Thank you guys so much for reading and commenting on this story. ^^ I never would have thought it would be that enjoyable.
I made a few simple mistakes here and there regarding the French phrases in this story as picked up by a reviewer, so I'm going to try to keep that at a minimum. I think I did okay with this, but who knows. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 3.
La Muchacha Del Baile

Doflamingo's hysterical laughter resonated off the carpeted surface of the poker table and filled the ears of the spectators that stood around it. Law, having watched the whole game, could only stare, stunned at the phenomenal loss of Capone Bege.

He lost… He actually lost.

The news registered slowly in the other male's head as he stared at the line of five cards in front of Senor. The plump cigar, once in between sure and smirking lips, was now resting upon the green covered table with smoke slowly leaving its end.

Doflamingo's laughter still hadn't ceased as he found it entertaining to see the other man register his loss. "Looks like you lose again, friend. What's the score this time, 7-0?" Doflamingo looked over to his left—his shaded eyes met with Senor who happened to be shuffling the cards for possibly another game.

The black-haired male nodded solemnly. Capone gritted his teeth and pursed his lips, then released his annoyed anger through a slow, drawn out sigh. "Guess I simply have to get better, amarite?" The shorter male reached over for his glass and neglected cigar. With a wide smile stretched onto his lips, Doflamingo raised his to meet with the other.

The two clanked their glasses together, but Law noticed something different about the way Capone stared at Doflamingo. While the blonde grinned and sipped away at his drink, Capone's eyes narrowed darkly with a matching grim look spreading across his expression. It faded into a casual smirk once Doflamingo stared back at him. "You find this funny? Heh, didn't think our game would be that amusing."

"Oh, were you serious about this? I apologize—I never intended on making it a light joke. You'll have to excuse my behavior, but it's just been so long since we've played one another."

"It has been awhile, hasn't it?"

Capone plucked out the thick brown cigar from between his lips and flicked off a few pieces of ash into the provided ashtray. Placing it back into his mouth, he returned his attention to the blonde, who still happened to be emptying his glass. "This will be my sixth time losing to you out of the last few weeks…"

"Come again?"

Capone eyed Doflamingo from underneath the rim of his fedora. His shoulders lifted in a casual shrug; however, his eyes read something much darker. "You have always beaten me at every poker game imaginable, and despite all of that you get nothing in return."

"If I took my prize from you, then your record as being the nation's king of poker would be ruined, right?"

To Law as he gathered empty wine glasses from the table, tension could be felt. He gazed at Capone through his peripherals and was surprised to see a darker, almost sinister look take over his eyes. "That's one thing I'm grateful for."

"Exactly—and to be honest, a poker game will be nothing more than a game between us. Something fun and enjoyable for everyone to view—"

"And worthless."

"Come again?"

Capone raised his hand, as if to dismiss the slight slip up he had made. A small smile spread across his lips, bending the thick cigar at in angular direction. "It was nothing. Can we try for another game? This time placing a prize on it?"

The blonde leader placed his empty wine glass to the side and regarded Capone through a steely stare. Law was unable to read the other's expression, but he was positive it held an assertiveness matched to that of a general leader; one that used actions instead of words to get what he wanted.

Doflamingo shook his head after the momentary silence. "Not tonight I'm afraid. As tempting as it is to play against an old friend and ally, I'm slightly worn. Besides, don't you have a business to get back to?"

Capone narrowed his light brown eyes into stone slits before they softened up behind a tiny smile. "Mm, you're right, actually. Brooklyn is probably in disarray now that I've been gone for three hours."

Flicking the last remaining ashes into the ashtray, Capone pushed himself from the poker table. He gave a courteous nod to Doflamingo, who returned it with a slowly-creeping smirk. Law found his subconscious shaking at the expression implanted on his lips. God, he's so hot…

"Let's go, men. Our vacation here is done. I'll be seeing you around, Doflamingo—perhaps we'll get to play a more entertaining poker game."

"Perhaps,"

Several men dressed in mafia suits of different colors got up from the poker table at once and followed Capone out of the building. Doflamingo watched them leave, a casual smirk playing on his lips. Law turned to see them leave as well. He couldn't help but feeling off at the way they walked out of the place.

