A/N: As I promised, I didn't take to long for this update, right? Enjoy :)

Chapter Ten

All is fair in love and war

In der Liebe und im Krieg ist alles erlaubt

Law didn't know what possessed him to go after Kidd. The party had been dying down, and he actually had a pleasant conversation with a young man named Chopper, who served as the Company's doctor. And judging from the medical knowledge Chopper exposed during their conservation, he seemed to be a pretty decent doctor. But at some point the little doctor had fallen asleep, and he realized that most of his friends were rather intrigued with the other members of the Galleya Company. But the whole evening he never forgot his original task. He had observed as much as he could, the different members, their possible strengths and weaknesses. All knowledge he could eventually sell to Doflamingo.

But then he came to the conclusion that Nami and Sanji seemed pretty serious about their new found happiness within the organization, and with helping Doflamingo to destroy the Company, he was actively working against his friends' happiness. On the other side he could use Sanji and Nami as an excuse to visit the Galleya grounds more often, to snoop around a little more. It probably was the chance he had been waiting for. The last straw that would save him.

And if everything would go ill, he still had one last ace up his sleeve: Kidd's mechanical arm. He knew that that was information worth a couple thousand. But there had been something that kept him from telling Doflamingo the moment he had found out about it. Maybe the same thing that made him go after Kidd. He saw how the red haired man slipped out the door. He looked around and there was hardly anyone left in the spacious living room. So he got up and went after him.

When he stepped out the door in the crisp night air, he wasn't sure what he wanted to achieve with confronting Kidd. Mostly he wanted answers. Why Kidd lost his interest so sudden. He had always had the impression that Kidd was really into him. Well, maybe that had been wishful thinking, maybe he had projected his own desires onto Kidd, since he had to admit, he himself was pretty into Kidd. He liked the brash man. And that made his betrayal even worse.

He knew that the last couple days had actually been a great chance. A chance of letting go of Kidd before he would get hurt, before he would start to like the man, before he actually started caring about the man. If he really tried and put his pride away, he could try to sell his body to two or three man in one night, and then the money would be enough to pay of his dept. He shuddered at the thought. Gross. Right now he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else than Kidd touching his skin. And that was the actual problem.

So he went after Kidd.

He found the man lazily smoking a joint a few feet from the building. Without turning around, Kidd drawled: "What do you want, Law?"

And he didn't know what to answer. He didn't know what he wanted. Or maybe he knew what he wanted, but he didn't know how to put it in words, how to tell Kidd what he really needed. And he desperately wanted to know why Kidd had stopped coming over. But he didn't want to sound like a rejected girlfriend; like: Why didn't you call? Where have you been? Have you been seeing someone else?

Instead he went for: "So, what have you been up to?" He buried his hands in his pockets and waited for Kidd to turn around and face him.

Kidd turned around, and even in the dark he could make out his menacing glare: "Well, Law, I've been busy. Working. But let me return the question: What have you been up to?"

Law didn't like Kidd's tone. Bitter, mocking, cruel. He felt like he was tiptoeing around a sleeping beast. He tried to keep his tone light and cheery: "I've been working too."

"Working?" Kidd made an unmistakable gesture with his hips.

"Not that kind of work. You know I only see you at the moment. And I haven't seen you the past days. I was simply curious why you stayed away from me."

"You tell me, Law. Or should I call you Dr. Trafalgar?"

"I prefer Law."

"So you ain't denying it."

"I am indeed a doctor."

"And you simply failed to mention to me that you are a heart surgeon at the Grand Line Hospital? That your income is way above that shitty flat of yours-"

"I told you, I owe a debt-"

"You little shit, you probably enjoy deceiving others with those tattoos and piercings of yours, going out, picking someone dangerous up, fucking them for money-"

"I am not-"

"Such a disgusting kink of yours, acting like a prostitute in need! For all I know you have a suburban mansion, a show off wife and kids! You are Dr. Trafalgar after all! You're friends with all those pretentious snobs, there's no way in hell you're actually living in that little shitty hovel of yours-"

"I never planned on deceiving you, Kidd." A blatant lie. But if he didn't wanna loose Kidd, he had to go with it. He was relieved that Kidd didn't find out about his connection to Doflamingo. "If you would've cared to actually look around in my shitty hovel, then you might've noticed that I own a lot of medical trade journals and books."

