Title: Panacea
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Law/Sanji
Chapter: 10/?
Word Count: 3349
Summary: There's something in his demeanor, the way he hides his true feelings whenever they start to unconsciously slip out, that speaks volumes. And Sanji would hardly consider himself somebody that wants to fixpeople but, well, he likes a challenge, and Law presents a rather giant one.
Spoilers:For recent-ish chapters, but this is set before Dressrosa.

Chapter Ten

Like the last time they'd been caught off-guard, this one could only be blamed on their own lack of perception, although to be fair Sanji didn't exactly expect they'd have a lot of trouble in a resort town, especially not by a pool that was in the confines of the hotel itself (although, admittedly, they'd been in an area where nobody else was because while both of them were obviously okay now with showing some affection in front of the crew, there was still a line there).

Still, he doesn't see it coming until it's too late, and by the time he wakes up with an aching head he's mostly annoyed that they can't seem to catch one break. He's only grateful both of them had been fully-dressed, not really intending to go into the water, or else this would be even more humiliating.

He scans the room they're in quickly, seeing that it's some sort of holding cell and at least the barred windows high above their heads seem to indicate it's only been an hour at most. He's strung up a little awkwardly, hands above his head, but the chains look to be normal iron and he knows he can kick through them easily.

"I can't even blame you this time."

He looks up and Law gives him a tired smile, but his eyes are a little glassy and Sanji's immediately concerned. "Hey, are you…"

"Fine. Seastone," he rattles the cuffs and Sanji guesses that explains it. He's handling it better than Luffy usually does, but still, there's only so much a Fruit user can do against Kairoseki. Sanji wonders absently who's captured them since it's still not especially common even in the New World, but he's guessing they'll find out pretty quickly. "I don't…" he frowns like it's hard to come up with a coherent thought. "I don't know what these fools are thinking. My bounty's frozen, after all," he sighs.

"Yeah, well, they're probably not the smartest fish in the sea," Sanji grunts and arches his back a little. "How much were you worth, anyway?"

"440 before I became a warlord," he says it like it's nothing and Sanji blinks because honestly, he hadn't known but holy shit.

"I feel inadequate now. I've got a crappy bounty and a crappy poster," he laughs and Law leans his head back against the wall and grimaces.

"Your bounty is nothing to scoff at. But right now I think I'm going to need you to rescue me. I know you've been waiting for that," he's teasing but Sanji glares at him.

"You wanna get out or not?"

"What are the chances you can break those cuffs without pulling your stitches?" Law asks then, and Sanji shrugs.

"Gotta trust it to luck, I guess," he's grateful that he's able to rest his feet on the floor, at least, and that they're not similarly chained, meaning either their captors are either exceptionally cocky or exceptionally stupid.

He doesn't really care, quite frankly, but either way it's only going to help them. He braces himself on the floor as best he can, kicking one foot up and shattering the chain holding one cuff before spinning on his heel and taking out the other one. He's still got the cuffs on but they're manageable, at least, and he turns to Law. His stomach is twinging a little but he doesn't seem to be bleeding. "Here, let me…"

"No, find the keys," Law shakes his head. "I'm not trusting you to not hurt yourself, and seastone is considerably stronger than regular iron."

"Okay," Sanji looks toward the door and a quick push shows that it's not locked, at least. "I'll be fast."

"Find Kikoku if you can, will you?" Law calls after him and Sanji's confused for a second before he realizes that Law must be talking about his sword. He darts out into the hallway, glancing around and seeing that it's seemingly deserted, before moving as quietly as he can.

He looks out the first window he passes, noting that wherever they're being kept looks like it's built into the side of a hill, and presses himself back into the shadows when the crunch of boots on the stone floor becomes audible. Luckily they pass by, heading in the direction he'd come from, and he briefly considers going back because if they find him gone more than likely they'll take it out on Law and the other man's in no position to defend himself right now.

But then again, he'll blow his cover and Law still won't be free so it's probably better to find the keys and that damn sword quickly and then run back.

