A/N: I 'm on a roll with this fic, so here's another update. And FYI, Law has a distressing dream in the beginning of this chapter.
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Law felt that he ought to have remained awake, due to the fact that he couldn't rest very well to begin with. Law wanted to tell Kid not to leave the room, in the event that dozing off caused him distress later on. Though Law didn't want Kid to interpret his intentions wrong, the doctor really did want someone around. It was something he'd caved in and told Zoro about. To please wake him up in the event he got drawn into memories of the past, and couldn't wake himself up.
It was going to be one of those nights, and Law almost, almost hoped that Kid had at least left the room, because Law had no control over whether or not he would end up screaming while locked in his own mind. Sleep brought no relief to Law as the years went by, as even in his dreams, he couldn't escape past events that had caused his erratic sleeping pattern. And now, due to his debt to Doflamingo being owed and unable to be delayed any longer, a reminder of what could have been had Kid not helped him invaded his dreams the longer he slept.
It was always the same place, no matter how many years had gone by. A decrepit building on the outskirts of a city far away from where Law now lived. But the abandoned building resembled eerily the one Doflamingo had had his men bring Law to recently, and it wasn't lost on the doctor that the older man intended for it to bring back some painful memories.
Even in the dream, it was with a sense of dread that Law found himself not on a chair and bound, but chained to a wall by his wrists, his ankles hobbled by chain that prevented him from fully resting his feet on the ground. The worst of it was that he was blindfolded almost immediately after he'd taken stock of his surroundings. And then, as it always happened in these nightmares, the voices started, merging those of the distant past with the not so long ago ones.
"The boss ain't gonna keep waiting for you to show up, so he told us to bring you to him."
"Though we gotta teach you a bit of a lesson first."
Law shook against the wall where he was chained. He knew from what he'd seen in the past what was going to happen. And he could do nothing to prevent it. All Law could hope for was that he would wake up from all of this, and soon. The laughing and jeering started around him, drawing nearer, until something whistled through the air, and a crack against his right forearm rang out followed by a sharp hot flash of pain.
Broken bones.
Law was dreaming. He knew he was. He had to be. It was a dream, a nightmare, of his recent kidnapping, when his arm had been broken. Only his psyche decided to make it worse by not bringing Kid into the equation, which left Law to the mercy of his captors.
"I don't think the doctor here's gotten the message."
"He's thrashing, hold him still."
"Keep screaming, doc, no one can hear you."
They kept breaking bone. Bit by agonizing bit, the men struck Law's limbs, shattering and cracking bone, and amidst the cruel laughter and taunts, there was nothing that Law could do but feel the sharp pain over and over. Law would cry out time and again, stooping to begging raggedly as he began to lose feeling in his limbs, but to no avail. There wasn't anyone coming to save him this time, no one who could prevent his past from happening, and bringing him to where he was now. Law felt hot tears begin to roll down his cheeks from beneath the blindfold at the abuse being visited upon him.
"I think we're gonna have to have him go for a swim."
"He needs to be punished for what he's done."
"It's gotta be nice and slow. To make him know we don't appreciate him toying with us this whole time."
Cackles met those words, and Law heard the chains being undone, and his limp body being seized by those who were tormenting him.
"Who'd have thought he was the traitor all along?"
No.
Not again.
It had been so long since he'd dreamed this far. Ordinarily Law would have been awake by now. It was too much. It was far too uncomfortably close to something that had happened in the past, though not to him. It had happened to someone he had cared about. But he couldn't wake up.
"Law?" A voice partially broke into the nightmare, but it didn't seem to match what was going on. Law shifted in his sleep, desperate to wake up, but the searing agony continued on, and he was trapped. Trapped in a dream that was half his past and half that of another.
Someone forced his broken body onto the ground. Law choked a breathless scream of protest, but he was ignored. Instead, he was seized roughly by the back of his neck. The dream shifted, and Law's skin crawled when it was Doflamingo's voice that spoke close to his ear.
"I don't tolerate traitors, brother. But I'm sure you already knew that when you started to play your little game."
"Time for a dip, traitor. Don't go dying on us straight away." Doflamingo's voice was replaced by some nameless man, and Law couldn't even beg for it to stop when someone forced his head underwater. He couldn't breathe, and the longer his head was held underwater, the more desperate he became for air. Was this what Corazon had experienced? A loss of control, and being denied any relief from pain. That Corazon had lost his right to choose when and how he died, because Doflamingo had caught on to him?
Was this what Doflamingo would do to him, should Law not go willingly to pay his debt?
