would do it on his terms — rather, the man would act according to his own agenda, which at some point had seemed to be about getting Law to join him in Dressrosa.
Law pursed his lips, the thought of meeting Penguin making him restless in the other man's grasp, and stared at the ceiling with hardened eyes. His earlier panic had perhaps made him give instructions to Penguin too early; it'd be easier to run off when they'd arrive in Dressrosa.
But he didn't like that idea either — he knew Dressrosa was Doflamingo's home, and that undoubtedly was to his disadvantage when he'd try to leave. And where would he leave from Dressrosa, in the first place? It took a few days to even get there from the White City by ship — there weren't any trains going in or out of the City, either, so water was basically the only route to the outside world.
Law sighed as Doflamingo shifted behind him, the arms loosening around his abdomen as the larger man's head burrowed against the side of Law's neck. He didn't move more than that, and Law relaxed again despite the tickling sensation that went up his skin.
Law waited for another few minutes, listening to the deep breaths of the other man, and the silence was thick around them, as thick as the layers Law had constructed around his heart. (Ones that shouldn't be allowed to crumble at any cost.)
Eventually, eyelids fell to cover the weary gaze, but sleep was far from Law's reach as his mind kept him awake long into the small hours.
.
.
.
Corazon hadn't slept much that night, mostly because he had been out for the greater part of it. It wasn't like he cared much for whatever trouble the young man, Law, had gotten himself into, but those marks on his skin had told Corazon enough — but more importantly, he had noticed the fear that had shown in the rigidness of Law's muscles when he had walked in on the scene between his brother and Law.
Now, as he lit a cigarette while hiding himself in one of the alleys the sun refused to shine to, he just felt bad — but Law probably felt worse, he figured as he chewed on the butt of the cigarette stick.
The City was in chaos — everyone talked about 'the one with the Syndrome' — and anxiety ruled over logic.
Corazon took a drag, the pleasant burn in his lungs familiar, as he listened to the sirens echo in the distance. Police were involved, naturally, and the man's thickly painted face shifted into a grimace.
From his past experiences, he knew well the police were corrupt — much more than anywhere else, though corruption was not limited to the cracked white streets of Flevance, the lesser known name of the pale-colored city.
But this was certainly the place the world would look upon with arrogant disdain and disapproval, pretending to be fairer than Flevance while only having a better facade to prove their innocence. Corazon sighed at the thought — the atmosphere of the city was that of paranoia, fear that had been festering for years, and just one rumor was enough to crumble the delicate peace that had settled between the city folk.
If drug deals, murders in broad daylight, and wages below the minimum limit were anything like peace, anyhow.
Corazon shook his head, dumed the cigarette and extinguished it with a stomp of a heel, staggering only for a moment as he ventured off towards the renowned White University, the name lacking in imagination as well as grandeur.
.
.
.
Law woke up to the feeling of Doflamingo's lips trailing languid patterns across his skin, over the shoulders and down the side of his jaw. His mind foggy from the little sleep he got, Law merely sighed and tilted his head until his throat was exposed as an open invitation.
The other graciously accepted the invitation, a low rumbling chuckle vibrating against Law's bare throat, and moved his lips along the curve of the neck before attaching to the nearly still Adam's apple. Law's eyes fluttered shut, a shallow gulp shifting his Adam's apple when Doflamingo's teeth nipped at the skin with obvious intentions.
The early morning thoughtlessness was freeing, in a way, and it was a luxury he only got with Doflamingo — that itself was an implication regarding their relationship's direction, and Law felt his stomach sink at the thought.
That this could be even called a relationship was, in itself, was bad — terrible, horrifying, every synonym would just about describe it.
"Good morning," he rasped out, swallowing when a tongue rubbed against a pulse point. Lips turned upwards, the movement tickling Law's skin, followed by a playful bite. "Ngh, Doffy…"
"Good morning," Doflamingo laughed against his skin, nose nuzzling underneath Law's chin. The gesture was—
"You're leaving marks again," Law sighed, tugging at the short-cropped hair with his fingers. "Stop that." Though, the bruises might cover some of the white, so not everything was bad about the lust-ridden affection.
Doflamingo treated him like he was someone — a human, a man, a lover — despite the truth, and as degrading as the kindness in this particular relationship felt, Law appreciated it in the most innermost part of his heart.
