A/N: Ugh. UGH. I am so goddamn happy that I am currently typing this. University is slowly devouring my entire life and is definitely the place where it's the most noticeable. Anyway, I can't tell you this too many times: This fic WILL be finished! I will never discontinue it, no matter what. I will put every minute of free time I got into writing this, because I seriously owe it to you. Lots of people have been writing me and asking me to continue this and truly, my heart broke with every message I got. But at the same time, your messages are motivating as hell. So everyone who has left me a nice review or a private message: Feel hugged and loved!
Also, thanks to Anni for beta'ing this baby at 1 am on a Sunday. The world needs people like you.
So I hope you're enjoying this chapter :)
"I am honestly not feeling well…" Luffy muttered tiredly, staring blankly at the wooden ceiling above his bed that he was currently lying on. The teen's legs hung limply down the edge of the bed, his arms were outstretched on the mattress. Any other person would say that this was the position of a kid that was simply dying of boredom, considering that Luffy's options of entertaining himself were in fact rather limited in the tiny hut.
However, despite only knowing him for about a week now, Law knew that this kind of behavior was not typical of Luffy. He was simply not that kind of guy that would just lie on a bed for a couple of hours, whispering mostly incoherent words every now and then. Sure, this would be the normal behavior for any normal person in Luffy's position, but for some reasons that Law couldn't quite grab, the younger man somehow always found something to do in the tiny hut. Well, at least that's what he had told him.
Law shrugged. He knew he should be happy with the way Luffy was now. Quiet and weak, without the hint of a smile on his face. And without the will to move or the power to defend himself from whatever Law wants him to do. Come to think of it, Law couldn't remember the last time Luffy had smiled.
However, something about the situation left a foul taste in Law's mouth.
"Do you need some fresh air?" Law asked without looking at Luffy. He had bought some food for Luffy, mostly fruits and vegetables, and he was currently busy taking the items out of the big grocery bag.
Law was almost completely certain that fresh air was not what his hostage needed right now though. Why would he? Doflamingo's hut was of poor quality, the dark wooden boards of the walls allowed every single chilling gust of wind from the outside to enter the small room.
With some effort, Luffy sat up slowly, blinking his tired eyes a few times before looking straight at Law who still had his back turned to him. "I guess we could try that…" He said and touched his forehead with the back of his hand. His head was fucking pounding and he felt like a mess. And even though Luffy was not the one with a doctor title in this room, he knew that he was not feeling like this because of the lack of fresh air.
Law turned to look at Luffy now. "Okay, but only for one minute." He walked up to Luffy and grabbed the teenager - who still looked a little sluggish - by his right arm to help him up from the bed. The moment the surgeon touched the skin of Luffy's arm, he felt something that he shouldn't feel. Something that he definitely shouldn't feel.
The surgeon narrowed his dark eyes. "Your skin feels hot." He stated as-a-matter-of-factly, looking at Luffy's arm in a way that didn't promise any good. Sure, Luffy's body had already felt slightly off in temperature a few days ago, but that was nothing compared to now. Luffy's skin was flushed. It worried the surgeon. It worried him a lot. Not because he was concerned about the boy's well-being, but because of the consequences of such symptoms.
Luffy's eyes zoomed from one corner of the room to another, not really knowing what to respond to the man's statement. "Eh, I told you I wasn't feeling well, you know." He said nervously.
Law now pulled him up from the bed, forcing Luffy to stand up. Surprised by the older man's actions and due to Luffy's own lack of energy, the teen's legs almost threatened to give out the moment he was forced to stand upright. However, the firm grip of Law's hands on his body was strong enough to keep the teenager from falling.
"What did you do?" Law asked, his voice somewhat aggressive. He placed his tattooed fingers on Luffy's slightly sweaty forehead. The moment he did, his expression became even darker. There was a huge contrast between the hotness of Luffy's skin and the coldness of his sweat. "Shit, your skin is on fire. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Now it was Luffy's time to glare at the man in front of him, even though the intense look of his eyes didn't have the slightest effect on a man like Law. "You are a doctor, you tell me." He said, puffing his cheeks.
After letting a few more seconds pass, Law let go of Luffy's frame, his lips set in a thin line. "Are you hot or cold? Does your chest ache? Can you breathe normally? Are you tired all the tim-"
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop asking me so many questions at once, you confuse me!" Luffy complained, closing his eyes and furrowing his dark eyebrows. To Law it seemed like he was really giving the teen a headache with his questions. It amused him a little. He liked the combination of medical questions and causing pain.
Luffy sat down on the edge of his bed again, feeling it dipping under his weight as he massaged his temples with small circular movements to cure the pain in his head. "Okay," he said, rocking back and forth on the bed. "Start your questions again. Slowly this time."
Law huffed and wanted to turn away again. But he knew he had to check this man up now or else the consequences could be really bad. Tightening his jaw, Law decided to sit down on the bed next to Luffy. However, the moment he caught sight of the bed for the first time this day, he noticed something: The mattress looked darker than usually. A little dirty, too.
