Itsy-Bitsy-Kidsy
WARNING! Chapter contains: Angst, tears, OOCness. No crack, to the better of my knowledge. DISCLAIMER! I don't own One Piece. I'm doing this for giggles and shits.
Okay, this chapter is shorter than normal, but there's a bonus at the end! Special thanks go out to Vanillaworld, Vampire Revan, Kurayami Angel, Yuri17, and CursedxBlade for reviewing chapter four! Onward, to victory and pudding! (something I always say to my friends)
When Kid awoke the next morning, having slept for an incredibly long time, he noticed three things in this order: he was hungry, in a cage, and there was something around his legs was making him very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he remembered that his "cage" was actually a crib in Trafalgar Law's bedroom, and he was a baby, courtesy of Jewelry Bonney. He sighed dramatically and gripped the white, wooden bars closest to him, and forced himself to his knees, then feet. He peered over the top, wobbling slightly, and caught his fellow Supernova zipping his fly as he exited the bathroom.
"You're awake already, Eustass-ya. Sleep well?" Law questioned as he strode over to gather the redhead in his arms. Kid yawned and nodded in response, still rather groggy from his super long nap. He shot fully awake when he was laid across the changing table and had his sleeper removed. Law grimaced at the smell he received.
"Oi! Wha do yoo finch yow do'ig?" (Oi! What do you think you're doing?) Kid squawked as the doctor began to peel away the stick straps on his diaper. Law said nothing and continued to remove the paper underwear, wipes and a fresh one coming out of thin air. Kid blushed furiously at the humiliation of being cleaned by his rival, and covered his eyes with his hands until he was covered again. He didn't notice Law slipping away to wash his hands because he was too busy calculating if a fall from the height he was at would kill him.
"It wasn't that bad, now was it?" the North Blue captain teased as he dried his hands off. "At least you're clean for the time being."
"SHADAP! YOO DIE WHE' DIS IS AWE OVA!" (SHUT-UP! YOU DIE WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER!) The redhead screamed in frustration. He couldn't bring himself to look at Law, fearing he would never be taken seriously ever again. Well, that and he always wondered if Law was gay or not. Since the moment he was flipped off by the bastard, it had been on his mind, and the recent events had him thinking if the asshole had a thing for him. Kid was so deep in thought that he jumped when the furry-topped man grabbed him.
"Hold still so I can get this on you," Law ordered as he pulled out a small blue shirt. It had a snap on the back of the neck to make it easier to put on squirmy children, not that it was required. Kid had to lie on his back while a pair of grey baby sweatpants were tugged on to his legs, followed by socks and no-slip booties. It wasn't as bad as his pajamas, but still made him feel ridiculous. Law snatched a towel-like, small blanket from the lower shelf and scooped Kid up, both ready for a good breakfast.
It's seven thirty. I expected Trafalgar to be the nocturnal type, given those rings around his eyes. The chibi pirate thought when he saw the alarm clock on the nightstand, just before they left the room. The ironic thing was, Law was more of a "Type A" kind of guy, despite his lax and rather rude personality. He was almost always up at a certain time and made his bed each day, and this all tied in to his old home life.
Well, certain mannerisms aside, the Heart captain had a good feeling that Kid being around wouldn't change his day-to-day life by a noticeable amount. Also, that the redhead had the ability to resist acting like a baby altogether.
Man, was he wrong! Almost immediately after eating, which consisted of fruit mash, cereal, and formula, Kid was whining and fussing like any other baby. Law resorted to the trump card of every babysitter and parent out there—a pacifier. Which worked quite well, actually.
"That's better," he sighed as Kid sucked and chewed on it as he rolled around on Law's bed. It was a slightly lighter shade of reddish-black than his lipstick, appropriately enough, and while it did calm him down, the South Blue captain had his usual scowl-like smirk. Nothing in the world would change that. Suddenly, Law realized that Kid was going require stimulation and entertainment because he had his adult mental capacity. "Eustass-ya, can you still use your Devil Fruit ability?"