"Fufufu," Doflamingo laughed, "you have not minded that before." A large palm tucked itself beneath Law's head, fingers threading through the matted hair. Doflamingo detached his lips from Law's throat and raised his head until Law's eyes met with pale blue irises, and everything he might have wanted to say before evaporated from his mind.
Being left speechless was another thing Law loathed.
"Well," Law slowly tasted his own lips as he regained his coherency, "you overstep the boundaries so often, maybe I need to come up with new ones." A lazy smirk curled the corners of his lips upward, and Doflamingo took that as another implied invitation and leaned in for a kiss, icy blue eyes open to gauge Law's reactions.
Law returned the gaze, yellow eyes narrow and pupils dilated, as he tilted his head back, parting his lips accordingly for the invasive tongue. The kiss was by no means soft — Doflamingo didn't do soft — but there was tenderness in each brush of their lips, barely concealed in the smirks playing on their faces.
Law pulled away first, as far away from Doffy's lips as possible — an inch or perhaps two — and eyelids fluttered with the effort to open them.
"You're not wearing your shades," Law observed, this time vocally, voice flat as his fingers trailed up the side of Doffy's forehead. "What's the occasion?" His thumb brushed at the corner of Doflamingo's eye, and Law's brow wrinkled. Doffy had had the shades on a few hours prior to this moment, he was sure of it — last night, before falling asleep, Law had seen them on the other's face.
"Time and place for everything, dear Law," Doflamingo hummed, tilting his head toward the touch of Law's fingers, an easy smile displayed on his lips. "We're on my territory now."
Don't remind me, Law thought, lips falling back to a neutral expression. The shades didn't particularly matter, but he felt uneasy nonetheless. "When are you planning to disembark?" He absent-mindedly rubbed his thumb against the back of Doflamingo's head, heart thumping anxiously as he wondered how the hell he should get away from the ship and the crew long enough to get to Penguin if Doflamingo accepted what he had in mind.
"In a day, two at latest," the man hummed in response, blue eyes shifting to catch Law's. There was something electrifying in the gleam of his eyes, something commanding and transfixing.
It would be easy to let himself go and live in the moment without thinking, without control…
"I thought you had no business here anymore," Law drawled, eyelids sliding halfway down as he inspected the expression on the face he had never seen fully before this moment. It was as unreadably smug as ever, only worsened by the crinkling of the startlingly blue eyes.
"Well, I am expecting a visitor today… that would be the last business I have around here for a long, long time."
"…" Perhaps Law had come at a bad time, then. "Should I…?"
"No, no," Doflamingo laughed indulgently. "Stay, and join us for lunch. I'm sure it'll be… an illuminating experience."
If there had ever been a sentence more ominous than that, Law couldn't recall.
.
.
.
"You don't have to do this, you know."
"Shut up, and keep still," Baby 5 sighed as she sucked on her lollipop with intense focus, her hands working on powdering Law's white-specked shoulders and neck. "Young master told me to help you look presentable for lunch."
He glowered at her, but didn't stop her from tilting his head down so that she could get the spots near his hairline, even if he did it with gritted teeth and wrinkled brow. "Must be quite the guest," Law grunted as she spread powder even to places the white hadn't conquered yet. Not that he could be entirely sure of that, as he hadn't checked himself in any mirror yet.
Baby 5's smile was audible in her voice. "Most of young master's guests are, you know," she hummed as she powdered his shoulders next, though there was hardly any need to in his opinion.
"I'm not," Law said mildly.
"I did say most, Law."
Her touch on his shoulders was gentle, almost comforting if he believed there to be such a thing in the world. Comfort, he had learned, was only ever temporary — an illusion.
Very much like this situation itself.
Law bit on his lip and closed his eyes when she continued to powder him up. They were in the galley — any moment now, someone could walk in, and witness his marks up close. The ones on his chest and back, anyhow, as Baby 5 had stripped him off of his hoodie before.
"You're coming to Dressrosa with us, aren't you?" Baby 5 asked as she finished tidying Law up, now resting her hands in his messy, ruffled up hair.