The next few doors in the hall look like the one he'd come out of so he ignores them, but the one at the very end is half-open, made of heavy metal that would have been a chore to get through otherwise, and he slides in and breathes a sigh of relief that Law's sword, at least, is there. There are a few sets of keys on the wall and he grabs all of them, shouldering the sword (which is vibrating slightly and he strokes his fingers down it without thinking, wondering after why he's treating it like a living creature) and heading out of the room.

He quickly runs back to the room they'd been held in, pulling the door open and slipping in as quietly as he can. Luckily, the two guards hadn't bothered to check on them, so he heads over to Law and tries the keys until he finds one that opens the cuffs, the other man slumping back against the wall and closing his eyes for a moment.

"Hey," Sanji whispers, pressing himself closer and helping to support Law, although part of him wonders if it's just an excuse to hold him. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Give me a minute," Law lets Sanji hold most of his weight, blinking slowly and visibly collecting himself before he straightens up.

"Here," Sanji passes the sword over. "It's shaking."

"It's probably worried," Law runs his hand over the hilt like he's calming a frightened animal. "I'm quite sure it likes you, though."

"That's a good thing?"

"Mm," Law shrugs and shoulders it, looking immediately more at ease to have it back. "As I said, I'm not sure as to the…nature of the demon that inhabits this sword, but it's never tried to hurt me, at least," he glances around. "What have you found out?"

"Looks like some sort of fort," Sanji replies. "It's built into that big hill that's overlooking the town, and I dunno if it was a Marine outpost at some point but it's pretty well-built. Although if it was, that would explain why they've got seastone on-hand," he reasons, and Law nods, eyes narrowing when they both hear a scraping sound outside the door.

"Well, we're about to find out what these imbeciles are up to," there's an iciness to his voice that makes Sanji shiver involuntarily because Law sounds dangerous, and when the two men enter the room it's barely a second later that one is cut in half, writhing on the floor (and Sanji's never going to get used to that, because no matter how painless it actually is, it just looks awful), and Law's got the other by the throat, slamming him against the wall and holding him there. "You've got ten seconds to tell me what the fuck you think you were doing before I leave both of you in so many pieces your friends will never be able to put you back together," he snarls and Sanji steps back because okay, if Law can be like this? He totally understands where his reputation comes from.

"Y-you were t-the ones w-who…t-the last island…"

"Ah, those idiots who decided to ambush us on the road were comrades of yours, were they?" Law laughs, but there's no mirth in it whatsoever. "You've picked the wrong man to cross. Do you have any idea who I am?"

By the way the man's eyes widen it's evident that he does, at least, and Law smirks rather unpleasantly.

"Good. Then you can only blame yourself for what's about to happen," he shifts his sword and Sanji looks away, swallowing heavily before peering through his fingers.

Well, Law was kind of merciful, since the man's only in about five parts, but he knows it's nothing more than he deserves.

"Come, Mr. Blackleg," Law moves by him, eyes still dark, and Sanji looks back once before rushing out after him.

Law stops and looks out the nearest window, glancing down the hill and nodding. He reaches back to grab Sanji's wrist and Sanji barely has any time to collect himself before they're warping, ending up at the bottom of the hill in an area of deadfall.

"Here," Law creates a Room without giving any indication of what he's up to and Sanji moves away involuntarily until he realizes that he's still wearing the cuffs, too in a rush to bother unlocking them, and stands as still as he can until he hears the metal fall away and the Room dissipates. Law takes hold of his wrist again, examining the area where the cuff had been, and Sanji wonders what it says that his first thought had been that Law was going to attack him somehow.

Sanji pulls his arm away without thinking, trying to make sense of the thoughts in his head. Yeah, he'd known Law was capable of being brutal, but there was a difference between thinking his reputation was unearned and knowing that it, well, is.

And that's freaking him out, a lot, so he turns on his heel and lights up a cigarette shakily, trying to appear completely composed. "Thanks, but I'm just gonna walk back," he says, not looking behind him, and starting to head toward the town.

"Sanji, wait."

"I'll see you later," Sanji isn't going to think about what it means that Law's using his name, because it's too much right now, and instead hurries down the hill and hopes that Law doesn't follow him right away.