"M'mn," he sat up and shrugged, spitting his sucky out. "Gah amee me'al?" ([?] Got any metal?) Law reached over to his nightstand and removed a chain with several dog tags.
"Try this." He held it out at an arm's length. Kid pointed his own hand at it, focused as hard as he could, and squeaked, "Wepew!" Small, violet sparks of electricity crackled around his hand and the necklace went flying. It smacked into Law's dresser and made a tiny dent, but Kid lost control over it and was exhausted by the attempt. He flopped backwards onto the bed and resumed mouthing on his mute button.
"Wha is da, amyway?" the redhead asked after a moment of silence, pointing at Law's chain. The tattooed Supernova was mildly surprised by Kid's interest, and responded by flinging it next to him. Kid flipped over and held it, reading the inscription on each of the four metal plates. "Who'we Wuma, Windsee, Wiwee, am' Wexis?"
"That's Luna, Lindsey, Lily, and Lexis. They're my older sisters from the North Blue. They gave me those when I left to become a pirate." Law explained as he reclined on the bed next to Kid, who held up a hand for the universal sign for 'Go on, I'm listening.' Law sighed, and continued. "Well, Lindsey was the oldest, followed by Luna, then Lexis, then Lily. I was the only son in our family and the last to be born."
"So, why did dey give yoo dees? 'Ewe meh mowe," (So, why did they give you these? Tell me more) The redhead held the dog tags out, each having a sisters' name and what appeared to be some kind of motivational quote. Kid's favorite was the one that said, "Become the Pirate King, or I will kick your sorry ass."
"I'll continue if you don't interrupt. Now, they each gave me one of these tags so I won't forget their support, and the first things they said to me when they accepted the concept of me being a pirate. I see that you like Lexis' one the most, given what she said; she was the first to go with the idea…" Law seemed to zone out with nostalgia, giving Kid time to review what the other plates had stamped in them.
"Just don't get killed, or worse," Lindsey. "Bepo better be the first mate," Lily. "I'll design your Jolly Roger, if you want," Luna.
"Wha may yoo wam' oo be a pi'wa', amyway?" (Why did you want to be a pirate, anyway?) The question returned Law to consciousness, and he answered it.
"Up until a year before I left, I had no idea that my parents had been small-time pirates in the North Blue. They quit when Lindsey was about to be born, and settled down to raise a family, using the money they had and my mother's medical skills as funds. In case you're wondering, their names were Trafalgar Dean and Jade…" Law continued to rant about the family he left behind and how his mother taught him everything, blah, blah, blah. After a few minutes, Kid realized that Law was the baby of the family, making him used to getting his own way and not being defied.
"How owde wewe dey whe' yoo wewe bowm?" (How old were they when you were born?) The redheaded baby meant his sisters; the 'rents weren't his business.
"Lindsey was fifteen, Luna was twelve, Lexis was eight, and Lily was five. Mom thought waiting an extra two years for me would break the pattern of female children. She also had a thing the letter "L." The dark-haired captain chuckled at the memory of his superstitious mother, and her ability to still practice medicine like it meant her life. "So, what's your story?"
"Huh?" Kid hadn't expected that.
"I told you mine, you tell me yours." Simple enough, but Kid didn't feel like sharing. On top of that, the author really didn't want to write and entire flashback-scenario type thingy in Kid's specific lisp. Therefore, the entire conversation will be translated directly.
"Fine," he sighed. "It's not a real happy story… My father was a good-for-nothing drunk and my mother was a doormat. He emotionally and physically abused me, and then left us when I was eight. I filled the void he made by being the man of the house for roughly ten years of my life, and by that, I mean I allowed my mother to dump all of her troubles on me. I was a punk, but too many people pitied us to do anything about it." The temperature of the room dropped slightly, and the anger on Kid's face was visible, unfitting for what age he had been turned into.
"What made you want to be a pirate?" Law asked, because 'What made you want to become the Pirate King?' or 'Why do want to go after One Piece?' was a little touchy for the two rookies.
