A/N: Okay, I intended to update this earlier, but you know, life happens and shit. Again, thank you for reading and reviewing this fic! I'm honestly honored this has been received so well.

Runaway Train

chapter XI

calm before the storm set if off

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There were very few things that mattered enough to truly surprise Trafalgar Law — he was emotionally drained most of the time, and there were very few fucks left to give, especially at a time like this when a whole city was waiting for the news on his death. (That was precisely what they waited for, and nothing less would satisfy them — people were paranoid, too scared of what they refused to get information about.)

But when something struck at the most hidden parts of himself, he couldn't protect himself from the ensuing damage, no matter how cautious or prepared he was for it.

And this, this he hadn't been prepared for in the least.

"Shurororororo, it's been far too long, Joker."

The first ring of the shrill laughter had made Law's stomach clench and drop, and even though he didn't show it, the fear from before drummed stronger with him — it flooded his veins, along with the memories of the time before the incident that had caused the demise of the people closest to him.

"The pleasure's all mine, Caesar," Doflamingo's voice seemed to come from far, far away, even though he was right beside Law, whose world seemed to have shrunk considerably even from before.

The man before them, taller than any men had the right to, was ridiculous and attention-grabbing in any setting, no matter where he'd go to, with his purple-painted lips and purple-dyed hair and skin as pale as the snow outside. Law felt himself turn pallid — though it was not outwardly noticeable — and his stomach churned as sickening, gold-tinted eyes turned towards him, the recognition immediate even after all the months and years behind them.

"If it isn't Law," the long lashes framing the golden eyes fluttered as the thin lips curved into an obnoxiously joyful smile, one that was about as genuine as the one stretching Law's lips. "Now, it's been far too much longer since we last met."

"My apologies," Law said insincerely. He ignored Doflamingo's gaze on him — at least there went the possibility of Doffy ever having done a background check on him; it was something Law had previously been concerned over. "I have not visited the university as often as I promised."

The eyes of Doflamingo's family and the man himself were on him, but Law kept his eyes on the man that all but slid over to him and Doffy. "I see, I see," Caesar Clown, a professor at the University and the head of the med school, crooned, his voice like a disturbing chime of an out-of-tune bell. "It truly was saddening that you dropped out so suddenly. You had a bright future ahead of you as a surgeon."

"My… priorities took a sudden change of direction. It tends to happen."

"You were supposed to hand in your Bachelor's thesis back then, weren't you?" Caesar smiled wistfully. "From what I heard, it was going to be a masterpiece. Nothing comparable to yours truly, naturally, but nevertheless, it would have been a good read… had you ever finished it."

The egotism of the university professor was nothing comparable to that of Doflamingo's, but at the very least Doflamingo's was, occasionally, charming, if not even outright attractive. (Like fire to moths, like flytraps to flies.)

Law chuckled mirthlessly. "Well, now we will never know, sensei."

"But, to see that you have such connections!" Caesar's gaze fluttered over to Doflamingo again, flattery slipping past his mouth like drool in his sleep. "To know a man such as Joker, Law… just what have you been doing?"

The twitch on Doflamingo's lips said enough what crossed the man's mind — well, I have been doing him — but Law knew he wouldn't say that out loud, not when there was a bigger mystery in his palms: the relationship between Law and Caesar, which had already started unraveling before Doflamingo.

Law tilted his head, the same mirthless smile widening on his lips, while his world remained in pieces. Old hopes and dreams were difficult to forget, and he had wanted— oh, how he had wanted.

"Adventures of my own," he simply said as he shifted on his feet, glancing between the two taller men and the rest of Donquixote family behind. "But you're not here to discuss those, sensei," he added wryly as Doflamingo gestured towards the table the lunch had already been set on.

"Indeed," Caesar seemed to only now surface from the superficial conversation with Law and turn his attention back to where it belonged. "Ah, Joker, about our deal…"

Doflamingo wagged a finger to shush Caesar. "All in due time, my friend. Let's enjoy some lunch first, with my family and Law as a company, yes?"

Law only barely managed to school his expression to neutrality, even though his mouth tasted sourer than a rotten lemon.

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Corazon sat by his brother's side, as he always did during meals, and Law seated by his right, while Caesar sat across from the younger Donquixote and by Doffy's left side.

This offered great insight into Doffy and Caesar's interactions, but he was already familiar with that — what he was more curious about was Law and his stiff behaviour around the university professor, also one of the Family's handymen, in a not so literal meaning.

Law's shoulders stayed high, tensed, but no one knew to look for it. Corazon sipped at his tea silently, wordless as always as he side-glanced Law, who was picking at the Caesar salad on his plate with barely veiled viciousness. Fork down, slice the leaf of salad, fork up, mitigate.

There was no doubt some of Law's anxiety came from the fact that he was a marked man — that there was a chance Caesar knew he was wanted around the city — but the angry twitches of Law's fingers reflected a more deep-rooted feeling, a personal memory that had tainted his view of Caesar.