Shifting his gaze upwards, Law stared at the wooden ceiling.
"Luffy."
"Yeah?" The teenager blinked, curious suddenly.
"When was the last time it rained?"
"To be honest," Luffy started, now locking eyes with Law who was staring down at him. "It has been raining for the last couple of nights."
"What?! Get off that bed right now!" Law commanded and Luffy sat up swiftly.
"Ouch…" Luffy shut his eyes close as he stood. He was seeing all kind of stars in front of his eyes from getting up too quickly. And in addition, his head was still pounding every now and then. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision.
However, Luffy's whimpers fell on deaf ears. Law was too damn exasperated to listen to Luffy right now. Why the hell hadn't Doflamingo told him about the condition of the ceiling? The mattress was drenched in cold water that had been dripping from the ceiling for days obviously. And having to sleep on a wet mattress in a small cold hut could end up really ugly. Luffy was an important hostage, Law knew that. Probably the most important hostage the Donquixote Family had had for a long time. And sure, Law was a strong supporter of not treating important hostages like an equal, but at least they should make sure not to lose someone like Luffy to some sickness that could have been easily avoided.
"I'm going to talk to that bastard about this." Law murmured to himself angrily.
Luffy couldn't help but smile when he heard Law saying those words. "You care about me?" He nagged, jabbing Law in his side. It made Law roll his dark eyes. How was it even possible for someone who was obviously suffering from a serious fever to be so annoying at the same time?
"Just because I don't want you to die doesn't mean I care about you, idiot." Law explained. "I'll ask you a few questions now and you simply reply with yes or no, alright?" It was the easiest way to figure out what exactly was wrong with Luffy without wasting too much time and energy on the teen.
"Yes." The other man replied enthusiastically. Good start.
"Do you feel cold most of the time?"
"Well, depends on which part of my body you're referring to. This place isn't exactly well insulated, you've probably noticed that the wind is drifting through this place, right? Sometimes, not always but sometimes, it sounds like a ghost whining which is really creepy. Especially at night, shishishi. Anyways, what was the question again? Ah yes! So my body is mostly cold. Maybe because the bed is cold, too. I've asked you for a quilt just yesterday, but either you didn't care to bring one along with you today or you simply forgot about it. So I guess it's somewhat your fault, too. Sometimes my face feels hot, but at the same time my body shivers. That's really weird, don't you think-"
"Which part of answer me with yes or no didn't you get, dumbass?"
Luffy stared at him blankly. "I can't answer this question with just one word! As I said, it depends!"
"That's why I asked what you feel most of the time!" Law gritted his teeth.
"Things aren't always black and white, you know?!" Luffy snapped and puffed his cheeks again.
"Are you seriously trying to sound smart now?"
If he had had the energy, Luffy would have tackled the older man to the ground. What the hell was he thinking? He had made a good point after all!
So he just decided to stare at the surgeon angrily. Which – unfortunately for Luffy - was not very effective again. You just couldn't impress someone like Law with that.
"So?" Law said, trying to sound calm. "Do you feel cold most of the time?" He repeated his question again.
"Yes." Luffy answered through clenched teeth, even though he was not happy with his answer. He had had his fair share of bad doctors in the past, but Law was by far the worst one Luffy had ever met.
Law nodded as if he was mentally writing down Luffy's answer. "Does your chest ache? Like, when you breathe in?"
Luffy took a deep breath, focusing on whether he did feel something strange in his chest area. He repeated this action a couple of times before replying "No."
"Alright. Do you feel tired?"
"What the hell is supposed to make me tired here? There is nothing else to do except for sleeping in this shitty hut and it's not like you allow me to go outside without your supervision for more than just a couple of second-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can shut up now."
Luffy growled, but didn't comment on Law's statement. "So, what are you gonna do now?"
"You've definitely caught a cold-"
"No shit Sherlock."
Law crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively and closed his eyes. "Look Luffy," He began. "If you interrupt me one more time I'll wait until it's gotten cold enough outside for the lakes to freeze over. I'll tell you to scratch a hole into the ice with your own fucking hands and I'll force you to jump into the water. And I will stand on the ice and watch you drowning miserably right under my feet."
Luffy's mouth hung slightly open as he stared at Law who didn't have the slightest expression on his face. After allowing a few more seconds to pass, he spoke again. "You said that like that was a normal thing to you." Luffy finished his sentence with an awkward laugh.
"It is."
Silence filled the room.
"… You've done that before?" The younger man furrowed his eyebrows.
"He was almost as annoying as you." Truth was, Luffy was more annoying than anyone Law had ever watched out for. But he was also more important than any other hostage. The surgeon knew that the other man was not someone he could simply dump into a cold lake.
"Shit, you're a creep." Luffy said, taking one small step to the side in an attempt not to stand too close to Law. "What exactly did he do?" He asked, happy with the distance between them now.