Law took a deep breath in, but said nothing as he stared at the rug spread onto the floor, which was as luxurious as the rest of the many decorations of the ship. Swirling, golden patterns on a fine fabric; perhaps a family heirloom.
The ship was much more colorful than his entire life in the present. This was an observation he had made the first time he had been to the ship. The same applied to Doflamingo himself: the man was like a flash in the night that illuminated every dark corner for a brief moment, revealing all and exposing everything before the darkness fell again.
"Law?" Baby 5 nudged at the back of his head.
"Ow!" Law flinched, turning his head to glare at her. Baby 5 merely gave him a satisfied smirk for grabbing his attention.
"The least you could do is answer to me," she said as she leaned down to fetch his shirt, dropping it on his lap afterward. "I don't understand how young master deals with your impoliteness."
"He doesn't, that's how," Law shrugged as he pulled the shirt on, feeling much more relaxed once his body was covered up in front of her again. Doffy might not mind the marks and the illness, but he wasn't so sure about her and the crew, whom he knew only superficially.
"Aren't you edgy today," Baby 5 huffed as she bit down on her lollipop, and plopped down to the closest chair. He willfully ignored her as he crossed his arms over the hoodie, its warmth a welcome change to the chilliness that had crept upon his bones during Baby 5's operation.
(But he was always cold, regardless of his clothing choices.)
Winter had come along by now, and Law couldn't remember when the first snow had hit the city, but he had a feeling it had been there for a while now. But he couldn't remember.
Your mind's all over the place today, Law, he sighed at himself as he shook his head slowly, trying to drive the numb and dull feeling away from his head. His sense of time's passing was not important now, it wasn't important ever, and he should get a grip and try to figure something out like he always did during the moments of crisis.
But the sharpness of mind was not something easily retrievable after he had done everything to dull it in the past years.
Baby 5's fingers flicking at his forehead retrieved Law back to reality from the world of his own thoughts, much to his annoyance. "Can you not do that," he deadpanned, squinting at her as his lips curled down.
She looked at him far longer and far more perceptively than he would have liked, and her gaze sent a crawling sensation all over his skin, reminding Law of the humiliating exposure from the previous night.
"Look," she sighed as she sat down to the floor unceremoniously, which reminded Law of Lamie somewhat. If the thought hadn't brought back so much pain, he might have smiled — instead, his expression remained unreadable as he cast his eyes down. "Whatever's wrong, you can tell me. We're all family on this ship, and now that you're here…"
He glared at her, and this time she flinched at the dark look on his face. He didn't feel particularly bad about it — he was used to driving people away from him. The ones that weren't stubborn enough to try to stay, anyway.
"You don't have to be a jerk about it," she murmured, and it was her turn to look away as she blinked several times in attempt to keep her hurt feelings in check. Law's lips twitched in mild annoyance. He wasn't supposed to comfort her, was he?
"I don't have to, indeed," Law murmured, "that is simply what I am, however. Disappointing, isn't it?"
"Ass," Baby 5 muttered, puckering her lips into a frown as she rolled the lollipop stick between her lips.
Law's lips pulled up into a tight smirk as they lapsed into an awkward silence. As if he hadn't had enough of those in his lifetime already.
.
.
.
"You should change into something more comfortable," Doflamingo whispered to him when they passed one another, the larger man's arm reaching to wrap around Law and to hold him.
"I didn't exactly bring anything with me when I made my escape," Law said dryly, accepting the inevitability of the other's hold around him. There were only so many things he could flee from in life, and his sort-of-a-lover was not one of those. "And I don't intend to take part in your lunch date, Doflamingo."
Doflamingo clicked his tongue disapprovingly at the sound of his name, but a smirk spread over his face as he twirled Law around to press him against the wooden wall. (Why wood, Law questioned, aren't modern ships made from aluminum or something more enduring?) The heavy weight against his chest made Law's breath stutter for one uncomfortable moment before Doflamingo distracted him by kissing his cheek, the following audible and wet sound making Law flinch.
"The name, Law, the name," Doflamingo crooned when he pulled away, raising one hand to cup Law's cheek. Shades back on, Doflamingo's eyes weren't visible, but Law practically felt the electricity burning in the other's eyes.
The other more urgent sensations were the possible splinters digging into his back.
