Hey everybody,
I hope you're having a great weekend and here comes the next chapter to make it hopefully even better ;-)
Because christmas is next weekend, I can't promise I will be able to upload the next chapter then. Of course, I'll try, but usually my life is rather busy during the holidays and my uploading-process unfortunatly is not as quick as it might seem...
Oh, well, just in case I won't be able to make it, I wish you all some pleasent last days of this quite unusual year and that the next one may start better to you than this one ended. And in loving words of my co-worker: See you on the other side ;-)
All the best and have some good reading
Sharry
Chapter 9 - Porch
"Cora-san!"
Surprised, he looked up.
Between the trees, Law appeared, a wobbly stack of boxes on his shoulder, and waved up to him.
"Law!" He answered joyfully, rubbing the sweat off his forehead and waving back.
The midday sun shone brightly and the hard physical work had exhausted him quite a bit, but Law's sight alone filled him with new energy.
Rosinante had gotten up quite early – Law had still been asleep – and had left for their new home to continue with the work. Currently he was working at the roof with Halhal, the daughter of the carpenter Mr. Sansan, repairing minor damage, which was not yet a problem, but would cause the house to suffer over time.
Suddenly Rosinante slipped with his hand and before he could reach for anything, he bounced down the roof.
"Corazon!" Halhal shouted after him but couldn't grab him.
"Room! Shambles!"
The next moment Rosinante lay unharmed on the ground and a single pebble fell on him.
"But what...?" He muttered, looking around in disbelief.
"Corazon! Is everything okay?" Halhal shouted down to him.
"Yes, everything is okay," he replied.
"You should be more careful." Law stopped next to him, dropping the mountain of boxes, and squatted down. "You could have hurt yourself."
I was worried.
"That was you?" He whispered, and Law just nodded. "A powerful ability."
With a quiet smile, Law offered his hand.
"And you haven't even seen me fight."
Heavily, Rosinante let himself be pulled up by the other.
"And I will do everything in my power that you will never need to again."
Law gave him that warm smile, and together they carried the boxes, which apparently contained mainly Law's books, inside.
"I haven't expected you yet," he remarked, when he put the boxes down, "not for another two or three hours."
"We had done all the appointments and the waiting room was empty," Law explained, stretching slightly, "so I thought I'd help you. However, I am on call."
He pulled a small transponder snail out of his pocket.
"Luckily, the practice is close if something should happen."
"Are these all books?" Rosinante began to open the first box.
"The ones over there are the clothes I bought for you, otherwise only a few things are missing, I will bring them next time. Now I want to help you."
Together with Law and his impressive ability, they progressed much faster than Rosinante had expected. In particular, the time-consuming carrying up of the materials was now done with a snap of the finger, and while Rosinante and Halhal were working on the roof, Law had set out to repair the floor in the kitchen and the adjacent living and dining room.
This evening as well some villagers came by to help them, but this time much less than the previous day. The Biubiu brothers and another friend helped them fixing the two bathrooms and explained how to operate the boiler.
Apart from the bathrooms, the porch and the garden around the house actually needed the most work, but that was something that could wait until later and what Rosinante could do over the days.
At sunset they were finished with the repairs of the roof and the large bathroom could now be used, so Law went back to the practice to fetch towels and the like; they had decided to spend the first night in their new home.
The big brother of Halhal had brought them food in the meantime and after a cheerful supper the others said goodbye and wished them a nice evening.
So it happened that Law and Rosinante sat alone on the crunching porch for the first time, somewhat illuminated by the light of the kitchen, which shone through the living room to them outside and in front of them the dark sea, whose calm waves were illuminated by the small crescent moon and the thousands of stars.
"We've come a long way," Law said as he sipped on his tea.
"Yes, thanks to the great help of the others, but from tomorrow on we are on our own," agreed Rosinante, taking one of the dried plums Law had brought him. One of his absolute favourite foods, which in his opinion was far too bad to be wrapped in rice.