Law didn't mind Luffy stepping away from him as he was planning to go now anyways. "He told me to get my tattoos removed."
Luffy scratched the back of his head nervously. "That's a reason for you to let someone drown in ice cold water?"
"Yes."
Luffy blinked at Law, then sighed. "Are they that important to you? Are you gonna tell me the meaning of your tattoos?"
"No." Law said, shutting the door as he left Luffy alone again.
"I have the feeling that you only come to me when you want to complain about something, Law." Doflamingo started calmly, stirring the coffee in his hand with a spoon and looking utterly bored. "Why do you never come to me just for talking about normal things? I miss those times!"
Law glared at his boss fiercely, drilling his dark eyes into Doflamingo's shaded ones. "You could have told me that the hut doesn't protect Luffy from wind or rain. Winter is about to start, do you have any idea of how fucked we are when Luffy gets seriously sick?"
Doflamingo took a sip from his hot dark brewage. "There's definitely not enough milk in this coffee…" He pointed with a long finger on the milk jug that was in the middle of Doflamingo's desk, signalizing Law to pass it to him.
"He has already caught a cold and he's feverish. If we don't look out, he could get a pneumonia. And even though the risk is relatively low nowadays, this could eventually end up deadly for Luffy if we don't treat him immediately."
"Law. The milk." Doflamingo said, grinning but keeping his attention on Law.
Law took a deep breath to calm himself down and passed his boss the milk jug. Happily, Doflamingo added more and more milk into his drink, changing the color from a deep black to an almost light brown. He took another sip. "Better." He said merrily, still grinning his signature grin. "So what if he gets sick? You are a doctor and we have antibiotics. What's the big deal?" The blond shrugged.
"Yeah, and where exactly am I supposed to treat him? In that shitty hut that made him sick in the first place?" Law spitted, balling his fists on the desk until his knuckles whitened. "We obviously can't take him to a public hospital. And the rooms I got here are not suitable for curing people."
Yeah, the rooms Law had in Doflamingo's headquarters were usually used for doing exactly the opposite kind of work - Which Law considered the fun part of his job, not the whole curing crap.
Doflamingo sighed and placed the coffee back on his desk to focus on Law. "So what are you suggesting?"
The twenty-six-year old leaned back in his soft leather seat and scowled at the man in front of him. "We need to take him somewhere else. That hut is of no use anymore."
"Again, what are you suggesting?" The tall blond man repeated.
"I'm here because I'm asking you for suggestions." Law replied, his glare deepening. "He's your hostage after all. I am just supposed to keep an eye on him."
Doflamingo stared back at him. "Take him to a hotel. I don't care if it's a trashy or a good one. You can lock him up there to make sure he doesn't run away."
Law rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? Most hotel rooms have a thing called window, you know? Locking him up won't stop him from escaping."
"Sharp as always, Law." Doflamingo chuckled, earning a huff from the man sitting in front of him on the other side of the desk. "But some hotels have rooms without windows. You can search for one and lock him up there."
Law crossed his long legs. "What if someone comes into the room to clean it up and finds the idiot?"
"Just put one of these 'Do not disturb' signs on your door knob."
"Doflamingo," Law started dryly. "That idea is fucking stupid and you are fully aware of it. We need to find a place where nobody could possibly find him."
"Take him to your apartment until he gets better then."
"What?!" Law snapped and sat up stiffly. "Are you fucking joking?" He slammed his hands down on his boss' desk.
"This is a serious matter here Law, and as much as I love good jokes, I am certainly not joking now." Doflamingo said, his mocking smile back in place. He ran his fingers through his blond hair. "I want him to stay in the hut. If you are not happy with it, then take him with you. It's easier for you to keep an eye on him if he lives at your place anyway. You can lock him up in your bathroom and nobody will find him."
"I don't want him to butt in on my private life now, too. I am not going to keep him at my place." He said sharply.
If this was just one of Doflamingo's many bad jokes, then he should better stop right now. This was not funny in any way.
"You don't have another choice, Law." His boss pointed out and stretched with a yawn.
Law didn't say anything. What was he supposed to say? He tried to come up with alternatives but his mind was completely blank at the moment.
"… Alright. But only until he is completely healthy again." Law sat up, grabbed his jacket that was placed on the seat and stormed out of Doflamingo's office.
"I didn't ask for more." Doflamingo said to himself and took another sip from his milky coffee.
"Get in there."
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Not really."
"Then move your lazy ass."
Luffy was currently standing behind a black car that Law had parked just in front of the hut the teen had spent over an entire week in. It was a silent and cold night, like it had been all those previous nights before.
He eyed the object in front of him skeptically. "You seriously want to lock me up in the trunk of your car? Even your boss was nicer to me. He let me sit in the back seat of his car and didn't treat me like some luggage."
"For your information, Doflamingo put you there because you were fucking unconscious and blindfolded. So don't exaggerate, idiot." Law informed him and Luffy immediately shut up.