"That's beside the point!"

"Then tell me, Eustass-ya, what is the point?"

"That you fucking sell your body like a whore when you're a fucking surgeon!"

Law sighed. He wished for his drink right now that he left inside. Kidd was still enraged and he noticed that Kidd was trembling a little, probably holding himself back from physically attacking him. He took a deep breath. "Kidd, will you listen to me? I already told you that I owe a dept. And this dept is eating most of my paycheck. I have hardly any money left to live. This is why I live in such a hovel – I simply can't afford anything nicer. Not all of my pretentious friends know of my financial shortage, but I can assure you that some of them are aware of my situation. They are already helping me as much as they can, such as inviting me out to eat and paying for it, or giving me some food donations. And let me tell you, accepting food donations from your friends is damn humiliating. There is a clause in the contract I made all those years ago that I can only pay back the dept with money I earn with my work. Many of my friends would've gladly bought me out of my dept, but the contractor won't allow it. So they try to find other ways to support me. A couple weeks ago Nami and I went over my current financial situation and how far I was from being free of that dept – and the man behind it all. I had a naïve hope working double shifts at the hospital would be enough to pay it all off, but due to a raise in interest and the sheer ridiculous amount of money I still owe those hopes were crushed. I came to the conclusion that I desperately needed to make more money. I hardly have any time left to earn additional money since I already spent over two thirds of the day at the hospital. I saw myself in a blind alley. Desperate Times call for desperate measures. You were my last straw, Eustass Kidd. And if I failed to mention to you that I'm a doctor, well, excuse me, but we hardly talked. We had sex. And then I pass out and try to get five hours of sleep since I work sixteen hours at the hospital before you usually come over. That's all there is in my life. Working, fucking, sleeping. Paying off my dept, because if I won't, well, let me tell you that I would rather die than suffer the consequences from this ill deal. And now if you ask me why I had been so stupid in the first place to accept the terms of the deal, well, I had no choice left. Instead of your beliefs I never lived in some mansion. I actually never met my parents. I grew up in an orphanage. And when I was six I fell in the hands of my debtor. I won't lay out the details, but those years in the hand of my debtor were the worst of my life. You ever wondered why I have so many tattoos? He had tattooed his sign on my skin, so I would never forget him. The first thing I did when I managed to get out of his grip was that I covered his marks up. All I do is work, sleep and fuck, and I've never been happier in all my life, since I'm free of my debtor. All that is left is that huge sum of money I have to pay for my freedom. And if I won't make it in time, he will take me back. If I won't make it, I will fight him till the end. And it will be my end, but I don't care. So excuse me, if I let you pay for a few rounds of sex. And that I wasn't in a hurry to tell you that I'm a heart surgeon but still live in such a hovel, can't afford a car and live on food donations. I always wanted to be a surgeon and to make this dream come true I even took in account an even higher dept. I don't regret it. I only regret the decision I made when I was six years old and decided to go with the friendly stranger." Law finished his tirade. God, he was worked up now. He didn't wait for a reply from Kidd. He simply turned around and walked away.

Some parts of him wished that Kidd would follow him, or shout something after him, but he heard nothing. So he continued walking. He had to admit he felt a little lighter after dumping most of his shit on Kidd. He knew that he had spared out the part where Doflamingo wanted information for money, the part of the years and years of physical and mental abuse, but after all, he still wasn't sure how to handle that. He knew that the information he would acquire would lead to Nami and Sanji and probably Kidd being in danger. In the end it all came down to one choice: His life or his friends? He wasn't ready to make this decision yet. And if he played out his cards really smart maybe he could buy some more time to make that decision. But for now he just wanted his bed; after all he had worked the whole day and he was pretty exhausted by now. So he kept walking. After some time he reached the gates of the shipyard, remembered from which direction he had come from and started the long and tedious walk home through Grand Line City at night.