"Didn't Kelkel say he would come over one of the next few days to properly connect the other bathroom and Halhal wanted to bring the furniture over along with her brother, right?"
He could feel Law's gaze. They were lucky that the villagers were so generous. Furniture that was pleasing to both Law and Rosinante in size always cost a fortune, and even Law didn't have that much on the high edge.
"Yes, that's true." He leaned back and looked up to the stars. "But from tomorrow it is up to us to prepare this house so that it can become our home."
For a moment they both remained silent and only the sound of the waves and the whisper of the forest could be heard. Law then placed a hand on Rosinante's.
"Where you are, I'm at home. This house will be a home through you."
He could hardly prevent from blushing and that even though he had thought exactly the same.
"Welcome home," he muttered, smiling at Law, whose eyes widened for a moment before he smiled and also looked up to the sky.
"I'm back."
The next few weeks spun away. Every morning Rosinante got up early and started to set up their home, while Law went to work and joined him in the evening, painting walls, repairing floorboards, exchanging tiles, and doing all that needed to be done.
The evenings were mostly long and ended with them lying dirty or stained with paint on the floor, too exhausted to even shower or eat something.
Law had also traveled to a neighboring island for a few days when several residents there had complained over the same worrying symptoms and Law had wanted to avoid spreading to all surrounding islands.
Rosinante had not accompanied him, partly because he had wanted to finish the second bath with Kelkel and also because Law had wanted to prevent him from getting infected.
Law had also taken time off a few days, especially when Rosinante needed help for some things Laws abilities had been handy for.
By now they had made good progress and had done the most important work in the house. Thanks to the helpful and generous neighbours, most of the rooms were furnished and most of what they needed had been available at the weekly market.
"Tomorrow I think I'll start with the porch," Rosinante muttered, his arms folded under the back of his head as the wood beneath him creaked approvingly. "We spend so many evenings out here, not that it will break in with us at some point."
From the corner of his eye, he could see Law looking over his book down at him from his chair.
"Don't you want to take a break tomorrow?"
"What?" Surprised, he sat up. "You are the one who, in addition to his work in the practice, spends half the night working on the house."
"I spoke to Ninnnin and Mrs. Paipai. They liked your idea to close the practice one day and take turns on call."
"Really?"
"Yes, so I may be called, but if not, I can spend the whole day with you tomorrow."
Law folded his book and laid it down on his armrest before slipping from his chair to Rosinante on the floor. Under the creaking of the wood he lay down.
Rosinante looked at him for a moment before he laid back down too and looked up to the star-lit night sky.
"We used to sleep under the stars a lot," he said. "Even with freezing temperatures. It was far too dangerous to be recognized, but I often worried that it would be bad for you."
"It was often cold," Law confirmed next to him, "but I never froze. You were always there and tucked me in."
"It was also freezing cold on Minion."
"That's true." Law turned to the side and looked at him while Rosinante continued to look up to the stars. The other rested his chin on one hand and seemed to observe him. "I like the weather here. The sky is mostly clear, but even at night it is warm and even the coldest nights here do not freeze."
Rosinante nodded in agreement. The day had exhausted him, but they had done a lot and he was very satisfied, enjoyed the sound of the waves just a few meters away and Law's voice right next to him, his left leg placed over Rosinante's thigh.
It was nothing unusual. In recent weeks, he had often noticed that Law was apparently mindlessly touching him, and even though Rosinante had initially misunderstood it as an awkward expression of his romantic feelings, he now knew it was much more complex.
Despite the weeks that had passed, Law still needed security, confirmation that Rosinante was really there, not suddenly dissolving into thin air. Every single touch was a sign of affection, but also of longing and even more, a sign of great fear to be abandoned.
Rosinante had decided that he would accept these feelings, even if he did not respond to them. He wouldn't reject Law, knowing that this might have been the wiser, healthier, decision.