Sighing, the teenager started to climb inside the trunk. "At least it's spacious in here."
"Look at me." Law said emotionlessly, causing Luffy to do exactly as the other man told him. "You'll need this." He took a black piece of cloth out of his pocket – And Luffy recognized it immediately.
"Oh hell no! Not a blindfold again!"
"Look, you don't have to wear it now as you won't see anything during the ride anyway, but you will have to wear it the minute I stop the car and tell you to put it on. Do we have a deal?" Law asked, handing him the blindfold.
Even though Luffy's inner voice protested vehemently, the teen knew that he didn't have a choice. "…Okay." He nodded, taking the cloth from Law. "As long as you don't handcuff me again. I like using my senses, you know?"
"Whatever." Law commented dryly and shut the lid of the trunk with force.
"Woah! Careful you ass! I had my fingers there only a second ago!" Law heard Luffy's muffled words coming from the storage room of his car, but he couldn't care less right now. He got inside the car himself and buckled his seatbelt. Then Law took the car keys out of his jeans pocket and turned the engine on, causing the lights to go on and the car to vibrate gently.
"Hey, are we driving already?" Luffy asked from the back of the car, his voice loud enough for Law to hear. However, Law only rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the younger man.
Of course there wasn't a street in the middle of a forest, but Law knew exactly where he had to drive his car to get out of the woods. He had driven this route many times and due to its heavy weight the car had already left its traces on the ground. However, that was also one of the reasons why the Donquixote Family couldn't simply use the hut for hostages the entire year. The ground had to recover from the damage the car did to it and this process sometimes took several months. Despite being a cheap and crappy building, the hut was an important secret spot to keep or torture people.
Law looked out of the window. To be honest, he didn't like how things were developing. The original plan was simple: Kidnap a kid that had strong connections to their enemies, coax as much insider information out of him as possible, maybe blackmail other groups into giving them lots of money, drugs or doing something for the Donquixote Family and then kill the kid off once it's of no use anymore.
But now, that kid had turned out to be a complete pain in the ass that had been more of a burden to the Donquixote Family – especially to Law - than an advantage so far.
"How long do I have to stay here? This place is not comfortable at all!"
Law concentrated on the path in front of him, not even thinking about owing that kid an answer to his dumb question. What was the point in that? He wanted this ride to be over as soon as possible, too. But he couldn't really drive as fast as he wanted - considering he was surrounded by trees.
"I'm bored."
Law clenched his hands tighter around the steering wheel. Dumping Luffy into a frozen lake didn't sound like a bad idea to him right now. Or maybe he could take him out of the trunk, smack him across the face and then drive on again?
After about ten minutes of driving slowly through the dark forest - that felt like an eternity to Law, especially with Luffy asking unnecessary questions every thirty seconds – Law had reached a small road. He sighed contently. Finally a normal and even surface again.
"Are we there yet? Do I need to put my blindfold on?" Luffy asked, his voice slightly deadened.
"No." Law replied. It was the first time during the ride that he had actually given the younger man an answer to his question. "Do you want me to go fast?"
It wasn't exactly a question that Law wanted an answer to, but the younger man still replied enthusiastically "Yeah!"
Using his right foot, Law pushed the gas pedal harder, causing the car to reach almost 2000 RPMs on the tachometer gauge. The sound was loud, but Law didn't mind as there was no one on the streets right now anyway. Also, the sound would stop him from hearing Luffy. He just wanted to get home as soon as possible. Also, he had always liked driving fast.
"Put your blindfold on, I'll open the lid now." Law said, standing in front of the back of the car where Luffy was still locked up in.
"Done." Was the reply.
Law opened the trunk and was relatively content with the fact that Luffy did in fact put his blindfold on. He reached behind the younger man's head and tightened the knot a little bit more, just in case.
"Alright, get out." Law said, stepping away from the car to make room for Luffy.
However, all Luffy was did was reaching his right arm out to Law, looking puzzled.
For the umpteenth time this night, Law raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"I can't see anything, jerk." Luffy stated, his arm still outstretched to Law. "So you either guide me to wherever I'm supposed to go to or I'll just stay here."
Law's instincts screamed for him to say Fine, I'll leave you to rot here, but he knew that he had to do what the younger man asked him to do. So he grabbed Luffy's arm and yanked him out of the trunk.
"Ouch, hey! Be gentle, goddamnit." Luffy complained as he was violently pulled out of the car.
"Shhh!" Law said coldly, placing his hand in front of Luffy's mouth to shut him up. Even though it was already late after 3 am and everyone else living in the same complex as Law was probably asleep, the chances of someone roaming around the underground garage wasn't zero. Law reached his hand into his jacket and pulled out an M1911 pistol, pressing the gun against Luffy's right temple.
A chill ran down Luffy's spine the moment the cold metal touched his hot skin. "No yelling, no screaming, no talking. You are not allowed to say one word until I take your blindfold off." Law pushed the gun harder against Luffy's temple for emphasize. "Understood?"
