Hearts

Chapter Eleven

Happy Days

Die glücklichen Tage

Law woke up when Kidd went to the bathroom. He felt disorientated and exhausted. His whole body was aching and he felt every single muscle in his body. He contemplated closing his eyes for another hour or so, he just wanted to go back to sleep. But he knew he had to get up and get some work done. He was lucky that today was a Saturday, the only free day in his week – and usually his Kidd-free-Day too. But well, Kidd was currently occupying his bathroom. But today he had to restock his fridge - all that was left was a gallon of milk – and he desperately needed to catch up on some sleep. Sleep didn't usually happen when Kidd was around. Not enough, though.

He rolled around and tried to locate his alarm clock. Damn. Most of the stuff he stocked on his nightstand was knocked to the ground during their frantic fucking. And he didn't want to get up. He just wanted to sleep some more.

Kidd emerged from the bathroom, only a towel slung around his hips, smirked at him and promptly left the bedroom again.

"Where are you going?" Law yelled after him.

"Breakfast."

"Don't have any food except milk and cereals."

"That's fine with me. Stay in bed, we're eating there."

"In bed?"

"Just said so. You look worn out. Go back to sleep."

He didn't like taking orders from Kidd, but he was pretty tempted to simply obey Kidd's command. He heard how Kidd came back in the bedroom and he expected to get jumped any second, but Kidd just rummaged around and left the room again. He didn't care. He was tired. He shut his eyes and blinded everything out.

He woke up an hour later due to the smell of fried bacon. Weird. He didn't have any bacon left. "Kidd, what are you doing?" he yelled and tried to shake the after effects of too much sleep from his muddled brain.

"Making breakfast!" came the answer from his kitchen. Oh well. He shrugged, maneuvered his battered body out of bed and went in the bathroom to attend to his most pushing needs. He contemplated taking a shower, he felt pretty sticky, all the sweat and dried cum and lube – but he knew it was useless taking a shower before Kidd left his flat. Who knew what Kidd wanted to do with him before he left.

When he was done in the bathroom he paid Kidd a short visit in the kitchen. The freaking huge and pale man stood dressed in his pants and shirt at his stove and was frying some eggs and bacon. No man should be allowed to have shoulders as broad as that. And the way those muscles moved beneath the thin fabric – god, Law, get a grip, you were clinging to those shoulders not eight hours ago. Wait a second, he didn't knew he had eggs and bacon left in his fridge… "You went shopping?"

"Yeah, I don't get how you could possibly survive on just milk and cereals, so I let you sleep and restocked your fridge."

"Thanks, I guess. But I would've gone grocery shopping today either way. I'm perfectly able to restock the fridge by myself."

"Don't get bitchy. Where do you want to eat? Bed?"

Law didn't miss the playful gleam in Kidd's eyes. He knew exactly why he hadn't showered yet. "Yeah, it's fine with me, I need to wash the sheets after last night, so why don't add some bacon grease?"

Kidd chuckled heartily and flipped the bacon.

"I didn't know you could cook." Law mentioned when he opened the fridge to check what else Kidd had bought. Damn. The whole fridge was full of food. Fresh vegetables and fruit, all kinds of cheese, meat, juice, beer, wine, all kinds of dips, pesto, eggs, milk – the wet dream of every cook.

"I didn't know that you nourished only on cereals. No wonder you're so skinny."

"I'm not skinny, I have a lean build."

"Whatever."

"No seriously, I can't possibly eat so much food, It'll spoil-"

"Who said that it was all for you?" Kidd grinned. "I'm planning on getting a fair share of that!"

Law chuckled too, Kidd's good mood was contagious. He trotted back to the bedroom when Kidd called after him: "What do you want on your omelet? Cheese? Boiled ham? Mushrooms?"

Law didn't need to think twice when he called over his shoulder: "Everything."

They spent the rest of the day lounging around in bed. They enjoyed a marvelous breakfast and then Kidd enjoyed a marvelous dessert in the form of Law, willing and alluring, and so damn hot. He couldn't get enough of that man. He had never felt so damn content in his whole life. Satisfied. Yeah, the right word would be satisfied. He liked just spending time with Law, his wicked tongue, the snarky replies he gave him, and then the other wonderful things Law could do with his tongue – he knew he was getting in way too deep with this man.