Law lost the battle and took water in, only to have his head wrenched away from the water. Spluttering and coughing up the water, Law heard the same laughter he'd heard so many times in his dreams. And then, in a rare moment that didn't happen often in these nightmares, Law found his voice. But when he cried out though the agony that tore through his shattered body, it wasn't himself that he begged for.
"Stop it! Leave Cora alone! Please stop…"
"Law." The voice that had begun to cut into the nightmare was serious now, and a hand gripped the doctor's left shoulder to give it a light, careful shake. "Law, you need to wake up."
It was too much.
The actual touch drove Law out of his nightmare and into reality with a harsh, choked cry.
"Cora!"
Shaking, Law scrunched himself defensively against the headboard of the bed he was on, despite the fact that it jostled his wounded arm. Was he safe now? He was awake, wasn't he? His limbs were intact, for the most part, and not broken. He wasn't drowning. Law shivered involuntarily as he sucked in several short breaths. Would he ever truly be safe, now that time had run out for paying Doflamingo what he felt was owed to him? Law squeezed his eyes shut when someone grabbed him by the arm again, and let out a sharp breath, expecting more pain despite the fact that he was now awake.
"Don't." Law hated how hoarse his voice sounded. "Please don't." It was almost as if...as if he'd been screaming…
"Law. Look at me."
The voice registered now. It was Zoro, but Law couldn't bring himself to look at his ex. He couldn't. He couldn't handle his feelings toward the other man and deal with his nightmare at the same time. To deal with the pain of losing Corazon. It was something that would always haunt him, as would the demise of his family. Law remained against the headboard until he allowed himself to be coaxed away by Zoro, and was urged to let his right arm relax in the sling. Law managed, barely, as his heart was still racing, and the pain from his mending arm reminded him of the snap of breaking bone.
"A nightmare?" Zoro asked, sounding concerned. "You said 'Cora.' I thought you said that you were done having those nightmares."
"Being kidnapped didn't help." Law admitted softly, still unable to look up at the green haired officer. "I presume it began as what could have happened should Esutass-ya not have shown up when he did." Law closed his eyes, shuddering. "Then, they began to break more than just my arm in the dream. They wouldn't stop. They just let me scream and beg them not to." Law raised his eyes to meet Zoro's, knowing that he'd opened up to the other man about his past more than any other. "I was chained to a wall, Zoro-ya. I heard Doflamingo talking to Cora. It turned into experiencing what he did to his brother, before I was discovered and taken away." Law hadn't realized that he had started to cry in his sleep, but he certainly felt the tears now. "It was when Doflamingo told me that I…that I would have to pay his brother's debt as well." Not something Law had opened up about before, but it was better than saying what his own payment to Doflamingo was to be. Law didn't realize the tears continued to fall, until one of Zoro's hands brushed his cheek with a finger.
"You're all right now." Zoro said, hand falling away when he noticed Law flinch at his touch. "No one will get to you in this house. Not while I'm here." Zoro frowned. "But you still haven't told me why you started having those dreams again. This isn't the first time, is it?"
"No, it's not. It was just worse this time around." Law was aware that he was likely still crying, and stubbornly ran the back of his left hand over his eyes to banish the tears. "I think I told you, but when I sleep alone, and know I'm alone, those thoughts close in on me, and bring the nightmares. When I was with you, I felt…safer, so I didn't have them as frequently." Law let out a helpless little laugh. "You'd just wake me up and hold me when I did have them, and tell me to go back to sleep. And I would." Law tried to make the tears stop, but he suddenly found himself enveloped in a warm hug. That got the tears flowing again. Dammit. Law couldn't understand why Zoro continued to comfort him physically; it would only cause him trouble were Sanji to see, and the dark haired doctor didn't want to cause Zoro any trouble. He'd left for that very reason, and now here Law was, getting the very person he didn't want to be involved.
"Turn your head off, Law." Zoro held the dark haired doctor close, "Breathe. Your heart's beating too fast."
Because of you, Law wanted to say that, but with the solid grip Zoro had on him, the dark haired doctor gave in. Law was still too weak around the other man, even though they were no longer together, and sagged against Zoro's chest. Law allowed himself to be comforted, because he was reminded about just how much Zoro had spoiled him with how they had rested together, especially on slow days when they both had time off. How much it had helped Law keep the demons of his past at bay. That physical closeness of another person that Law tended to distance himself from, even though now he knew he craved to have it with someone again. But not now. Becoming too close to someone…it hurt when that person was taken away from him. Though in the case of the green haired officer that held him at present, the parting had been mutual, even though Law had done it in an attempt to protect him. It didn't mean that the parting didn't hurt. It did. And still did, even though Law knew he had to move on. The dark haired doctor stilled when he felt one of Zoro's hands pat his back reassuringly.