000

"You realize I used to be an assassin, yes?"

Sanji looks up from the bench he's lying on, glancing over to Robin. He's come into the aquarium room to think, because when he doesn't feel like cooking it's the one thing that will relax him, and he closes his eyes as she uses a hand to stroke his hair back.

"I've snapped a man's spine in half without flinching, and that's far from being the most unkind thing I've done," she doesn't sound like she's judging or disappointed, and Sanji's grateful for that, although he wonders how she's guessed because his explanation once he'd met up with the others had been rather terse.

Unless Law's been talking, but well, Law doesn't talk much so that seems like an unlikely reason. Still… "Did he tell you?"

"Very briefly. He looked like he desperately needed somebody to talk to, and for as…mature as he likes to act, sometimes he does still remind me that he's young," she sounds more amused now and he opens his eyes to look up at her. "You know he would never hurt you. I see the way he looks at you," she adds, and he shrugs. "We all have done things we haven't necessarily liked in order to stay alive, and some of us have had to do that more often than others. It doesn't change who he is in his heart, but sometimes necessity calls for drastic measures and Law has realized that a very effective way to get people to leave him alone is to make them fear him."

"Yeah. He kinda explained that one to me," Sanji realizes, but at the same time he never thought he'd quite see it demonstrated like that. Law's ability might not be fatal, but it's horribly debilitating nonetheless.

"And, for what it's worth, apparently those bandits were last seen heading toward a ship carrying the assorted pieces of their comrades. The inn proprietor told me they've been a nuisance for months now, so in all likelihood Law's done the town a great favor," she adds, and Sanji thinks that, well, at least something good came out of this.

"That's great, Robin-chan, but it…"

"I'm not trying to influence you one way or the other," she assures him. "But answer me honestly, even knowing what I've done, does it change how you feel about me? Are you frightened of me?" she asks and he shakes his head.

"N-no! No, Robin-chan, I know you had no choice, but…"

"And neither did he," she reminds him gently. "Don't judge him for what he does in the heat of anger, because we all can act rashly then."

And Sanji feels really, really guilty now because he knows she's right, and he'd been really rude to just…run away from Law like that even when the other man had been trying to talk to him. He's a fucking idiot, but then, what else is new?

"Where is he?"

"Give him some time," Robin gently pushes him back down. "Let him come to you, but this time, don't turn him away"

"Okay," he nods and she smiles at him, patting the top of his head before standing up. "Thank you."

"I didn't tell you anything you didn't already know," she calls over her shoulder, raising one slender hand in a wave before leaving the room, and Sanji huffs a sigh and flops back on the bench, folding his arms over his chest and wondering if he can make it right.

000

He doesn't even realize he's dozed off until he wakes up, the presence of somebody else in the room making him instantly alert, but he can tell who it is immediately and sinks back on the bench, staring up at the fish swimming happily above him.

"If you don't want to speak to me any longer I wouldn't blame you."

"Stop fucking beating yourself up, it's not your fault," he grumbles, and it's far harsher than he intends it to be. "Law…c'mere," he motions and Law moves into view, shoulders hunched over and body language tense. Sanji knows they've never really done it this way before, that since Law's taller he's always kind of been the one to hold Sanji, but hell, the other man obviously needs it right now and Sanji, to his own surprise, is happy to do it. "C'mon," he urges, waving his hand impatiently, and Law kneels on the bench beside him, looking unsure.

Sanji reaches to grab his shoulder, pulling him down, and he doesn't miss the way Law makes sure to not lean directly on his stomach while he situates himself. He feels tense, his whole body taut, and Sanji rests his chin on top of Law's head and strokes his hands down the other man's back.

Law turns his face into Sanji's neck, shaking a little, and Sanji feels horrible even though he's not quite sure why this is giving him so much guilt. But Law's damn near breaking down on him and it's a little frightening because Sanji has no idea how to deal with it.

"Hey," he murmurs into Law's hair, hearing the other man take a hitched, shaky breath. "Hey, it's okay. 'm not mad at you," he promises, because why Law would even jump to that conclusion he's not sure. "You just…freaked me out a little back there."