However, he could not say that it was simply unpleasant for him. He, too, had rarely experienced tenderness and unconditional affection in his life, and when Law looked at him with these deep eyes, he knew immediately that he was his most important person in life.
It didn't seem right, it felt weird and yet it made him happy.
Rosinante himself kept his distance from such romantic gestures, and Law did not seem to expect that from him, not expecting him to feel the same, but whenever Law expressed his affection for him, Rosinante allowed it, thus showing the form of his unconditional love, however different it may be.
This strange relationship had developed during the recent weeks, and although Rosinante had great doubts about whether it was the right decision, every gentle kiss, every tender touch, every quiet whisper seemed to make Law happier.
There was hardly a moment when the shadows seemed to obscure his eyes, and when he smiled at Rosinante as he did right now, his doubts were suddenly far away and he couldn't help but smile.
"Starting tomorrow there will be a market on Haru for a week. It only takes place every six months and there are traders from all over the world. A lot of islanders have advised me to go there, so I thought we could visit it tomorrow," explained Law his day off.
"It's a great idea. I also have a list of things we still need. We can certainly find some of that there."
Law laughed softly.
"I didn't expect this renovation to motivate you so much, Cora-san. I didn't expect you to be so handy with tools."
"Well, I really do not have any talent for that," Rosinante muttered, looking at his left hand with all its bandages. He had actually managed to hit every single finger with the hammer – and sometimes with a hammer and nail – but they hardly hurt any more, Law had only wanted to be safe.
"But I enjoy doing something meaningful every day. At the end of the day to know what I've done. Besides..." now he looked at Law, "... this is our home. I want it to be as beautiful as possible."
Then he laughed and folded his arms under the back of his head again.
"And if you're the one who brings the money home, I can at least make sure you have a nice home to return to."
For a while they lay there in silence, not for a second Law seemed to take his gaze off, but Rosinante decided to ignore it. He also had these moments, mostly when Law wouldn't notice it so easily – though he certainly did – while looking at the other extensively, reacquainting this familiar alien body.
"Why don't you use make-up anymore, Cora-san?"
Now he tilted his head slightly to see the other, who had still placed his chin on his palm and supported his elbow against the creaking porch.
"Do you prefer the make-up?" He said.
Law shrugged.
"I used to see you very rarely without. Mostly only when I woke up before you and you had taken it off the evening before. I just wonder why you don't use it anymore."
"Because it's no longer necessary." For a moment he closed his eyes and breathed in the magnificent sea air. "The make-up was my mask, behind which I could hide my feelings, like my brother's sunglasses, although of course he always showed his feelings quite openly."
He sighed softly.
"Unfortunately, I have never been particularly good at hiding my feelings, just like you or other soldiers I know. When I applied the make-up it was easier. The make-up and my devil power were my camouflage. Without make-up and in uniform I was the honest soldier Rosinante. The make-up was a disguise of the Elite officer Corazon. But here and now I am neither one nor the other, here and now I am just Cora-san, without uniform, without masquerade, so I don't use make-up anymore. Here with you, I can be just myself."
Law smiled as he raised his free hand and caressed Rosinante's cheek as if he were following the invisible contours of his make-up.
"I liked the make-up. You always looked like you were smiling, even if you didn't." Law then leaned forward and kissed him. "But I like your true smile much more."
Rosinante looked at the deep eyes above him, which were at least as engaging as the stars in the background.
"I like your smile," he whispered, pulling out a hand behind his head and grasping Law's chin, caressed the soft beard, along the jawbone to the hairline. "I like how you smile with your eyes."
Again Law leaned over him, stroked through his hair, over his chest, and kissed him. Rosinante let it happen and allowed himself, at least for a moment, to enjoy these tendernesses, to experience this affection.
He couldn't love Law as Law loved him, but that didn't mean he hadn't longed for such touches. At least for that moment, he allowed his doubts and stabs of conscience to be carried away by the wind while Law was so close to him.