A dark feeling seemed to linger above their shoulders and remain around the poker table even as they exited The Royal House. Law thought nothing of it, assuring himself that it was his mind still being scared at the fact that he was surrounded by leaders and executives of top-notch gangs.

Gathering up the metallic serving plate of empty wine glasses, he turned for the bar. "Come here, Law."

Law's attention focused on Doflamingo. "Yes—"

"Handle this." The wine glass landed on the center of the tray. Another glass followed, dark purple lipstick staining the rim. Law saw Doflamingo's hand fall back to his side, where two rings crafted from what looked like 24-karat gold wrapped around his fore and ring finger.

It was the same for Corazon as well, with a golden Rolex to match. Probably stole them, Law thought wryly as he took in the luxuriously crafted pieces. The rings on both of their forefingers looked like wedding rings. Etched inside of the gold were intricate pattern of lines swerving within one another.

Small diamonds were added to the line-pattern and reflecting off the lights in the casino. On their ring fingers, the gold was accented with a large diamond in the center and two smaller ones on the side.

Even though they may have stolen it—and to Law they probably did—he couldn't take his eyes away from the shimmering jewelry. Law forced himself to look into Doflamingo's pink-lensed eyes and swallowed shallowly as a lump commenced. "Refill or…?"

Doflamingo swiveled his attention to Corazon and lightly pinched his arm as the other blonde was busy staring off into space. "Would you like a refill or something else?"

Corazon seemed to overlook Law with his black shades covering his eyes. Weird, uncomfortable feelings started to arouse in the pit of Law's stomach as he waited for an answer—any answer, for the male to give him. "Eh bien?"

"Two Long Island Iced Teas, with extra lemon for me."

Law nodded and returned for the bar. With his back turned on the two, he was unable to see Corazon lurch to his feet and step towards him. The blonde man seemed to have a change of mind and attempted to grab the other's attention, but failed in doing so. Instead, he caused himself great embarrassment and tripped over the leg of his own chair, face-planting the red velvet floor beneath him.

"Shit! Are you okay, Corazon?"

Law whipped his head around to see Senor and Vise assisting aid to a fallen Corazon, and Doflamingo pinching the wrinkled bridge of his nose in laughter. Corazon swatted off the others help and continued his way to Law.

Law slightly craned his neck to look up at the looming other, slightly stunned at how tall the man. Well, he's the lead executive's brother, so of course he's gonna be tall… The man's thoughts were interrupted when the other pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and a black and gold pen.

He scribbled something onto the paper and handed it to Law before sauntering back to his seat next to Doflamingo. Law, bewildered and at the same time intrigued, looked down onto the paper and read the word to himself.

Tequila

The handwriting was neat for someone with ASD. Law tucked the note into the pockets of his black slacks and resumed for the bar. When he reached the area, he carefully laid out the glasses into the sink to be washed and set aside the serving plate for further use. Law started washing the wine glasses just as he glanced over to his left to check on Baby 5. An annoyed look passed over his face.

Baby 5 remained exactly where he left her, accompanying the bar seat in the corner. She had her phone out, fingers busily tapping the screen. Law saw a wide grin spread across her lips when her fingers stopped their flurried movements, and cutesy chuckles slipped from her lips once they started up again. "I leave you alone for one minute and this is what you do? Talk to your imaginary boyfriend over the phone?"

Baby 5 glared at Law through narrowed eyes. "Imaginary? As if—you wouldn't understand a thing about love and relationships if it fell on your head with a brick,"

Law snorted and rolled his eyes at the dark haired woman. Just as he turned around, three white slips of paper were suddenly in his view. Law grabbed all three of them and scanned through the orders quickly.

A Long Island Iced Tea for back-stage table 12, a Perfect Manhattan for back- stage table 10, a Lady Margarita and three perfect martinis for back-stage table 13. "Baby 5, did you know about these orders sitting up here?"

The woman didn't look up from her phone but grunted her answer. "Why didn't you take care of these while I was gone? You could've at least made them, and now these people are pissed because God knows how long they've—"

"Um, that's not my problem. You shouldn't have been nosy and watching the poker game when you knew orders would be coming in."

"That IS what you're here for, right!?"

"Have you forgotten the deal we both made?"

