The people passing by D&R this morning are surprised to see a couple of luxury vans lined up neatly in the store's parking lot.
At the front of the caravan is Doffy's sleek convertible. Law takes the backseat behind the driver with Cora-san beside him while the other employees fill the vans. The teen hears Doffy shouting 'Meet you there' to Vergo, his executive assistant-turned-van driver, before getting into the driver's seat of his super car.
That's strange. Why would he say that when we're all going together at the same time anyway?
"All set, Lawsy?" the man in question asks, looking at Law in the rear-view mirror with his signature sunglasses down his prominent nose ridge so that they can make eye contact.
"Yes."
Doffy slides his shades back into place and shifts the gear.
"Then hold on tight!" he whoops before putting the pedal to the metal. The sudden velocity presses Law back into his seat.
"Whoa!" yells the youngest male in the car as they swerve out of the parking lot and whiz along the road. He looks back and doesn't see any of the vans following them yet. Now he understands what Doffy meant by 'Meet you later'. At this breakneck speed, the trio would arrive at the resort way ahead of the others.
"Don't worry," the younger blond says with a reassuring smile, ignoring how his hair is being whipped around by the wind.
"He's never crashed into anything before, and he may not look it but he does stop at red lights."
"Uh-huh," Law replies in a doubtful tone as he fearfully watches Doffy overtake and zip past sedans and SUVs and buses as if he were aiming for the trophy in a sport scar derby. The teen buckles up and holds onto the door armrest so he won't sway side to side when Doffy rounds the bends.
The barista wordlessly offers an open palm and Law grips it like a lifeline.
When they arrive at Amazon Lily Resort and Spa, a splendid-looking place by the beach, they're greeted by the owner herself, whose sense of eye-catching fashion rivals Doffy's. From what Law's been told, Boa Hancock is among Doffy's circle of friends. She seems to have a penchant for snakes if the abundance of artistic snake paintings and sculptures throughout the hotel complex indicate anything. The bell boys put the group's bags on some trolleys and whisk them away.
Everyone's ready for lunch, and what better way to start a beach trip than an extravagant seafood banquet? Platters of shrimp, crabs, and oysters are served at the group's long VIP table. Soon there's the sound of shells cracking followed by delighted chatter.
"Hyaaah! Tasty!"
"Baby 5, I need you to pass that spicy dipping sauce-iiin."
"Beh, heh, heh. You should try this marinated sea bass."
A waitress daintily places a new plate of rock lobster within Law's reach. Its shell is sliced in half length-ways and full of lobster chunks in melted mozzarella. The student chews the gooey morsel and closes his eyes in contentment.
Definitely my favorite thing on the menu.
Lunch goes on merrily for more than an hour before the waitresses deem it appropriate to ask what each person would like for dessert. While everybody else is competing for the girls' attention, Law stares at the mostly hollowed out rock lobster. There's one chunk left.
One big, luscious, cheesy chunk.
But before he can claim the last piece, Cora-san spears the juicy meat with his fork and brings it near the highschooler's lips.
"Oh, no. It's okay. You can have it, Cora-san."
Cora-san insists by opening his mouth, waiting for Law to do the same. After a few seconds of hesitation, the shorter male bites the scrumptious mouthful with a smile.
Late afternoon is filled with swimming and jet-skiing and castle building (and sleeping for the older folks like Lao G). Law sits on the sand, witnessing Senor Pink fail to spike a volleyball past the other team's blocker, which is totally normal when you're dealing with someone as tall as Cora-san. But Senor Pink's team also has Doffy, so they manage to get even in the next round. (There was a unanimous agreement that the blond siblings should be separated or else the Donquixote-less side would surely lose by a landslide)
In the end, Victory goes to the elder brother's team. Law wonders whether the fact that Cora-san often slipped on the sand has anything to do with the game's outcome.
Here he comes.
The topless barista jogs towards Law and joins him on the sandy surface. They talk about this and that while the sun begins to set, casting rays of gold across the glittering ocean.
"Hey," Cora-san says, pointing at the faraway floating balls in the sea that mark the end of the swimming area.
"Race you to those buoys over there?" he asks with a waggle of his brow.
"Oh, it's on!"
Both men are up and sprinting faster than you can say 'mocha frappe'. They splash into the crystal clear water and swim like their lives depended on it.
When the teen's less than a minute away from the orange buoys, he sees an underwater silhouette smoothly dart past him. The figure surfaces and touches one of the balls.
"I win!"
Cora-san, with the entire upper part of his face still plastered with his wet bangs, exclaims blindly at a direction where he thinks Law is but actually is not. Law snickers at the blond's antics, eyes crinkling shut with mirth. The youth enjoys the cool caress of the ocean breeze before opening his eyes again, and that's when he takes in the panoramic view of their surroundings.
Yellow. Orange. Blue. Purple.
Almost every color of the rainbow is splashed across the evening sky. There's even a tinge of pink.
In the middle of the teen's field of vision, at the very center of his world, is Cora-san, who's raking his golden hair back and turning to face Law properly.
And now all that the younger male can see is his smiling sweetheart against an enchanting background of vibrant hues.
"What?" the older male asks good-naturedly when he becomes aware of how the younger male seems entranced by him.
Law swims closer to his object of affection... until his legs brush against the other's legs... until he can cling onto Cora-san's slippery shoulders.
He gazes into those kind orbs, before shifting to the sharp nose, and finally stopping at the lips wet with seawater.
The teen leans in and does what he's wanted to do for so, so long.
He presses his lips against Cora-san's for the first time.
The blond readily accepts Law's kiss and touch. He hugs the teen's form against his own so Law doesn't have to tread water because the barista is keeping them both afloat.
Mouths still connected, the raven-haired male cups the back of Cora-san's head with both hands and tilts his head for a better angle. The other draws in a long breath before sighing slowly through his nostrils.
The mashing of their lips is soon joined by eager tongues. The tip of the older male's agile appendage drags along Law's bottom lip and then the upper lip before delving past the moist folds to meet the other's tongue. Their kisses become a bit hungrier, and Law makes these needy little noises in the back of his throat, lets Cora-san know just how much he's affecting him.
Those three words are not necessary, not when Law can channel all his affection and earnestness into their open-mouthed kisses.
They must have lost track of time because by the time that they return to shore, the rest of the group has already gone for dinner.
The couple take one last stroll along the darkening beach, waves lapping at their feet and fingers fondly linked together, until the sun finally descends from the twilight sky into the depths of the ocean.
A/N: I last updated this like 7 months ago but the lovely comments from both AO3 and FF kept on coming and coming!
Thank you all! So glad that people read this and still get happy feelings :)
There might be more chapters? Depends on my writing mood haha.
Rayany Amor - Good idea! I'll keep that in mind for the next chapters.
Important note: I've moved to AO3 for a while now. I find that I get more feedback there because they have this single-click appreciation system that's easy to use, even for ppl who are too lazy to write reviews (but it's always nice to here reviews!). IF there are any updates for The Coffee Shop, I might still post the new chapters here too because it seems to be my most popular fic on FF. You can find my newer CoraLaw (and other pairings like DofLaw) fics at the other site under the same author name from now on. I'll still get notifications of any reviews posted here, though.