Kidd didn't know what had just hit him.

He dumbly stared after Law's slim frame that slowly faded away in the darkness. The butt of his joint glowed faintly in his hand and then went out.

The seconds ticked by.

He didn't know. He didn't know what Law's life had been. He had jumped to assumptions. It wasn't Law who was the pretentious bastard, it was him. He didn't know. He was still stunned by Law's confessions.

He found that he could relate to Law how it was to have a fucked up past. To still suffer the consequences from that fucked up past.

Lately he hadn't thought about him a lot, but now he was back, with full force: Killer. The mistakes he made. The suffering the only survivor had to go through. Law had brought up those old ghosts for him, with his speech of mistakes in the past. Killer. Suddenly he realized that he would never be able to forget about his past. That his suffering would never end. That his ghosts won't die.

He still stared after Law, even if the man was long gone.

He didn't know. Didn't know that he wasn't the only one with ghosts from the past.

But now he finally knew what he wanted. He wanted Law. And he was going to have him. He threw the butt of the joint away, jogged over to his bike, started the machine and roared of the Galleya grounds. The crisp night air cleared some of his alcohol induced demeanor. He grinned wolfishly. The hunt was on.

Law heard the deep roar of the machine before he saw the headlights coming towards him.

So Kidd had finally decided to go after him. Great. He took a deep breath and tried to prepare him mentally for whatever Kidd might throw at him.

The machine pulled up right next to him, but he kept on walking. And he tried to ignore the red haired man on the machine. Just out of spite.

"You really plan on walking all the way home, don't you?" Kidd yelled over the noise his machine was producing.

"Well, you know fairly well that I can't afford the cap ride. Oh, wait, and I don't own a car. So if I conclude right, there is nothing else I could do than walking."

"Get on here." Kidd made a gesture with his arm that implied that he should jump on that machine. He was tempted to give in, but he knew that being stubborn was the right approach with Kidd. He knew that the man liked his resistance more than anything. So he replied: "I'd rather walk."

"Don't be ridiculous. Get on here."

"Why should I get on there, Mr. Eustass?"

"So I can give you a ride home and you can get some sleep, since you explained so elaborately that you are indeed in the need of each single hour sleep you can get." Kidd said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, so you are able to listen, nice to know-"

"I'm losing my patience here." Kidd warned.

"Fine." Law huffed and climbed on Kidd's machine. Kidd reached around him, grabbed his hands and placed them on his stomach. Then Kidd put the machine in gear and rode off. Law could do nothing than hold onto Kidd and press his body against Kidd. Damn, Kidd was riding fast, and the head wind was really cold. So he had no other option than to press his rather thinly clad body closer to Kidd's backside. He could feel the man's abs through his thin shirt and damn it, he kinda missed this body. The past weeks he really got used to having Kidd there in the evenings. Those days without Kidd had just shown him how much he already counted on the man to be there, how much he craved their wild and exhausting sex, how much he needed this hot body pressed against his.

He had really gotten used to Kidd, and it was great to feel that muscular back pressed against his front, he knew that his dick was getting harder and harder with each mile.

And he hated it. Hated, that he became so dependent on a man in a couple of weeks. But once his debts were paid he could leave everything behind. He would be free. Free and independent.

As he felt the cold wind rush through his hair his resolution grew even stronger. I will be free. I will be free, and if I need to betray the Kidd, if I need to betray the whole Galleya Company, if I need to betray my friends. They are strong. They will live through it.

I will be free.

But for now he needed to earn more money. And to achieve that, he had to get closer to Kidd. So he pressed his body still a little closer to Kidd, and rubbed his erection on Kidd's lower back. He thought about letting his hands wander lower and lower on Kidd's front, maybe he could get Kidd off while they were riding through the night, but before his hands reached Kidd's zipper they pulled up in front of his shitty apartment building.