Luffy only nodded.
With slow and careful steps, Law made his way out of the underground garage, pulling Luffy along with him, his gun always directed at Luffy's head.
It was hard to see without the lights on, but Law didn't want to take a risk. Of course he could simply shoot down anyone who crossed his way, but Law also didn't want to waste any bullets. Also, getting rid of a body was not something he had time for now.
Reaching the elevator that would take him to his apartment, Law pushed the the arrow-shaped button that would take them up. The elevator reached them quickly as there was no other person using it at this time.
"Get in there." Law said with a quiet voice, even though Luffy couldn't really see where Law wanted him to go. Letting out a discontent grunt, Luffy allowed Law to pull him along inside the elevator.
Law pushed the button that would take them to the 17th floor and leaned against the mirrored wall of the elevator the moment the doors went shut.
"Only a few more minutes until we're there." Law said and Luffy didn't really know how to reply to that. He was aware that they were currently in an elevator and therefore nobody except for Law would hear him speak. But then again Law had not given him the permission to speak yet. So Luffy decided to stay silent.
The surgeon let out a deep, relieved sigh the moment the elevator doors opened again. He took his keys out and opened the door of the only apartment that was located on the 17th floor, violently grabbing Luffy by his arm and forcing him to enter his apartment as well.
"Come with me." Law said the second he locked his front door and again pulled Luffy along with him, not really leaving the other man another option but to follow Law.
Law opened the door of his bathroom and pushed Luffy inside, causing the still blindfolded teen to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
"Ouch!" Luffy yelled, ignoring Law's rule of not saying anything until he allowed him to speak again. But what was he supposed to do when the other man caused him such pain?
"Take your blindfold off." Law said monotonely and turned around, closing the white bathroom door behind him.
Finally.
Luffy, still sitting on the ground, reached both of his arms behind his head and fiddled with the knot of his blindfold, undoing it after a few seconds. The moment he opened his eyes, he immediately shut them close again before slowly opening them again.
Everything around him was bright. The tiles of the ground and the wall were so white that the brightness had actually hurt Luffy's eyes that were used to darkness for the last hour. However, even though everything around him looked absolutely flawless, Luffy didn't like it. This place was almost too white for his liking, almost sterile.
"Are we in your apartment?" Luffy asked, turning his head from one side to the other.
His eyes slowly adapted to the brightness, allowing him to examine his surroundings. This place was definitely bigger than the average person's bathroom. Two huge windows with translucent glass allowed this place to be illuminated with sunlight during the day. To Luffy's right was an old English style bathtub that was easily big enough for two or three people. Behind it was shower that was separated with extra glass. To the teen's right was a toilet and a sink – everything made of white porcelain, probably.
"Yeah," Law replied, stating the obvious. "You'll spend your time here now. At least until you're better again. I'll treat you."
"You'll treat me in your bathroom?" Luffy asked, perplexed.
"This place is clean, dry and warm. The floor is heated, you can regulate the temperature over there. " Law pointed at a little screen next to the sink that currently read 68.3°F. "There is a plus and a minus button next to the screen. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to use it."
Luffy wanted to roll his eyes at Law's statement. He wasn't dumb, alright? "Where am I supposed to sleep?"
"On the ground." Law stated with a fake smile, crossing his arms as he leant against the cool tile wall. "I'll bring you two blankets later. You can put one on the ground to sleep on and use the other one to keep yourself warm. I am, however, not going to build you a bed in here."
Luffy opened his mouth to say something but Law interrupted him. "And don't you dare to complain."
Luffy frowned and closed his mouth again.
"I'll bring you two meals every day. A breakfast and a dinner."
"Why no lunch?"
"Because there are some people who have work to do during the day and therefore are not at home. Maybe if you are lucky enough I'll come home in the afternoon every now and then. And if I'm having a good day I'll even give you some of my leftovers of lunch. But I can't guarantee it."
"Thank you for your generosity." Luffy said, sarcasm obvious in his voice.
Law glared at him. "You should be thankful I'm doing this for you instead of leaving you to die in the middle of nowhere."
The older man walked up to the two huge windows of the bathroom. "This," Law said and tapped his fingers against the glass two times. "Is extra heavy glass. It's bulletproof and translucent. So there is absolutely no way of breaking it. Don't even try it, you'll just end up hurting yourself and I don't want to treat your broken fingers, too. There is no chance of informing other people that you're up here. Nobody will see you anyway as this is the 17th floor. If you magically do succeed to break the windows, then congratulations. All you can do then is to jump out and die. Also, every door and every single window in my apartment is secured with an alarm, so I'll get informed immediately if you do something stupid. And if you believe I'm not being nice to you right now, then wait until I catch you after a failed attempt to escape."
"Alright, I got it. But why in God's name do you need bulletproof glass in your bathroom? Are you afraid of getting shot while taking a piss?"