He was long past the point where he could let go of Law. He wanted to have him in his life. Law made him happy. And he hoped that somewhere in their twisted relationship he was making Law happy too.

Law was dozing off again, his head nestled comfortably on his left thigh. He liked having Law there. Exhausted after a healthy round of sex. Well, he guessed they were past the stages of fucking and having sex. They already were right at love making. And the creepy part about it was: it didn't disturb him in the slightest.

The whole day they had been talking, laughing, teasing each other, fooling around in Law's bed, kissing, licking, loving. Kidd had made some dinner – naked, much to Law's benefit – and then they had ended up in bed again. The sun was setting, Law was softly snoring on his thigh and he couldn't remember a day where he had been possibly happier.

This room, this day, it was their little oasis. Tomorrow Law would have to go back to work, and Kidd couldn't stay away from the Company forever. He had ships to build, fights to fight, a family to go back to. But he didn't want to leave Law's side. Suddenly those hours he had spent in this room weren't enough anymore. He wanted more. More of Law. But Law's schedule was pretty mad, no one worked that much, no one in their right mind, but then, Law's circumstances weren't fair from the start. Absently he buried his hand in Law's raven hair and softly massaged his scalp.

Law groaned and asked hoarsely: "What are you doing?"

"You want me to stop?"

"No" Law groaned, "Keep going, it feels good."

Kidd smirked and kept on massaging Law's scalp. Law sighed in his thigh and closed his eyes again.

"You know, Law, I've been thinking-"

"Oh, really, Eustass-ya, you have a brain?" The joke was getting old, but he still tugged on Law's strands and chuckled nevertheless.

"Move in with me." Kidd finally said.

Law's body tensed up. He sat up and removed Kidd's hand from his hair. The expression in his grey eyes was unreadable. "Why would you want that?"

"I could spend more time with you. And you could save some money: You wouldn't need to pay rent, or pay for your food, I have an extra car you could use to drive to work-"

"No."

"What?"

"I said no. I won't move in with you."

"Why?" Kidd didn't understand. If Law would move in with him it would be the perfect solution! He could see Law more often, they would share the same bed, Law could live the life of an uncaring Galleya worker, and he would gain a family that would welcome him with open arms and the most important point: They would be living together. He stared at Law. Why? Why not?

"Look, Kidd, you can't just ask me to move in with you."

"Why not?" He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he didn't care. He needed to know. And then to refute Law's reasoning.

"Kidd, I'm not your damsel in distress. You just can't jump in my life and act like some kind of saint and try to save me from my poor and lonely life. I use you for money, do you understand? I just desperately need money. That doesn't mean I need to be saved from something. I'm not the kind of person that'll smile and jump in your arms and say: Yes, of course, darling, I'll move in with you! I can take care of my own. I'm strong. Stronger than you think. And damn you, Kidd, I'm not some fucking damsel in distress!"

"I would've never asked if I thought you were some fucking damsel in distress! I know you need money, and I'm here, supplying you with it! I think we already discussed this topic yesterday! You know damn well that you are more than just my whore, way more! I wouldn't have asked you to move in with you, if I wouldn't like you! And do you want to know what I like about you, Trafalgar Law?" He grabbed Law's chin and forced him to look right in his eyes. "I like that you're fucking strong. You're one of the most powerful men I've met in my entire life. You are a true fighter. You never give up. Lesser man would've been crushed by the amount you're working. And if you wouldn't be so damn strong, I wouldn't have become addicted to you in the first place. So don't you dare tell me that I'm a fucking saint. I ain't no saint."

"So if you don't want to save me, why would you want me to move in with you? So I'm always there for you, spreading my legs like the good whore I am when you come home and feel like it?"

"I already told you, you ain't no whore-"

"Fuck you."

"No, fuck you." Kidd's temper was getting the better of him and he pushed Law on his back and towered over him. This man was driving him crazy. Nuts. He was going nuts. He lost all reasoning when he looked in those defiant grey eyes. He needed to have Law. And his defiance made it all the better. He loomed over Law and was about to decide what to do to him when the lanky man beneath him suddenly smiled. He fucking smiled.