Law got off the bike and realized that he was shivering pretty badly.

Kidd noticed it immediately: "You cold?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to warm you up?"

Law just stared blankly at the man. So was that an unmistakable invitation for sex? Would Kidd still pay him for sex? Did Kidd get over his little tantrum that he was a heart surgeon and that he had rich friends?

"Look, Law," Kidd began, apparently confused that he had not answered yet, "I'm sorry. Alright? I'm sorry that I didn't grasp the depth of your situation."

Wow, an apology. He didn't really reckon that he would hear that from Kidd's mouth. He stared in Kidd's face. The street lamps were illuminating his features. His cheekbones, his cruel mouth, his flaming red hair. And then those predatory eyes. But for some reason the fiery glint in those eyes was missing. Instead all he could read was sincerity in those eyes. Apology and sincerity.

Law nodded: "Fine, let's go inside. I'm fucking freezing." He dug out his keys and he didn't need to look around to know that Kidd was following him on his footsteps. They climbed the floors to his apartment, and with each step they took Law had the feeling that the intensity between them was growing, without any words that were spoken, without any touches.

It felt like an eternity when they finally reached his door. He unlocked the door, he stepped inside, Kidd followed him, he closed the door and everything went to pieces. One metallic and one real hand slammed him in the door, ouch, and then Kidd's hot mouth was on his – finally – those thin lips on his, Kidd's tongue in his mouth, damn, more, all the tension from the past hours were washed away in this one kiss.

Kidd's kiss made him weak in his bones, but he wasn't surrendering, oh no, he was fighting back, his tongue around Kidd's, and nothing had ever felt better.

He couldn't really think anymore.

Kidd's hard body was pressed against his, but his knees were buckling under the assault, his hands were grabbing Kidd's thick hair to get some sort of leverage, and this fucking hot mouth was still on his.

He numbly registered that they were both entangled in each other and slowly sliding down the door, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered anymore, only Kidd.

His cock was painfully hard and pressing against his zipper, he tried to get some friction somewhere on Kidd's leg, Kidd's hands were roaming all over his body, and his mouth was still on his, he was getting no air, he needed to breathe. He grabbed Kidd's hair and yanked his head back. Kidd's eyes were back on fire.

"Air" he gasped.

Kidd grinned lazily. He couldn't comprehend how good the man looked just right now. Reddened lips, flushed cheeks, glowing eyes. Both their hips were moving simultaneously, rubbing on each other, they were both painfully hard. Kidd licked his lips and then they were on his mouth again, a huge hand was rubbing over the large bulge in his pants, shit, it hurt, damn his tight pants! Kidd seemed to have the same thoughts, since a calloused hand and a mechanical one were yanking on his zipper while thin red lips were still on his, possessing him.

He mirrored Kidd's action, yanked desperately on Kidd's pants, stroked Kidd's huge member trough the material of his pants, finally found the zipper, rushed it open, grabbed inside and felt Kidd's pulsing cock.

Seconds later Kidd's calloused hand was wrapped around his and he was close to passing out. He had forgotten how good Kidd felt. Everything about Kidd. The way his hand fit around his cock. They way those lips claimed his mouth. The way Kidd's magnificent cock felt in his hand.

Fuck, he was close. Kidd's strokes were perfection, ahh, he needed it, more!

Kidd's mouth was unrelenting. He was so damn hot. He couldn't get enough, the heat that coiled in his groin in anticipation, god, don't stop, don't stop, don't stop-

He knew he was close, ah, he needed more, more of Kidd, lips trembling against lips, Kidd's cock in his hand was twitching, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who was close. He was panting by now, his whole body was shaking, more, Kidd, don't stop, don't you dare stop.

Kidd sped up his movements, applied a tit bit more pressure and that was it, he moaned in Kidd's mouth, he bit down on Kidd's lower lip and he came all over Kidd's hand and their clothes.