"Shut up." Law said and walked out of the bathroom, swiftly closing the door behind him so that Luffy didn't get the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the rest of Law's apartment. After a few minutes, the tattooed man returned with two blankets and a bowl of cereals in his hands. He threw the blankets at Luffy, covering the teen underneath them.
"Hey!" Luffy complained, struggling to reappear from underneath the blankets.
"Consider this a late night snack. You can drink tap water if you're thirsty." Law said and placed the bowl on the ground.
"You're treating me like some dog, you know?" Luffy didn't say it angrily. It was a simple statement.
Deep inside, he was actually happy about getting something to eat as he was already feeling a little hungry again. The last time he had had something between his teeth was just moments before Law had picked him up. And that was almost two hours ago. A meal was long overdue. He took the bowl from Law and started chewing the dry cereals. "Can you bring me sweet cornflakes with milk next time? These oats and raisins aren't delicious." He said, eating the cereals nonetheless.
"I'll never buy you unhealthy shit like that."
Law walked up the sink and placed his hands on the frame of the big mirror hanging on the wall. "This mirror," He started and opened it, revealing little glass shelves inside with tons of different pills, needles and injections. "Is actually a medicine cabinet." Without looking, Law grabbed one pack of pills and threw it into Luffy's direction. The teen caught it effortlessly in the air. "Those are antibiotics. Take three of them daily and you should be fine. One in the morning, afternoon and evening."
Luffy got up from the ground, eyeing the white pack of pills in his hand. He walked up next to Law and checked some of the things in the cabinet, bracing his hand against the sink. "And what about the other things in there?" Luffy pointed at another pack of pills that looked just like the one Luffy was currently holding in his hands.
"Those are potassium cyanide pills. You are not allowed to touch them. One is enough to kill you." Law leaned closer to Luffy's ear and whispered, "So I recommend you not to confuse them with your own pills."
Law enjoyed putting a shocked expression on Luffy's face.
"And you're sure you've given me the right ones? You didn't even look at them when you got them out of there after all." The younger man asked and looked at his pack of pills. There was nothing on it that said 'Antibiotics'. It was a plain white package that looked just like all the other ones in Law's cabinet.
"Try them out." Law said and grinned. "You need to take one now anyway."
"What? No!" Luffy said and placed the box of pills on the edge of the white porcelain sink.
Law chuckled and grabbed the pills. He pulled one blister pack out and pushed one of the many pills out with his thump. "I know where I keep my stuff. Also, potassium cyanide pills look completely different. I am sure that this is an antibiotic." He held the pill between his tattooed fingers and moved them to Luffy's closed mouth. "Open it."
Luffy locked eyes with Law, looking at him nervously. He wasn't comfortable with the situation. Law had stated more than enough that he was not Luffy's friend. But then again, he knew that the other man had no reason to poison him now.
Law's fingertips touched Luffy's still closed mouth and the doctor could feel the other man's hot, shallow breath on his fingers. He closed his eyes for a second and smiled as he noticed the other man shaking slightly. "You know I don't want you to die. You need to trust me."
Swallowing a gulp that was stuck in his throat, Luffy opened his mouth slowly, allowing Law access to his mouth. He kept focusing his eyes on Law as the other man pushed his fingers passed Luffy's lips and into his opening. When he knew that he had reached Luffy's tongue, he gently placed the pill on top of it and slowly removed his fingers.
It amused him that Luffy had his eyes locked on Law the entire time, as if he didn't fully trust the other man but still allowed him to do as he wished.
Luffy swallowed the pill right after Law's fingers had left his mouth, surprising the other man as most people would struggle with swallowing such a big pill without water.
"If this had been potassium cyanide you'd be clenching your stomach and gasping for air by now." Law ensured him.
"Alright," Luffy said, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He looked at the other items in Law's medicine cabinet. "What about the other stuff in there?"
Law took out several injections and pills and explained them to the other man. "Highly dosaged chloroquine. Two pills and your victim is dead." He put the pills back and showed Luffy some injections. "This here contains botulinum toxin. Obviously, it's toxic. And this injection here contains atropine. I don't recommend you touching this either."
"You know, most people keep simple pills against headaches in their medicine cabinet. What's up with you and all that deadly stuff?" Luffy said, raising an eyebrow at the drugs in front of him.
Law put the drugs back and closed the cabinet again. "I need them for work. Just don't touch them and you should be fine. I'm going to leave you alone now." Law said, walking up to the door again and opening it. He looked over his shoulder back at Luffy "I'll bring you something to eat at around 7 am."
"What?! That early?" It was a mystery to Luffy how Law was obviously okay with only sleeping a few hours a day. No wonder he had the darkest under eye circles Luffy had ever seen on another person. Before he got kidnapped by Doflamingo, Luffy would usually sleep nine or ten hours. At least. Now he could consider himself lucky whenever he got six hours of sleep.