"So fuck me, Eustass-ya."

That was all he needed to pounce on Law. He attacked his neck, his mouth, his chest, his nipples, his cock, it was all his, and he claimed his owner ship. And then he fucked Law, he was inside that tight heat, this alluring flesh – god damn it all. He wanted to make it fast, a brutal statement, to fuck Law into submission, but his fogged mind couldn't comprehend, harsh movements became more fluid, the punishing grip on Law's hips became soft strokes, and the bites he placed at Law's neck became tender kisses.

In the end Kidd was laying on his back and Law was straddling him, riding him, their hands were entangled, he couldn't get enough, never enough – and their climaxes were almost at the same time and just fucking perfect.

Law collapsed on his chest, they were still connected, and they both tried to come down from their sex induced high. He couldn't keep his hands of Law, he had to touch the man, so he stroked his sweaty back and kept him there, right there, on top of his chest, in his arms.

"Move in with me." he repeated.

Law chuckled darkly. "You're one persistent bastard, aren't you?"

"Move in with me." he whispered in Law's ear and started massaging his scalp again. He could feel Law's heartbeat in this position.

Law raised his head a little and looked his straight in his eyes: "Look, Kidd, I really appreciate your offer, but I don't think it'll work out. I'll just end up hurting you."

"You won't."

"I will. Don't blame me in the end. I will tell you the moment everything breaks in tiny little pieces: I told you so, remember? That day we've been in bed all day? When you proposed to move in with you? I told you that I would hurt you in the end."

"I still don't believe you. And even if you might do something stupid that will make me irrevocably mad at you, I still want you to move in with me. I'm a persistent bastard, don't you forget that."

Law smiled sadly and kissed his jar. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll move in with you. But it will be only temporary, only as long as I need until I'm done paying my dept off. I couldn't possibly impose on you any longer than that. And remember my words. I told you so."

"So you are really moving in with me?"

"Just said so. You should listen more carefully." Law smirked above him.

Kidd couldn't help himself, he smiled broadly and kissed Law. He would never get enough of the other male, never. Law rolled off Kidd and stayed right next to him, panting. "Let's talk business" he suggested.

"Business?"

"Just because I agreed to move in with you doesn't mean that you can stop paying me money. We need to form some kind of business contract I can show my debtor, since I guess that we won't apply the two-hundred-and-fifty-bucks-per-hour-rule anymore. If I'm going to live with you, we need to figure something out."

"Alright. Say, I paid you two hundred and fifty bucks each night before, so two hundred and fifty times thirty days a week, wait a second, that makes approximately seven thousand and five hundred bucks. How about I'll pay you simply a monthly rate of seven thousand and five hundred? How does that sound?"

"Mr. Eustass, I'm impressed, you can do your number work!"

"So is it enough money?"

"Yes, thank you. I couldn't possibly ask more from you. I hate it to be so depending on you. But thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I don't wanna be snoopy, but is your wage at the Galleya-Company really that much that you can easily afford to just give me so much money each month?"

"Well, not exactly. I get my fair share of money, for sure, but it's not that much."

"Don't tell me you're using all your savings on me-"

"Savings? Do I look like the kind of person that saves up money for a nice retirement? Or so my future kids could go to college? You gotta be kidding me. I ain't expecting to live longer than my forties, not the way I'm living now."

Law just stared at him with unmoving eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. It was already a close call that I survived my childhood, and then my teenager years. It was never an option for me to grow old and wrinkly."

"That is actually really sad."

"Well, that's just how it is. I'm glad that I'm alive." He shrugged and trailed a path down Law's body with his mechanical fingers. Law got goosebumps where the metal touched his skin. "You know, this arm here almost got me killed. And that wasn't the only occasion in my life where I looked the Reaper deep in his eyes. He let me go, though. And the past years within the Galleya-Company were the most uneventful of my life."

Law smiled ruefully. "I guess the same goes for me. The past years were like the first time in my life where I was able to breathe freely. Where I wouldn't need to watch my back every damn second."