"It's understandable. I can't say I particularly like having to resort to that in order to get my point across, but at the same time, it almost guarantees whomever I'm dealing with is going to cooperate so…." He pauses.

"I guess it was less that, because I totally get it, and more just how…easy it was for you to…" he pauses, because that sounds like a flimsy excuse, but Law curls up further and nods, a little jerky shake of his head.

"It is easy," he admits. "I'm not proud of it, but I'm not going to deny that I'm…good at it regardless," he says firmly, and Sanji nuzzles his nose into Law's hair, squeezing his eyes shut. "So are you…"

"Shut up," Sanji murmurs. "D'you think I'd be doing this right now if I didn't want to be with you?"

"Oh," Law sounds surprised. "Well, I suppose there's always the chance you're simply pitying me…"

"Yeah, that's not my style," Sanji promises. "And Robin-chan told me you did the whole town a favour, so there's that…"

"Inadvertently, perhaps, but I'm glad if I've helped out in any way," Law mumbles, lips pressed to Sanji's throat in a move that's obviously intentional, and Sanji tilts his head back, eyes fluttering open a little when Law's tongue drags down his neck. "If I can promise you anything, I do promise you this: while I am ruthless toward my enemies, I would never harm innocents or those I consider my allies because that's not the type of man I am," he vows and Sanji nods and glances back up at the ceiling, eyes half closed as Law keeps sucking at his neck. "Thank you for saving me, by the way."

"Mm, don't mention it," that just feels really good and Sanji's slides his hands under Law's sweatshirt, spreading over his back. "How long until we…" he doesn't really want to ask it, because it's always at the back of his mind, but Law breathes out slowly, undoing the buttons on Sanji's shirt and kissing down to his collarbone. "Fuck, Law…"

"We'll take the stitches out tomorrow," Law replies in a low voice, rougher than usual from obvious arousal. "And then I'd say two more days just to make sure you have a full range of movement again. We cannot afford to wait any more than that," he slides down farther, tongue flicking out against one of Sanji's nipples and the blond has to clamp his mouth shut because he'd never thought about being sensitive there before. "Should I stop?" Law questions softly and Sanji nods, letting his breath out in a rush.

"Yeah. Sorry. Just…probably not the best place to, y'know, get it on. I know the others are watching," he adds, because he's sure Robin at least is, and this is already going way farther than he's comfortable with anybody seeing.

"I suppose you're right," Law moves back up, hand slipping under the fabric of Sanji's shirt to curl around his shoulder, and Sanji tilts his chin up so they can kiss properly. "We're truly okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," and he really feels like they are, because as…frightening as Law can be, he can also be like this and Sanji's pretty sure that unless he majorly fucks up he'll never have the first directed at himself. Law pulls away from his mouth with obvious reluctance then, pillowing his head on Sanji's other shoulder, and he's already half-asleep by the time Sanji realizes that yeah, apparently they're just…staying there.

There's a tiny popping noise from beside him and he turns his head, seeing two hands unfurling a blanket and then placing it gently over their bodies. "Thank you, Robin-chan," he calls, one of the hands waving before disappearing in a flash of flower petals. Law's breathing evenly now, a content smile on his face as he sleeps, and Sanji feels a weird, protective surge go through him, holding Law a little tighter and wondering if there's a way to just…keep them in this moment forever.

"I fucking hate you for making me fall for you, you bastard," he hisses under his breath, not meaning it in the least, and Law chuckles low in his throat.

"Feeling's mutual."

Sanji blinks, because he's already had experiences with Law pretending to be asleep and he should have remembered, but…

It doesn't really matter.

"Go to sleep, Sanji," Law says, the words slurring off into exhaustion, and Sanji looks up at the fish one last time before doing just that.

Notes:

1. I know I've said this a lot, but there's probably three or maybe four more chapters left in this fic, and this time I hope to actually stick to that schedule!

2. As always, thank you all so much for continuing to read and comment! It does give me a lot of motivation to write faster when I know there are people waiting to read it :)