The male dried off his hands and started taking out dry wine glasses and bottles from the large cabinet behind him. When he heard the snarky reply from the dark haired woman, a long eye roll ensued. "Yeah, yeah—you work your shift, and I work mine."

"And don't forget about your get to work, or those tips that you work for will start going out the window. And we both know you can't afford that to happen."

He gritted his teeth to keep from replying back with an equally snappy reply and set aside bottles of rum, gin, tequila and vodka. He started with making the Long Island Iced Teas and mixed the ingredients together in a mixing glass. Going his by judgment, Law poured the mixed ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and gave it a brief shake. The three glasses had already been produced and were filled with the light brown drink up to the rim.

Adding in thin black straws for each and an extra sliced lemon on the rim, Law placed the two iced teas onto a serving plate and went to work on the others.

His skills in working with the medical department paid to his advantage, and all eight alcoholic beverages were set onto the serving plate and ready to be served. "You could have helped though," he replied to Baby 5 as he hoisted the large tray over his shoulder. Baby 5 shrugged, not taking her eyes off the screen of her phone.

Reciting the table numbers in his mind, Law exited the bar and quickly maneuvered his way through the tightly packed crowd. He first went back to Doflamingo and Corazon, who thankfully remained seated at the poker table. Law noticed several of the executives had departed from the poker table, leaving the blonde-haired brothers, Diamante, the old man and Vise alone at the table.

Law gave Doflamingo his iced tea and slid Corazon his tequila. "Dégustez votre boisson ." he replied in a courteous and perhaps too-friendly tone.

Corazon silently took his drink and downed half of it in less than a minute. Doflamingo sipped his more slowly and went over the lemon floating in the light brown liquid with his tongue. Law saw the yellow fruit slice suddenly disappear into his mouth, where Doflamingo's cheeks starting to cave in while sucking the sour juices.

To stop unnecessary dirty thoughts from careening in his mind, Law quickly bowed and rushed off to serve the other tables. He heard quiet chuckling come from the tablebehind him but didn't turn around to see who it was.

Diamante peered at Doflamingo through curious eyes, while a large smile folded across his lips. "Care to explain what that was for?"

The male shrugged as he continued sucking on the sour fruit. Assured that every single drop was gone and tainted all over his tongue, Doflamingo took fruit out with his fingers and placed it onto a red napkin. "It's amusing to see him blush like a kid. It's even better that he's foreign; you can tell that from just the way he walks."

Diamante glanced over to see exactly what Doflamingo meant by that. Law was visiting a table near there's and retrieving empty glasses. Once he resumed to the back, he saw what the male meant by his 'peculiar walk'; it was full, each stride possessing a level of confidence that could be mistaken for ego.

Doflamingo chuckled into his drink, bringing Diamante's attention back to him. "It's just a thought, but maybe, just maybe…" Corazon, having heard the conversation on the other side of his brother, rolled his eyes as he finished off the rest of his drink.

Foreigners.

Tables 10, 12, and 13 were all located in the very back of the casino where the stage was. Law was unfamiliar to the place since he only served in the dining and poker areas. As he made his way to the back, a threatening thought crept into his mind. Dammit Baby 5, if I don't get the hell out of here without getting touched so help me I'll break that phone of yours.

The strip club was unlike the poker and dining spots. Here, it was dark and poorly lit; the only lights the placed had to offer were those that barely lit five feet in front of him. Law had to rely on these lights to navigate in between tables and chairs. Everything was tightly placed together also, making it hard to move from one spot to another without bumping into somebody and rubbing against another.

Seats crafted from fine wood and had luxurious velvety cushions placed in them were set in groups of either two or three and were placed at small wooden tables. Some of the tables had small dancing stages on them, where a long metallic pole ran through it and up to the ceiling.

The small stages were unoccupied and the people sitting at the tables had their eyes fixated on the theatric stage up front. Law noticed how red curtains faintly swayed in an invisible breeze and heard hushed clacks of shoes behind them. Something big is probably about to happen.

Law commenced a search for the first table; Table 10. Dark reds, light purples, and fuchsia LED lights helped him out a bit, but not by much. He was able to read the posted numbers that were placed at the edge of the tables, and he had found table 10 in a matter of minutes. "Here's your drink, sir. I apologize for the wait—slight manual issues popped up at the last minute."

