Rocinante was pleased that he was getting to go home a day early, and was looking forward to seeing Law that much sooner. The blond haired officer was even happier when he noticed that his cell phone was ringing, and it was Law that was calling him. Rocinante answered with a smile. "Good evening, Law. I see that you know how to make calls after all. Did you miss me so much after our last phone call this morning that you needed to hear my voice again?"
'Cora.' Law sounded faintly embarrassed, and it seemed like the surgeon wasn't sure what he had been calling the blond for in the first place.
Rocinante made the decision then and there that he was going to surprise Law by arriving at his home in an hour or so. "I'm looking forward to being able to see you in person instead of over the phone."
'…me too.' Law's words were nearly inaudible.
Rocinante smiled at the quiet admission. "Do you remember what you were calling me about?" The blond haired officer found it adorable for Law to fumble over his words as he was currently doing, before he managed a coherent sentence.
'Are you coming back tomorrow?' Law sounded hopeful, and it seemed like something was bothering him, though he said nothing of it for the time being.
"I'll be back soon." Rocinante said in return. He did want to surprise Law, and it was probably a better idea than going home to his apartment, just in case Doflamingo had sent someone to watch for his return. Rocinante eyed his surroundings warily, as if expecting someone to be watching him right now, even though he had no evidence of it. Seeing as he was on a bus back to the city and it was only himself and the driver.
'Are you going to work when you get back?' Law asked, breaking Rocinante out of his troubling thoughts.
"I was thinking that I would go see you first. Since I haven't gotten to see you face to face for a month and a half." Rocinante said. He decided not to tease Law too much, such as hinting that it was his intention to hug him and hold on for as long as the surgeon allowed him to. "If that's all right with you to go to your house."
'Yes.' Law managed to say, though he said it in a way that he would have preferred the other man to be with him right now. 'I'm walking home right now from the hospital. But I don't work tomorrow, so I'll be there.'
Rocinante hoped that he could make it to the surgeon's home first, but doubted it. "I'll see you soon, Law." With a few more softly exchanged words, the two of them hung up, and Rocinante settled back in the seat he was on. Even if he got to Law's after the surgeon got home, the blond figured that he could always be let in by the other man's roommates and go slip into bed with Law fast asleep to surprise him in the morning. Rocinante shook his head fondly at the very thought. It was unlikely to happen, since Law was a night owl most of the time. And a light sleeper, as the blond haired man had found out on some occasions. But Rocinante was sure that Law would be happy to see him, even if it didn't seem like it some of the time. The blond decided that he would try and get Law to smile at least once when he got to the surgeon's home.
The ride to the city only took another forty five more minutes, which wasn't as long as the blond haired officer had anticipated. Rocinante was quietly excited to get to see Law that he didn't even care that he tripped over his own feet as he got off of the bus.
-x
Law had ended his call with Rocinante on a positive note, and pocketed his phone. He was relieved that the other man was coming back to the city the next day. Law realized, especially in the past week and a half, that he really, really wanted to see Rocinante, if only because he missed the other man so much. He even missed just sitting on a couch next to him and dozing off. Law just hoped that Rocinante would be more flattered than embarrassed about the tattoo he had gotten.
The surgeon glanced up to see how far away from home he was when he realized that he was not going the way he was used to. Law inwardly swore when he noticed that he had accidently gone the way home that he actively tried to avoid using. The place he currently was walking along was the area he had been more likely to be mugged in when he was all on his own in the past. Law might have made himself scarce instead of briefly pausing in his walk had he realized that he was being followed, but by the time he noticed something wrong, it was too late.
An arm suddenly looped around Law's waist to crush him up against the body of his sudden attacker, and the surgeon immediately fought to get that arm away from him so that he could make a run for it. At least, that was the plan, until something was forced over his mouth and nose not a moment later, which caused Law to gasp as a sly voice spoke next to his ear.
"As a doctor, I'm sure you know what this is." There was a low laugh as the speaker held on tight, refusing to let Law free himself. "Be a good brat and don't struggle too much."
The voice registered in Law's mind as he futilely attempted to not breathe in any of the fumes. But it was useless, as he'd already taken in a few breaths of it out of surprise. Law felt himself fade in and out of consciousness, dimly wondering why he'd written off Doflamingo as someone not to be concerned with. Because that was who the voice belonged to.
"It's too bad that my little brother won't listen to me." Doflamingo laughed, as if that was absurd. "So I decided that I'll just have to do something about that myself. It's convenient for me that he's taken such a shine to you. I'm sure that he wouldn't want anything to happen to you."
Law was kind of happy to end up unconscious, because he didn't want to think about how this was going to affect Rocinante. Or the fact that if this was related to Rocinante's job, that the other man was likely to do anything Doflamingo wanted to get him back. Which worried Law about just what Doflamingo wanted from his brother, as the dark haired surgeon was sure that the time Rocinante had been wounded so badly had been because of Doflamingo. Law didn't want that to ever happen again.
Cora...
-x
Rocinante knew that something was wrong when he arrived at Law's house and only found Penguin and Shachi there. Both roommates were clearly worried, as they both mentioned that Law should have been back home a while ago.
"I just talked to Law on the phone less than an hour ago." Rocinante said as he sat down on the couch in the living room.
"We tried calling, but he's not picking up." Penguin said, his expression troubled.
"Why don't you give him a call? Maybe he just doesn't want to talk to us?" Shachi suggested, even if he sounded doubtful. "It isn't like him to not answer."
Rocinante made the call and waited as the phone rang. With each passing second, the blond began to worry more. When the sound of a phone picking up was heard, Rocinante let out a low sigh before speaking. "You should pick up your phone, even if it is just your roommates."
No response.
Rocinante frowned. "Law?"
'Fufufu. I'm wondering, Roci, why did you not come home sooner? I would have thought that I made myself clear about what could happen if you didn't leave behind what you've learned.' Doflamingo's voice was far too malicious and gleeful. 'Too bad. I guess you don't really care much what happens to your little surgeon, if you think he can fend for himself while you're not around.'
The fears that Rocinante had had the day Doflamingo had made his subtle threat crashed over him all at once. The blond could see Law's roommates concerned looks, but Rocinante was focused on his brother. It occurred to the officer that Doflamingo could be trying to trick him. "I think you're lying, I'm not-"
'Lying? Why would I bother with that? Here…' There was movement on the other end, before Doflamingo spoke up snidely. 'Go on, say something. He's obviously delusional if he doesn't think I'd go this far.'
Rocinante's breath caught as he heard a soft, almost inaudible voice that was clearly Law's saying 'Cora' and something with the word 'don't' in it.
Doflamingo's voice overrode whatever else the dark haired surgeon might have said. 'It's a shame that he doesn't want anything to do with me. Perhaps I'll ask another time. But that makes him rather useless to me right now, and you know what I do with those kinds of people, don't you, Roci?'
Rocinante couldn't believe that Doflamingo would involve Law in something that he had nothing to do with, but at the same time, Doflamingo was right. Rocinante should have known better than to think that his brother wouldn't use any and all means to get what he wanted. He hadn't been careful enough, and he could only imagine how Law must feel. And as much as Rocinante wanted to deny Doflamingo what he wanted, Rocinante preferred that Law continue to be safe. Well...as safe as one could be around his older brother. With that thought in mind, and as much as Rocinante hated it, he knew that he would have to be careful with what he said.