"Glad those times are over."

Law nodded and closed his eyes. "They will be over soon." he whispered to himself.

"Let's get up and pack your stuff." Kidd suggested.

"You want me to pack my stuff now?" Law asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, of course. You don't need to live a day longer than necessary in this shit hole."

"Don't insult my living conditions." Law said drily.

"I was simply stating a fact." Kidd grinned.

"I haven't even seen your living conditions yet."

"Oh yeah, that's true. How about we'll pay the Galleya-Company a visit, you can stay the night by the way, and then I can show you how I earn my extra money. Sounds good?"

"Pretty much."

"Great, let's go!"

"How about we take a shower first?"

Kidd chuckled: "Yeah, you stink."

"Eustass-ya, I'm sorry to inform you, but you stink." Law laughed and jumped of the bed and ran to the bathroom. Kidd was on his heels and tackled Law in the shower and pressed his tanned body against the shower wall. "Got ya!"

Law smiled, bit his lip and wriggled his body seductively in his arms. This man was driving him crazy. More crazed than he was before. He let Law turn on the shower and then took his time washing Law's body. Law repaid him the favor and soon Law's hands were all over his body, touching him, caressing every muscle, every scar, every dent. God, he needed to get out of the shower before the situation got out of hand again, otherwise they would never leave Law's flat.

They finally arrived at the Galleya grounds around ten pm. Of course their shower had gotten out of hand, and then one thing had lead to another.

Law noticed that no one was around when they entered the apartment building where the party had been held at the night before. The huge living room looked now way different than before. There wasn't a dance floor anymore, but instead a comfortable arrangement of couches and love seats in front of a freaking huge TV. The bar from the night before was still there and Law figured that it was probably a permanent installment in the living room.

Kidd only grunted when they passed through the large area: "That's our common room."

Law had to admit he was secretly impressed with the comfy atmosphere the room was emitting. But Kidd ignored the room and led him up a broad staircase. Upstairs was a long hallway with approximately a dozen adjoining doors. Kidd led him purposely to a door on the left. So this was it. Kidd's room. The place where he would most likely live for the next couple months.

Law entered the room right behind Kidd and was positively surprised by its spaciousness. "So this is where you live."

"Yeah, this is where I live." Kidd repeated. He stood anxiously at the door and apparently awaited eagerly Law's judgment of his place.

"I like it." Law stated, and he wasn't even lying, he really liked Kidd's room. It was quite spacious, easily over thirty square meters, and in the middle of the room stood a colorful king size bed. The sheets were in different shades of red and it fit Kidd perfectly. The rest of the room consisted of a wooden dresser, a desk and bookshelf. "You read?" he accidently blurted out. Great. Now would Kidd figure again that he thought about the man that he was more or less an imbecile.

"Yeah." Kidd only said and started stripping.

"Hey, we ain't gonna have sex again, I'm still sore from today-" Law started to protest, but Kidd cut him off.

"Oh, shut up, I'm just changing my clothes. Don't have a hissy fit."

It wasn't his fault that each time he witnessed Kidd stripping it usually ended in a hot and demanding fuck. Instead of watching Kidd change he skimmed over the titles in Kidd's bookshelf. Nietzsche. Kant. Schopenhauer. Dostojewski. Mann. Orwell. Burgess. Kafka. Wow. He was impressed. He had to ask Kidd later about the literature he had stored in his shelf. To tell the truth: He hadn't had expected any books at all. Maybe some magazines about motorcycles and cars. Oh, wait, there was a stack of those magazines on Kidd's nightstand. So at least he hadn't been wrong in each assumption he had jumped to. But then he got distracted by a shirtless Kidd who rummaged through his dresser. He observed how Kidd pulled a black long sleeve out of the depths of his dresser and shrugged it on. Then a fresh pair of pants, black pants. No underwear.

Kidd noticed his stare and grinned: "Like what you see?"

"Always" he replied.

"Good." Kidd donned his red fur coat over his black attire and pulled some black leather gloves over his hands. "Where we'll be heading people shouldn't notice my arm" he offered as an explanation. "Don't just stand there, we're already running late."