"Breathe, Law. And seriously, shut that racing mind of yours off. You'll only wear yourself out."
"Sanji will strangle me if he sees us." Law couldn't help himself. He couldn't stop thinking but at least this way he was thinking about his current situation, and not a nightmare inducing one that had come from his injury.
"Don't worry about it." Zoro let out an aggravated sigh. "I was kind of hoping that Kid would have stuck around."
"He left?" Law frowned against Zoro's shoulder. "He was still here when I fell asleep." Law did not bring up the fact that he had a very brief, bizarre dream of the red haired mechanic before he fell into the nightmare.
"I have Sanji out looking for him. I figured that he needed a distraction." Zoro sounded like he had smiled. "Even though Kid isn't involved in your troubles, he has some of his own that are very similar to yours.
"He owes a debt to someone?" Law was silent for a moment. "Where would he have gone?"
"I should have been paying better attention." Zoro sighed, not answering the question.
"Those papers you gave Eustass-ya in the car…" Law frowned in thought, "Did they have something to do with his debt?"
"Did Kid tell you that he fights?" Zoro asked in return. "That that was why you'd found him on the sidewalk that night?"
"He may have mentioned something to the effect of doing some fighting on the side." Law couldn't exactly remember much of the conversation. He was still in quite a lot of pain, mainly from his sore arm, and couldn't remember much of his conversation with Kid. Apart from kissing the red head on the cheek as thanks for helping him from being brought to Doflamingo with a broken arm. Receiving a pout from Kid over the fact that it hadn't been on the lips had been rather…endearing, almost. Law couldn't help but smirk at the memory, and suddenly, being held by Zoro didn't seem to choke him up so much.
Strange.
"Doing better?" Zoro asked. He knew full well that Law would never be over what had happened to Cora. Or the unknown of what happened, as Law didn't actually see Doflamingo's younger brother die.
"Marginally." Law returned, and felt the police officer draw away, releasing him from the hug. Law noticed Zoro had his cell phone in his hand now, and quickly reached out with his left hand to prevent the other man from dialing. "Eustass-ya isn't going to respond to you, Zoro-ya."
"And he will to you?" Zoro smiled at the harried look Law gave him. "I guess Kid did help you." The green haired man went over to the dresser next to the door, and picked up another phone off the top of it.
Law's cell phone.
"I put his number into your cell already." Zoro held out the phone. "I figured that you would say something like that. But if he doesn't respond, I can have some of the others go and look for him."
Others, which meant Zoro's friends.
"Or I'll go myself, and Ace and Luffy can hang out here until I come back." Zoro let out a laugh at the horrified look the dark haired doctor fixed him with. "Come on, they're not that bad. They just adopted you as their friend because you saved their lives."
Law looked at the bed, feeling like that was a bad thing now. Not the lifesaving part, of course. Law just didn't want anyone to get hurt for something he'd done to himself. It was why he had distanced himself from his own friends, so that they wouldn't become entangled in his problems, and become targets of Doflamingo. Though from the older man's words, they may very well already be involved. There had not been any word from Penguin or Shachi as of late, and that could become worrying as the days went by.
"Besides, I may not have to leave at all if Kid will answer a text or call from you." Zoro reached out and placed the cell phone next to Law. "Let me know what you find out. I'm going to call Sanji and see if he's had any luck."
Law watched Zoro exit the room, before he sighed and retrieved his phone. He couldn't do anything right now, apart from recover from his injury. He couldn't perform surgeries with one arm in a sling, so he was stuck. Awkwardly, Law settled his phone where he could press the screen easily. He located Kid's number, and gave it a call, figuring he would find out quickly whether or not. Law picked the phone up and held it to an ear, frowning a little bit when the call was picked up after only two rings.
Intriguing, that.
'Hey doc, didn't know you had my number.' Kid drawled, sounding amused. 'Miss me already?'
"Zoro-ya is quite intent on finding where you have gone off to." Law said dryly.
'You don't sound as out of it now.' The red haired man responded.
"Are you planning on coming back?" Law hated that he sounded hopeful, and damn if Kid didn't pick up on it.
'So you do miss me.' Kid sounded pleased, before he let out a frustrated huff, 'Too bad I can't come back right away. But I will be there later. Probably.'
"Probably?" Law repeated skeptically. He didn't like the sound of that. "Are you going to go do something that involves getting beaten up?"
'Hey, have a little faith in me, huh? I can take care of myself. Just don't get kidnapped while I'm gone, got it?'
"Didn't you say that to me already?" Law thought it had been a dream…but perhaps not?