"My shitcake of a father always said I would amount to nothing. Everyone did, even my mom, deep down, but she refused to side with the bastard she'd married or believe that I would turn out like him. She was the only one in my town who didn't laugh at me when I told her my dream… Just so you know, I'm an only child. Her name was Eustass Doll."
"What do mean 'was?'"
"Yer full of damn questions. If you've gotta know, she died a month before I got the fuck out of there, of some blood disease." The Kid's expression was that of forlorn bitterness, making it obvious that he hadn't spoken of the matter to anyone for a while, if ever. Law was taken aback when his lip began to quiver, a guaranteed warning sign for tears, and pulled him into his arms.
"It's okay, Kid. I won't tell anyone." The grey-eyed captain whispered as he cradled the redhead.
"I cam'h. I'm aw'te weach." (I can't. I'm not weak.) Kid's voice shook terribly. He was screaming at himself not to let it out. He hadn't even had second thoughts when he was sure he was about to die, just a day ago, but…he somehow knew help would come.
"It doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're human." Those were all the words Kid needed. He let all his sadness out onto Law's freaky yellow hoodie for a solid ten minutes, mumbling incoherent words every few moments. He cried himself to sleep and Law tucked him in, leaving him to his thoughts.
I never imagined him to have so much baggage. He probably just deals with it in his own way, and turning into an infant emotionally weakened him. Damn. How the hell did Trafalgar Law fall for a traumatized, psychopathic superginger? They were such different people, they only had three things in common: (1) they wanted to make it to Raftel, (2) they were captains of separate crews, and (3) they were a part of the Eleven Supernovas.
In conclusion—his chances were that of a snowball in hell.
Well, opposites attract, right? Riiiiiight… (A/N: Just keep tellin' yourself that, Law.) The Heart captain pulled a barstool from his lounge area up next to the crib and sat there, staring out the window that resided just above Kid's bed. Before he sat down, he took off his favorite sweatshirt, due to the amount of dried snot on it, and stayed in his T-shirt. No designs, just plain white (OMFG). The redhead slept peacefully, dried tears staining his silky cheeks in perfectly straight lines, reminding Law of when Lindsey broke down in front of him at the tender age of three. He had panicked for a moment, but hugged her as tightly as he could and didn't let go until she calmed down.
Did anyone ever do that for Kid when he was upset? Fuck, when I think about it, shit could've happened to him when he was this age… If anything, Eustass "Captain" Kid needed love, and lots of it. Which was alright, because the "Surgeon of Death" could be surprisingly gentle at times. Kid was a stray dog, beaten and angry, taking it out on the weaker animals when they tested him. Law was the naïve toddler who thought all puppies were sweet, risking and firm scolding, and maybe bite, to pet the frightened mutt.
At that moment, he decided that he would risk everything to show Kid some love, in any way or any amount. The mask he had made for himself out of insane, uncaring bloodlust and rage would be broken, one way or another.
"Good God… What the hell am I saying?" Law paused and peered into the crib, spying Kid cuddling his goggles to his chest. "I guess I really do love him…"
It was the morning of the second day. He knew turning back on his words would haunt him, and that the journey would be rough.
Good thing he had a history of being patient.
I gave Law four older sisters and a not-so-tragic past. I just thought it would fit him better. Here's the bonus stuff-the sister's profiles! Just a sneak peak, actually, because I'm going to use these pasts in another KidxLaw fic I'll write when this is done. Here they are!
Trafalgar Lindsey: Typical oldest sibling, working her ass off to help her parents. Extremely concerned for Law and super protective of everyone.
Trafalgar Luna: A girly-girl, not all that bright. Played with Law when he was little, usually dress up or house.
Trafalgar Lexis: Tomboy, Law's favorite sister. Kind of twisted from being the middle child most of her life.
Trafalgar Lily: Baby girl of the family, always a little immature and a tad jealous of Law. Helped him raise Bepo.
Okay, that's over! To be honest, I based Kid's past off of someone who is very close to me. He's still working it all out. To lighten the mood, KARAOKE IN FUTURE CHAPTERS! I NEED SONG SUGGESTIONS!
Pwease weview~!