He shrugged and followed Kidd out of his room, down the stairs, outside, right to his bike. "You expect me to get on that death machine of yours again?"

"Don't be such a pussy, hop on."

"My ass hurts."

Kidd smirked: "And that is my fault, yeah? I guess so. Get in the truck over there; we're skipping the bike then."

Law nodded and climbed on the front seat of the massive black truck. "Yours?" he asked Kidd when he was properly seated.

"Nope. Belongs to the Company, but see all the cars over there?" Kidd pointed vaguely in a direction where a couple dozen cars were parked. "We can just use 'em like we want."

"Well, that's convenient."

"Yeah, I guess so." Kidd said and started the car. He drove off the Galleya grounds and through the ghastly illuminated city. He had always thought that Grand Line City at night was an eerie place.

"So where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

Law huffed and stopped trying to have a decent conversation with Kidd. Sometimes he was just damn vexing. After twenty minutes of a quiet drive through Grand Line City Kidd pulled up in front of the Ring. So here was Kidd making all of his money. He himself wasn't a stranger to the underground, he had stayed with Doflamingo for years after all, so he knew the Ring fairly well. Of course Kidd didn't know that. So he tried to act unknowing and asked: "So what is this place?" while he they were getting out of the car.

"It's called the Ring, an underground fighting pit. Highly illegal, mainly because of the betting and gambling, but no one cares. The police knows about this place, but of course, they're all paid bastards."

"And you bet on the fights?"

Kidd looked insulted: "No. I fight. I'm a fighter down in the pit."

"Sounds fun."

"You bet." Kidd grinned and ignored the line that was waiting outside the doors. The doormen greeted him friendly and let them through without further fuss.

Inside it was exactly like Law remembered. Everyone was smoking and drinking, the lights were dim and mostly men were present. The few women in the crowd were most likely whores. Just like himself. Kidd knew his way around and Law simply followed him. Kidd talked to some men who seemed to be the managers of this place, and then he led Law down to the pit. They met a cheering and raging crowd around the drained swimming pool they used as the ground where the fights took place. The crowd had gathered around the empty pool and was madly cheering for their particular champion. Kidd cleaved through the crowd that happily made room for him, and soon they were standing right at the banister that was surrounding the drained pool.

"What do you think?" Kidd shouted in his ear due to the noisy crowd.

"It looks dangerous." Law commented drily. Kidd flashed him another toothy grin and asked: "You'll be fine on yourself?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Thought so." Kidd said and gave his ass a little squeeze. Before Law could whirl around and pay Kidd back the tall man was gone. Typical. Law smirked and tried to fit into the setting. He wasn't exactly comfortable in huge crowds, but Kidd didn't need to know that. And in addition to that he knew that most likely some of Doflamingo's men were somewhere in the crowd, since the Ring was well known in Doflamingo's circle, and he had a couple fighters on his pay list, like Bellamy the Hyena, or Monet the bitch, like Law used to call her. So all in all, he wasn't really fine on himself, but only over his dead body he would admit that to Kidd.

He tried to distract his thoughts from his old master and watched the ongoing fight in the pit. Both contestants were rather mediocre. Pretty soon the fight wrapped up, the beaten up fighters left the pit and the cheering of the crowd died somewhat down. He was grateful for that at last. Most of the audience went towards the bar to get a refill of their drinks, or to bet on the upcoming fight. He stayed right where he was and observed the cleaning boys doing their work in the pit.

Sooner than Law would've liked most of the crowd reappeared and the next fight was announced. It was Kidd's fight. The name of his supposed opponent didn't ring any bells, but no wonder, he hadn't paid the Ring a visit in the last few years. He wasn't up to date about the line ups anymore.

The chattering crowd died down due to the excitement of the announced fight. He felt his calm attire slip and he gripped the railing a little tighter than before. He had never seen Kidd in action. He didn't know what to expect. He guessed that Kidd was good, but was he only above average, or was he an exceptional fighter? And how skilled was his opponent? His curiosity was awakened.