'Maybe I did.' Kid hedged, sounding like he was trying to avoid talking about it. 'But don't let that cop come get me. I didn't run away, exactly. More like…I had something to take care of."
"You left without saying anything."
'I did talk to you. But I guess that you were asleep.' Kid cursed under his breath at something, and spoke hastily. 'See you later, doc.'
"Eustass-ya, wait-" Law fell silent when he realized Kid had hung up. When Law tried to call the red haired mechanic back, it went straight to voicemail. It was likely that the red head had turned his phone off, and to Law, that meant that the red head was going to be getting himself into trouble. It likely had something to do with the debt he apparently owed, as hinted at by Zoro.
Law rose from the bed and exited the room in search of Zoro.
-x-x-x-
Kid had risked going to his apartment to change clothes and hunker down, but before long, he had to get his ass in gear and get to the place of the fight. Kid really ought to have resisted picking up the call from Law but he couldn't. After he'd hung up, with Law mentioning the cop might go looking for him, Kid shut his phone off completely. Kid figured it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Zoro would try and track him down though his cell phone's location. Though why the cop hadn't tried earlier was beyond him. Kid also left the phone behind in his apartment out of a sense of paranoia that Zoro already knew where he had gone. Still, Kid couldn't help but still feel rather surprised that Law had contacted him. The red head figured that Zoro had to have given him the number, but after Kid had ended the call, an unnamed emotion trickled through his mind.
The red head shut the feeling down very quickly.
Kid couldn't afford to be distracted. He had to be focused tonight. Kid couldn't be thinking about what was going through the doctor's mind. The red haired mechanic shook his head and turned his thoughts away from the dark haired doctor to the upcoming fight. The red haired mechanic left his apartment and walked down the quiet street, his body thrumming with barely concealed excitement. Despite the shittiness of the situation, Kid loved a good fight, and so long as he came out on top and won, he had nothing to worry about. Kid took a bit longer than he would have liked to get to where he was going, but his knee was being a bitch and protesting all of the walking he had done that day, it couldn't be helped. Kid was barely on time, and he had to resist the urge to punch the shifty bastard at the entrance when he opened his mouth.
"Cuttin' it pretty close, aren't you, ginger?"
Fucker.
The next time Kid saw that slim figure who'd talked down on him in his shop, he'd punch him in the teeth given the opportunity. Even since that asshole had called him that, a bunch of other sorry bastards had taken to calling Kid 'ginger' whenever they could, just to rile him up.
"First fight's starting soon." The man added, as Kid brushed by him.
Once inside the dark building, Kid's body was tense as he rode the nervous energy and he joined the other sorry bastards who'd racked up debt. Kid had the uneasy feeling that he was in another ring owned by Kaido, and it wasn't a particularly good thought, but Kid told himself that he wouldn't have anything to worry about. A few more wins, and his debt could be paid off, and he'd be free to either continue fighting or get his ass out of there while he was still whole. Some fighters around him were missing limbs, or were bandaged up as Kid was, and it was fear of retribution of someone showing up to shake you down for money that kept them coming back.
Kid ground his teeth as the time went at a crawl as each fighter was called into the makeshift ring. It wasn't pleasant, waiting on pins and needles over the thought of who you were going to face. Not to mention just being there in the first place was an unpleasant reminder about the shakedown he'd received.
Son of a bitch.
Kid had to win tonight.
He had to.
"Eustass Kid!" The blared voice from the speaker phone echoed out.
Kid squared his shoulders and shoved his way through the jeering crowd, prepared to beat down any son of a bitch that thought they could overpower him. He would have to make this fast, to hide the fact that even though he thought his knee was fine, it wasn't. No doubt Kid was going to have to ice or heat the knee when this was all over with. Kid stopped dead in the middle of the makeshift ring the moment he recognized the man standing across from him.
Shit.
It was Bellamy, and from the smile on the other man's face, word of Kid's little beat down had obviously reached his ears.
"You sure you should be here, Kid? Word is that you got the shit beat out of you over a week back."
Fuck, tonight was going to suck ass, and Kid knew without a doubt he was going to be fucked over by the time this was all over with. Either he won and would hobble off with his winnings to go lick his wounds, or he'd lose, and who knew what would happen to him then, if he wasn't able to defend himself.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
This was not good, at all.
"Looks like this will be over with pretty quick." Bellamy looked entirely too pleased to be facing him, like the blond was looking forward to beating the shit out of the red haired mechanic.
"In your dreams." Kid offered with bared teeth.
These matches were going to hurt like a motherfucker, and Kid only had himself to blame for his situation as he prepared for a long and likely pain-filled night.