The other man only shrugged. "Goodnight." Law said, closing the door behind him and locking it up from the outside.
Luffy took one of the blankets that was messily lying on the ground and folded it a few times until it had the perfect size to sleep on. He then took the other one and wrapped it around himself. It wasn't exactly comfortable to sleep on the ground, especially when you didn't have a mattress but only a relatively thin blanket. But at least, for the first time in a week, Luffy was feeling warm, safe even.
He rubbed his eyes that had started to burn from the lack of sleep he had acquired over the last week. "Goodnight." He murmured into the blanket, even though Law wasn't in the room anymore. But it felt nice to say the word nonetheless.
Law locked the door and took a few back to look at it. He didn't really know how to feel. Sure, his home was the most secured place on earth – right after his rooms in Doflamingo's headquarters - but he wasn't too comfortable with the thought of Luffy being present here. Maybe he shouldn't have told him that this was his bathroom, but honestly, Law couldn't come up with a lie that sounded convincing enough.
And Luffy was definitely not the brightest crayon in the box anyway.
So what if the teenager was at his home now? Law was a professional. It was not like he kept any important things at home anyway, so even if the teen somehow managed to escape, it was not like he could find anything to use against the Donquixote Family or Law. This was Law's home and nothing else. A place where he only came for sleeping and eating. There's absolutely nothing to see or find here. Ergo, nothing for Law to be nervous about.
He went into his master bedroom and stripped off his clothes, changing into his white boxers. He then climbed into his own king-sized bed and turned off the lights, smiling at the thought that he was going to sleep comfortably now while the idiot in the other room had to lie on the hard ground.
That was his punishment for being a nuisance. Maybe if he stopped being annoying in a few days, Law would give him a pillow.
Luffy groaned when the sunrays illuminated the room, causing him to wake up. How was it even possible for light to penetrate the glass when the window glass was definitely far from clear? He pulled the blanket over his head, but it was still way too bright for Luffy to fall asleep again. Maybe next time he could ask Law for a sleeping mask or something like that. Those things were only $1 after all. That couldn't be too much to ask for.
Speaking of Law…
… Wasn't he supposed to wake Luffy up at 7 am?
Luffy's body shot up into a sitting position when a certain realization hit him. The sun was shining through the windows, even though it was October. Or was it November yet? Luffy honestly didn't know. He had never had a good sense of time. But what he did know was that the sun would definitely not be shining at 7 am. So it must be later than that. Maybe noon.
However, Luffy's confusion disappeared when he looked at the small plate that was placed on the ground right next to the door. On it was a toast with red marmalade, probably strawberry or raspberry. Luffy raised an eyebrow at the food. Didn't Law hate sweet stuff? He grabbed the toast with the sticky marmalade and started eating his breakfast. "Raspberry." Luffy exclaimed happily. Finally something sweet again!
As he chewed his food, the younger man tried to come up with reasons why Law hadn't waked him up in the morning. Maybe Law had felt sorry for the teenager. After all, he did sound really sad after Law had told him the news about having to wake him up at 7 am. Or maybe being allowed to sleep out was Law's reward to Luffy for listening to him like a good hostage yesterday. Or maybe Law had in fact tried to wake Luffy up in the morning, but the other man was sleeping too heavily.
Whatever the reason was, Luffy was happy about it.
After finishing the bowl, Luffy placed it back on the ground where Law had put it before. He got up and knocked on the bathroom door. "Law?" Luffy asked. "Are you there?"
No reply.
"Hey Law! Are you still there?" He knocked again, this time rising his voice in volume.
Again, no reply.
Luffy got down on his knees and peeked through the little gap between the door and the ground, trying to see the shadow of someone on the other side of the door moving. But he couldn't see anything. Trying to see someone through the keyhole was of no use either as Luffy's vision was blocked by the key on the other side of the door.
Absolutely perfect.
Luffy wanted to laugh loudly. He looked up at the ceiling and let out a relieved sigh as if he was thanking some higher being for his patience. For someone who obviously liked posing as a dangerous criminal, Law was obviously not as much of a professional as he thought of himself.
The teen looked around the room, searching for a small but long object. He walked up to the sink and opened Law's medicine cabinet. His eyes roamed over the deadly medicine, shuddering slightly at the thought of how much of a creep Law was. He took one of the many syringes and went to the bathroom door again. Slowly, Luffy pushed the syringe through the keyhole until it touched the tip of the key, gently biting his pink lip in concentration. Without much further effort, Luffy managed to push the key on the other side far enough for it to fall down on the ground.
His heart was beating wildly. This was too good to be real.
Luffy put the syringe back into the cabinet and closed it as if he hadn't touched anything. He then grabbed one of his blankets and searched for a loose thread. And of course, Luffy found one in no time. Figured that the bastard would only give him one of his old blankets.
Well, bad for him now.
Luffy pulled on the thread until it ripped off. He was content with the length. He quickly tied a loose knot in the thread and got on his knees again, pushing the thread through the gap of the door to catch the key that was only one inch away from Luffy on the other side of the door.