Suddenly the crowd started shouting and cheering again, the man next to him whistled in an obnoxious high tone, and then Law saw Kidd. The bulky man emerged from an underground entrance in the pool, and he looked exactly like the short fused beast Law had got to known. Kidd's long and flaming red hair was slicked back, he wore a pair of goggles around his neck, and the rest of his clothing was plain black, except his fur coat.

His opponent emerged from the other site of the pit, and then they were facing each other. Law tried to assess Kidd's opponent, but there was nothing special about him. And he was sure he hadn't seen this man before.

The announcer cried over the boisterous crowd: "And the match between Kidd the Killer and Haritsu Kendiyo is about to start! Place your last bets, and then we'll see literally a bloody exciting match!"

Kidd flashed the audience a feral grin, and then a gong rang and the match started.

Law had seen his fair share of fights in the ring, but after the first minutes he realized he had never seen something like that. Kidd was truly a beast. A playful beast.

At first it had looked like Kidd and this Kendiyo guy were evenly matched in power and strength, but after ten minutes down in the fight Kidd started struggling. His opponent landed some pretty bad hits on him, and he started to lose some ground.

Law clenched the railing even harder. The bad thing about the Ring was that there was no way out. The opponents had to stay in the pit till the fight was over. You couldn't flee. And backing off worked only as long as you didn't have a cold tiled wall in your back.

Kidd was almost at the wall and took another forceful looking hit right to his chest. Shit.

It went on like this for another ten minutes, Kidd struggling to stand upright, his opponent landing more and more blows on him. God, Law was happy that both fighters had decided to only use their fists as weapons and nothing else. Otherwise Kidd would've been dead by now, he was sure.

And then Kidd tilted his head, just after his opponent landed another blow on his jaw, and Kidd's glowing eyes looked directly at him. And then Kidd smirked. His typical cocky smirk that used to piss him off so much.

Kidd, you little shit.

And suddenly Kidd started to block each single blow that was sent in his direction and the crowd was going mad with enthusiastic screams. It was like Kidd hit a switch. No, it was like Kidd just started to fight right now. As if the first twenty minutes of the fight were only for show.

Kidd needed another two minutes to beat the other man to pulp. The crowd went ballistic and it started to chant: "Kidd, the King! Kidd, the King! Kidd, the King!"

Kidd flashed him another playful grin from his posture over his beaten opponent and then made his way over to the ladder that was let down in the pit so he could get out and receive some congratulations and pats on the back. Law's eyes followed Kidd out of the pit, and then he saw someone else. A man he never wanted to see again in his life. A face he would've given a lot to forget.

Diamante.

Feared member of the Doflamingo family. Confidant of Doflamingo himself. And Diamante was staring right at him. A slow smile spread on Diamante's face when he saw that Law had recognized him. Then the man mouthed: I am watching you.

Law shuddered and closed his eyes for a second. No. No. Everything had been going so well lately, and now this creature had to show up and ruin everything. It wasn't fair.

When he opened his eyes again the man with the crazy tattooed face was gone. But Law knew that his imagination didn't trick him. Diamante loved to do things like that. Randomly showing up and scaring you. That was exactly his style. And he knew exactly what it meant when Diamante said he was watching him: His days in freedom were counted.

He suddenly realized that he didn't want to lose Kidd. Not now. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not next month. He didn't dare to make any assumptions or outlooks further than that, not with being on Diamante's list. God damn it.

He knew that he liked Kidd way more than he wanted to admit. And that meant only one thing: trouble.

A jerk on his arm startled him. He jumped and whirled around, an angry phrase on his lips. He relaxed immediately when he realized it was Kidd, grinning like a madmen.

"So, Law, your tense posture during my fight told me that you were worried about me!" Kidd proclaimed smugly.

"So what?"

"I like it. That you worry about me. It's cute."

"It's not."

"Come on, let's go home."

And Law let himself get pulled through the crowd, following Kidd outside, and he realized this was what he wanted to do: Being with Kidd, giving him snarky replies, happy, without a single care in the world. He strengthened his resolution that everyone would pay dearly who wanted to take that away from him.

TBC

sorry for the long wait! But'll try to wrap this story up in the next few chapters!