He needed a few seconds to come down from his high. Damn, that had been embarrassingly quick for him. He slumped down on Kidd's shoulder and tried to get his breathing back under control. After a few moments he realized he had still Kidd's straining cock in his hand. He chuckled softly and was about to speed up his forgotten movements, when Kidd shoved him back, grabbed the back of his head, forced him down and shoved his cock down his throat.

Kidd, you little shit.

He almost choked, but he quickly adjusted to the situation, bobbed his head and sucked. He was mad at Kidd that he was manhandled that roughly, but his traitorous body had felt at the same time a surge of renewed arousal.

He sucked Kidd's huge cock for a few moments, then Kidd's hands in his hair clenched; Kidd bucked his hips one last time and then came with a loud grunt in his mouth.

Kidd tugged on his hair, so he removed his mouth from Kidd's cock, sat up, and was once again assaulted by Kidd's lips. But this time Kidd kissed him almost tenderly, licking the last traces of his cum from his lips.

When Kidd let go of his lips they were both panting, laying entangled in each other on the floor in front of his door, half erect cocks hanging out of their pants, shirts crumpled and stained with his cum.

"Guess we needed to get that out of our systems." Kidd chuckled. Law couldn't help it, he grinned right back at Kidd.

They stayed like that on the floor for a couple more minutes, chuckling in each other arms. After some time the floor got quite uncomfortable and Law realized how worn out he was. He entangled himself from Kidd, got up and got rid of his deranged clothes. He went to the bathroom and splashed some water in his face. He stared back at his reflection in the mirror. He was paler than usual. The dark circles around his eyes stood out. His black tattoos on his chest and arms were in a stark contrast to his skin. When did he get so pale? But his cheeks were flushed, his lips were red from Kidd's kisses, and his grey eyes that usually stared dully back at him every morning in this exact mirror were unusually alive.

He sighed and splashed some more water in his face. He would ultimately betray Kidd. He only had to be careful that he himself wouldn't get hurt in the process. Don't lose your fucking heart, Law. Just don't.

He dried his face off and went back in his bedroom. Kidd was already in there, lying between his crumpled sheets, naked. "You coming to bed?" he asked.

He nodded and climbed in his bed. As soon as he was on his back Kidd was above him, but something was different. Kidd's movements were slow, sensual, tender.

Kidd kissed him again, kissed his neck, kissed his chest, caressed his skin with his calloused fingertips, trailed the lines of his tattoos with his tongue, and worshipped his body. He was melting beneath him. Where was the rough and demanding Kidd? Where was the man that just took what he wanted, without regard?

And then Kidd's tongue trailed around his belly button, then lower, lower, oh fuck! Kidd took his erection in his mouth and sucked, ahh, it was perfect, he was perfect, so slow, so tender, so loving.

Kidd made him come undone.

And Kidd didn't stop. He was everywhere, lighting his body on fire. And he was so calm, so sure, so tender.

It was overwhelming.

Waves of pleasure rocked his body, he was drowning, drowning.

Kidd stood at the tiny window in Law's cramped bedroom and smoked a cigarette. It was still dark outside, but he knew that morning wasn't far away.

He knew it was cliché to smoke right after sex, but damn it, he needed it. While he sucked the poisonous nicotine in his lungs he watched Law sleep peacefully.

He didn't know what had possessed him. He wasn't good in saying what he felt, damn, it had been incredibly hard to apologize in the first place. He just wasn't good with words at all. So he had expressed what he felt through his actions. He had made love to Law. And he had never made love before. He fucked. Hard, rough, egoistical fucking. Usually with a hint of domination from his side.

He took another deep drag from his cigarette. He didn't know what had possessed him. He only knew one thing: Law was damn special. And he was going to help him solve this mess.

He watched Law's chest rise and fall with each breath while he smoked the rest of his cigarette in peace. Then he threw the butt out of the window and climbed back to bed, careful to keep Law from waking up.

TBC