It took Luffy a few attempts, but after a short while he managed to catch the key. Pulling on the end of the threat, the knot around the key tightened and with one swift movement, Luffy pulled the key to him.
"Gotcha!" He exclaimed, holding the piece of metal in his hands like a trophy.
He got up from the floor and pushed the key through the keyhole, carefully unlocking the bathroom door. After he heard the typical click noise, Luffy opened the door slowly. He tiptoed inside the room, carefully examining it from one side to the other, checking if he was truly all alone in Law's apartment.
And yes, he was alone.
Grinning, Luffy walked into the middle of room. It was probably the other man's living room and Luffy couldn't help but feel slightly impressed. Everything was so big. But, well, of course it was. Law owned the entire 17th floor after all. Only one look around him was enough for Luffy to know that Law's apartment had lots of rooms, befitting the surgeon's status. The most striking thing in there was a huge black leather couch in front of a giant TV that was built in into the wall. The entire floor was made up of parquet which fit perfectly in color to the wooden coffee tables, shelves and other comfy looking furniture.
Luffy snorted in amusement. He had expected Law's home to be tinted in black and white, but the other man obviously had a good taste in decorating. This place gave off a warm feeling.
However, Luffy didn't have time admiring Law's possessions, especially because Law had said that sometimes he comes home in the afternoon.
Walking up to the black leather couch, Luffy saw the object of his desire: A wireless telephone on a small table next to the couch.
He grabbed the device and started typing a familiar number. After allowing it to ring a few times, Luffy placed the telephone on his ear and waited for a certain person to pick up.
And exactly that person picked up the phone.
"Hello, Makino's bar, may I help you?" Someone said with a terribly faked high pitched female voice.
"Shanks, you don't need to fake Mankino's voice. It's me, Luffy-"
"Shit, Luffy! Thank god you're alive and well! It's about time you called!" The other man sounded clearly excited hearing the younger man's voice again. "Sorry about that, but you know I gotta be careful when I see an unknown number."
Luffy laughed and scratched the back of his nose. "Shihihi, you know that you don't need to worry about me. I've got everything under control. And yeah, I am well."
"I know that you can get any job done, Luffy. But you need to understand that we were all sick of worry here. It's been over a week since the last time we've heard of you. Also, the information that Joker has kidnapped you has spread like a fire. He is obviously proud of his latest big achievement."
"Yeah, things went a little differently than we've thought. They didn't take me to their headquarter after they got me." Luffy settled himself on the couch, liking how comfortable it was. "Instead I was taken to some shitty isolated hut in some forest."
"... Okay, I see. I was convinced they would take someone important like you to their headquarter. But obviously Doflamingo is more careful than that. So you didn't find out anything about the Donquixote Family? Where are you now? Did you escape?"
Luffy played with a strand of his dark hair that he wrapped around his finger. "Nope, I didn't escape. I'm still their hostage."
"What?" The man on the other line sounded clearly surprised.
Luffy grinned. "They put me in that hut, I caught a cold and now they are afraid I might get a serious sickness, so one of Doflamingo's men took me home with him."
"…You've got to be kidding me…"
"No, I am serious!" Luffy said, leaning back against the couch and smiling. "Doflamingo ordered one of his men to take care of me."
"Luffy, that guy is probably one of Doflamingo's best men! Probably the most powerful member of the Donquixote Family right after Doflamingo himself!"
"Yeah, probably." Luffy replied. "His name is Law."
Suddenly Luffy heard a loud bang, causing him to the remove the telephone from his ear in surprise.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, sorry! I dropped the phone!" The teen heard the man on the other line gulping audibly. "…This is absolutely perfect… Being that close to Trafalgar Law personally. This is awesome."
"I know. I told you I could get this job done." Luffy was clearly content with himself. It had taken him quite a long time to convince Shanks to leave this dangerous job to someone like him, but the redhead trusted Luffy despite his young age.
"Have you found out anything yet?"
"Not yet. I still need to win that guy's trust. But I guess being left alone in his apartment isn't a bad start." Luffy eyed his surroundings. "He believes I'm some dumbass and I have every intention of acting like one around him. I've noticed that he's not careful around me and tells me things that he believes are not important to me. Like telling me that this was his apartment only a few minutes after we got here."
"It's perfect. You may not be inside Doflamingo's headquarter, but at least you are safe."
"Don't worry, everything will work out. I promise. Please tell the others that I'm fine and that there's no need to worry about me."
"I will. Good luck, Luffy. Call whenever you've got the time, okay?"
"Alright. Goodbye, Shanks."
"Goodbye!"
Pushing the red button, Luffy ended the call. He should better go back into the bathroom before Law shows up again. But before that, there was definitely still time to check the content of Law's fridge.
A/N: Hope you're enjoying how this story is developing. Thank you for reading and your support, it really means the world to me :)