"We are not to discuss the business deal with other guests around, are we, Joker?" Caesar's nerve-grating, high voice chattered (un)pleasantly, lips hesitating between a smile and a frown as the man's eyes rested of Law, who was quietly picking at the salad and the chicken. "It seems like bad business to let Law in on this, is all," Caesar hurried to explain when Law's gaze shifted toward him.

Corazon chewed on a piece of chicken as his brother let out a loud, rumbling laughter. "It's in bad manners to discuss that during a meal," the elder Donquixote agreed indulgently as he sipped on a glass of white wine. "Worry not, Caesar. We'll withdraw into my quarters after lunch."

The young beside Corazon perked up slightly, his reluctant interest peaked by the exchange between the two men seated beside one another.

"Must be quite shady business," Law interfered with a smirk of his own. "Don't abstain simply for my sake, sensei. I'm not as innocent in the matters of reality."

Doflamingo's brows raised mildly, and even Corazon was taken aback by Law's liveliness and participation in the conversation, though he had the privilege of seeing the little things (he was far more observant than your average Joe, perhaps due to his… situation).

Even Caesar seemed startled — apparently he was in the belief Law was the same mild-tempered student he had once been, or that was guess Corazon hazarded as he had no idea of Law's personality prior to his stay on the ship.

Whether Law had ever been mild-tempered, well, who knows.

"Curiosity once killed the cat, Law-chan," Caesar crooned, and both Corazon and Law shuddered at the honorific — and the sharp, high-rising voice.

"Satisfaction brought it back," Law countered.

"Until the next curious thing comes its way," Doflamingo broke the tension with a simple laugh, but a warning hid itself in the velvety undertone. "Regardless, Law, there are things even a cat oughtn't go sniffing at."

"Since when were cats bound by anyone's expectations, Doflamingo?" Law returned as he leaned back on his chair, hands resting on his thighs once he was finished with the meal.

Corazon cast a warning look to his side — one that Law caught, and their gazes grazed each other with intensity Cora suspected came from Law's horrific time from the night before.

The moment was gone when Law refocused his attention on Caesar and Doflamingo, lips twitching between a neutral line and an ugly sneer.

There was definitely a story behind this, Corazon mused as he settled his fork and knife down.

But it probably wasn't his to hear, no matter how much compassion he had for the sick, young man.

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The way the dull blue-gray eyes kept looking at him made Law's skin break into anxious sweat, though he hoped the man didn't see it. Being under the scrutiny of someone whose motivations were even more obscured to him than Doflamingo's… it made Law's windpipe tighten until the breath was knocked out of him, the fear of being stared at returning full-blast.

And his response to fear was to bite hard at anyone, with sarcasm lacing each pseudo-polite word.

Law only gathered his nerves once the lunch was over, and Doflamingo and Caesar had withdrawn to the captain's quarters. Most of the crew had went off to lounge around the library and to play poker (so early; Law found the card game more pleasant in the late evening) whereas Law was left alone — with Corazon.

Needless to say, it was unnerving, if not also very annoying.

Corazon kept eyeing at him regardless, and Law eventually gave a sigh. "What is it?" he asked, staring forward as he pointedly ignored the lanky man that hovered by his side.

The silence from the other only confirmed what he had already figured — that this man either couldn't speak or simply chose not to.

With a sigh, Law pulled his hands from the pant pockets, and signed out the words Corazon had ignored. He doubted the man was deaf, but regardless, it didn't hurt to show the withdrawn man that there was someone able to speak his language. Or, well, in this case, sign it with hand gestures and expressions.

Corazon seemed startled by the intricate, purposeful hand movements, and for a moment it gave Law an immense sense of smug accomplishment. The dirty-blond Donquixote, Doffy's brother as it had turned out, was just as eerily observant as Doffy, but he did it more discreetly and with more finesse.

Except at the lunch it had been as indiscreet as Doffy's behaviour most of the time.

Corazon blinked at him, fingers curling around the notepad he had dug out of his over-sized pockets, but a moment later he signed his response back at Law. I didn't think you'd know sign language.

The smile that tugged at his lips was a far more sincere than the one Law wore on his face, but Law could understand — in a way — how relieving it was to have someone that knew the language most comfortable to him.

Though he himself had no one like that.

(Even Penguin wasn't privy to his most well-kept secrets.)

I'm full of surprises, Law told Corazon with a cocky smile that he knew to look different on him now than how it did before he had lost the will to go on with his university education; his doctorate; also his future as a doctor in the City — but then again, that would have been a painfully black one, as every doctor in the accursed place was a hypocrite to the core.

Treating the sick as though they were a disease themselves, they had efficiently incited a city-wide panic regarding the Syndrome, and panic always created hated; sometimes it was logical, sometimes not, but it was always fear-based. And fear was dangerous — to the feared, anyway.

The atmosphere at the medical department had been strange, but an undergrad student hadn't seen the signs before it was too late.

Perhaps he had thought things weren't as bad as they truly were; that the silent storm wouldn't erupt and result in a massacre.

Or perhaps he had refused to acknowledge the corruption for what it was. Accepting that the ideals you held in your mind didn't match reality was always the hardest part of growing up — and perhaps he still hadn't learned that lesson, Law mulled to himself solemnly.