"Don't pull the distant act on me now," Doflamingo continued as his mouth breathed hotly against Law's, a nonchalant reminder of earlier and the night before. While Law wasn't sentimental over such things, over romance, he felt his heartbeats quicken in his chest. "It's too late for that now, Law."
"Ominous," Law quipped sarcastically, pushing his arms between their bodies to wedge in some distance. "Reminds me of the horror movies I have seen."
"Oh, really now?" Doflamingo had none of it, pressing himself closer until their chests bumped and Law glowered in protest. "What part of it, exactly?"
"The villain, naturally," Law said dryly. "The murderer that's ready to chop off the limbs of the unsuspecting youth."
"You're awfully morbid today," Doflamingo laughed, amusement relaxing his facial muscles as he smiled indulgently down at the younger man. "Abstain from such crude remarks for me at lunch, though."
Law gave a shrug of his shoulders. This lunch seemed to be a big deal to Doflamingo and his business. "Only if you do something for me in return, Doffy." Yellow eyes flickered with mischief as they glanced up at the dark pink shades resting on Doffy's nose.
"Hmm?" Interested, Doffy leaned closer. "Asking for a favor? That is very unlike you."
The wording of his request was important, and Law spent a moment considering it — not too long for Doffy to notice the hesitation — before his lips curled into an easy, insincere smile. "Well, my situation is a rather…" he paused, searching for the right word, "…unstable currently, so I actually am forced to."
Besides, assuming Doflamingo's ship to even be a safe place was just too ignorant, and while Doflamingo's intentions regarding him seemed obvious, Law couldn't help but doubt himself when it came to reading the man before him.
No time for second-guessing, though.
"Indeed," Doflamingo noted agreeably, but Law sensed the shift in the atmosphere even as literally nothing changed in the other's expression. "What do you want, Law? I can offer you quite a few things, if you were to ask." The lips rose again, the smirk stretching on his face as he stared down at Law, who had never been intimidated by their height difference before this moment.
Maybe because the previous times Law had been pinned to the wall by Doflamingo had happened on his own turf, on his own terms.
He was a stranger on this ship — a stranger to be pitied for his illness, a stranger that most would consider Doflamingo's toy as people often tended to disregard his own free will out of the equation.
But most of all, Law believed in handling his problems on his own, and asking for help — no exchange of favors to keep the balance — felt like poison to his mouth.
However, there were certain cyanides a person had to swallow in their lifetime, and this was one of those.
"When you finally set sail," Law began, eyes intent on Doflamingo's face for any shift in the indulgent expression, "do you mind dropping me off at a certain harbor?" There was no use to pretend circling around the issue would produce anything worthwhile as a result, but Law's stomach clenched in tense anticipation and worry all the same. Hope was a fragile thing, one that he didn't hold onto much, but he knew Doflamingo knew Law was willful when times called for it.
Doflamingo said nothing for a moment, but his brow gave a twitch, a reaction to Law's words, and lips pulled down from the wide grin.
"Which harbor did you have in mind?"
The question is quiet, loaded with curiosity and tension, and Law knew disappointment when he heard it. "Punk Hazard," Law said casually, remaining still when Doffy's hand moved up and down the small of his back, rubbing thoughtfully at the concealed skin.
"Punk Hazard, huh…"
Doflamingo's lips rose into a knife-sharp smile as the man leaned back and let go of Law, his movements waddling and sudden, as though something urgent had come up in Doflamingo's head. "Quite the coincidence — we need to stop by there anyway."
"Perfect. Then you don't mind dropping me off there as well."
"Fufufu… is there something in particular you want to accomplish at Punk Hazard, Law?"
Law's lips twitched as they curled into a mischievous smirk, eyelids half-down over his yellow-specked eyes. "Arrangements."
Before the conversation got the chance to develop, they were interrupted by the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor. Law held Doflamingo's gaze regardless, the underlying tension easing as Doflamingo's shoulders relaxed as the large hands tucked themselves into the pockets of Doffy's capri pants.
"The guest has arrived," Baby 5's breathless voice murmured, tearing Doflamingo's attention away from Law.
"Bring him to the dining room, if you would. I'll be with you shortly."
With a low murmur ("Well discuss this later,"), Doflamingo beckoned the younger man to follow his lead towards the lunch Law would later on regret agreeing to.