There were two men sitting at the table. The one who had ordered the drink gave Law a small nod and took the Perfect Manhattan. Once he was served, Law began searching for table 12. Just like table 10, he had found it quickly and made his way over.

"Aye, there she goes!"

Whistles, clapping, and approving shouts erupted just as the swish of the curtains started up. Law halted in his steps and looked around the crowd to see what they were cheering for. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement appear on the stage, and that's where his luminous yellow eyes landed next.

A woman had appeared on the glimmering wooden stage, her eyes closed and composure relaxed. A red spotlight fell onto her lean, hourglass-like figure, the color reflecting off her attire and the stage below. Behind her, the curtains quickly closed, and more applause from the crowd came up.

The woman had straightened hair that appeared light red underneath the spotlight, and a lock hanging on her left side. Law was able to distinguish the type of dress that she wore on her lightly-tanned skin. It was a short black Flamenco dress that ended at her knees, and had dark blue stripes going along the bottom part.

A matching blue and black flower was pinned to the left side of her hair to top off the outfit. Law was stunned at how the woman looked underneath the lighting. She must be one of the dancers… Loud music blared over the speakers throughout the strip area and sliced through Law's thoughts.

Ole, ole!

Bori bori!

The woman, finding her cue, hooked her hip out to the left and snapped her arms above her. She still had her eyes closed, Law noticed, but the men surrounding him shouted their approval. As the song continued to spill from the speakers, Law saw the woman's hips saunter to the left and right in a slow, mesmerizing manner. She had started tapping the point of her black heel onto the stage in rhythm to the drum beat before the actual song began.

She slowly brought her hands from their high altitude down to the ends of her frilled dress and pinched at the fabric, and then spun around in a great circle. The men whistled and applauded for more.

Law himself shouted as well. He could have remained directly in front of the stage and watched the woman dance, but the weight of the tray on his opened palm was getting to him. He resumed back to Table 12 and set aside the Long Island Iced Tea. "Sorry about the wait, sir—here is your drink."

The man, sitting alone, thanked Law and took a sip of the drink. His eyes, artificially lightened by the room, lit up as the flavor of the beverage settled on his tongue. "A tad bit sweet, just how I like it. Excellent job, sir." Law gave the man a genuine grin and turned for table 13.

His mind had other ideas, however, and watched the woman on the stage dance passionately to the music. Her hips were rotating counter-clockwise, matching the tempo of the song had.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" The man interrupted Law's concentration on the woman. "I'll give her that; she is pretty."

"She's more than pretty, I'll say. She's authentic, with beauty greater than any celebrity model out there. Just like her authentic beauty, she has dancing skills far better than anyone I've ever known… good for him to give her the title of La Muchacha Del Baile."

Law was half-paying attention to what the man was rambling on about until he heard the Spanish title fly from his lips. "Excuse me, but could you repeat that?"

"No need for me to repeat it—just look above the stage."

He followed the man's pointing finger. Sure enough, La Muchacha Del Baile was imprinted in cursive black letters above the stage. Law translated the words with what vocabulary he had learned from his high school years. "The Dancing Girl,"

"Mhm, that's right. I'd pay money any night just to see someone like her dance." To further prove his point, the male shouted his approval when the woman did another spin on the stage. This time the short dress was free from her fingers and flew up, revealing a small line of black underwear underneath. Law chuckled underneath his breath and left the man on his own to serve the final table.

The spin was the finale of the performance once the song ended. Law had found his last table and went over to it, but applause and more shouts stopped him. He turned, hoping to get another good look of the woman before he finished and went back to the bar, but he was stopped when a startling feature was revealed.

The woman's eyes flashed opened and revealed a deep mahogany color, capturing the red spotlight set above the stage. They were frenzied; sweat glistening off the creases along her forehead and slowly creeping down the sides of her cheeks. Her mahogany eyes refused to look at the sea of hungry men before her and found more interest in staring at the LED-littered ceiling until, for some reason, they looked down and locked eyes with Law.

The wild look in her mahogany eyes disappeared, but before Law could depict the expression that it replaced she quickly turned her back from the crowd and returned behind the red curtains.