I studied sign language as a minor when back in the university, but I had studied it before that, too, Law continued with precise signs, mouthing the words along with the movements. Somehow, the collaboration of hands and lip movement brought his focus back to the moment, away from the ever-present lava of worry that kept bubbling up within himself.

(But despite it never going away, Law had managed to dull his ability to feel to the point where a genuine sensation drove him into depths of distress.)

Corazon's lips remained in a thin line, but Law saw the corners twitch, as though rising into an almost smile. The man's strong-lined face was difficult to read, but there must have been some joy he felt in finding a person capable of communicating in the same language.

That's how you know Caesar? Corazon formed the signs precisely and slowly, still apparently disbelieving that Law could actually read them.

Law nodded, before continuing more hesitantly. He was the head of the department I was in.

A bad past?

This bastard really was as observant as Law had previously given him credit for, if not even more. Law felt his jaw clench, old tension returning to his muscles as he shrugged his shoulders. Take it however you want.

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"Well," Doflamingo murmured to Law, voice smooth and silky against the nape of the young man's neck, "it does turn out that we have to stop by Punk Hazard, despite our initial plans."

The intention behind the statement was obvious enough — Doflamingo wanted to gauge the way Law would react to it.

Baiting, luring Law into reacting a certain way…

Law gave a low humming sound, fingers clenched around the pink fluttery feathers that coated Doflamingo's impressive frame. Though the relief was immense, he showed no indication of how important the acceptance of his request truly was to him.

"Convenient," was what he drawled out as he dug his finger deeper past the feathers. There was nothing else he could say without giving away his plans and Penguin — so, he remained silent, rusty gold-specked eyes staring at nothing in particular with a blank expression even as Doflamingo's hands were all over him. "…because of Caesar, I assume?"

The name prickled at his nerves like sharp knives, and his shoulders shift with the uneasiness even thinking about Caesar made him feel. (The sounds of gunshots pierced through his mind, the sound of a tragedy that had triggered his fall into murky-watered depression.)

"Observant," Doflamingo laughed, the sound low and muffled against Law's pulse as teeth gnawed at the skin, uncovering the startling white marks of the disease running rampant inside Law, "although obvious."

"You're not very good at dishing out compliments," Law deadpanned as he pushed his fingers past the pink folds of Doffy's coat, pressing fingertips against the creases of the white undershirt, feeling the strong abdominal muscles twitch under the touch.

It was afternoon by now, and Doflamingo showed no signs of having anything even relatively important to do; instead he indulged himself with Law's company, which was both irritating and relieving at the same time, though he could have spent some more time discussing life with Corazon, whom had taken a liking to Law once the communication channel had been utilized.

Tch. If there was nothing left to do, they should head out to Punk Hazard, shouldn't they?

"I believe in constructive criticism in all areas of life," Doflamingo laughed as he pulled himself away from Law's neck with obvious reluctance, the shades slipping down his nose ever so slightly, revealing bits of the startling blue eyes behind them. "Take it as a suggestion for improvement regarding your character."

"Hah," Law's laughter was as dry as summer-murdered grass, but his lips relaxed into an easygoing smirk he wouldn't have been able to muster up if Caesar had been present then. "Some would find your criticism offending."

"Do you?" Doflamingo asked with an arrogant but knowing hum as his hand descended down Law's clothed back, the touch as obvious as if Law wasn't wearing anything at all. There was no real sexual intention behind Doflamingo's touches yet, but that could change about as fast as the man's general moods did.

"Considering you implied that my character is somewhat lacking?" Law raised a brow at Doflamingo as his fingers fiddled with a button of the shirt they clung to, eventually slipping past it to meet the skin beneath. "…Not at all." Besides, if the criticism only focused on Law stating the obvious, there was nothing to get worked up over. After all, the disguise of obliviousness was the best of them all.

"Not lacking, per se," Doflamingo laughed, muscles rippling beneath Law's touch, "but focused on the superficial instead of what lies beneath."

"What does lie beneath the surface, then?" Law asked, settling his thighs comfortably over the other's, ignoring the feeling of thick fingers slipping beneath the hoodie. "Do educate me."

"Some things you might not want to get too involved in," Doflamingo warned playfully, but the blue eyes were serious as they appraised Law and his expressions. "You might not reach the surface afterwards."

And even though the tone was friendly, almost sugary, Law sensed the undertone of something larger, something that said Law had already sunk beneath the surface of obvious.

"I don't drown easily," Law returned as he slipped the feather coat off of Doflamingo's shoulders, shifting his focus on unbuttoning the shirt beneath instead of a witty reply. The words were as confident as they could be, considering the disgust that still curled inside his stomach thanks to Caesar's presence on the ship. The last person Law had ever planned to see again, if he could help it.

The burning feeling his gut was either hatred or an ulcer in the making.

He inhaled, sharp and clear, before leaning over to Doflamingo's lips.

Hate was the most difficult emotion to suffocate, but even that he could manage with some distraction.