Chapter 8, From Cambodia with love

A motorcycle raced at full speed right in front of Kid's nose. The red haired man enraged but he had renounced cursing after all the road hogs of North Cambodia quite a time ago. He checked the bags of food he was carrying and they were intact. They wouldn't last though if he kept lingering.

Eustass crossed the crowded street full of pedestrians and light vehicles. The sun had just set down behind the buildings and gave the signal for night life to spring.

In the shopping area Kid was easing through, people were talking loudly and stalls of food were spreading delicious smells of fried dishes, spices and fresh fruits all mixed. That tasty scent was carried by the warm air the city was giving from the last few weeks. It made Kid's stomach growled and he almost stopped to buy more food. However his reason took over his gluttony as he felt the hot meal waiting in his arms. He hurried on his way; the faster he got home the faster he'd get to eat.

Eustass looked at the motorcycles driving toward the sacred temples' area with envy. He was longing to get his own vehicle. Soon he would have enough money if he kept his actual job. Strangely though, walking wasn't so unpleasant. Now the hot temperatures of the day had decreased, it was quite enjoyable. Air always seemed hot and humid in this country; Kid was in his element.

The day at work had been so long, Kid hadn't seen the end of it. His schedule was blurry; as long as there was work to do, he was at the garage all day. It was good work though. As a stranger, he was lucky to have found one and the pay was decent for a city in Cambodia. Being a mechanic had his advantages in a country so dependent on unreliable machines.

His feet mechanically leading him home, Eustass put his goggles down around his neck and let the breeze run through his red bright and unruly hair. During a moment, he felt at peace and realized the delightful sensation flowing inside his body was happiness. It wasn't a feeling Kid got on that very moment, but he understood he had it for some time only now. He was happy like he hadn't been for a long time. Since… Law left him.

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It's been six months now.

At first, Kid had stubbornly refused to admit Law had left for good. When the mechanic had finally come back from Japan, his lover was long gone. It had been a dark time the red head dreaded to remember. He'd been so miserable, and for long he thought he would never get through this. He was only a shadow of the man he used to be, incomplete without his other half.

Kid hated himself then, he loathed the weak thing he'd become. He'd been lost, unable to come back to his old self, to his old life. He never wanted to feel like that again.

This state had past quite fast now Eustass thought about it. Swiftly, his wretched mood had turned into an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Once he'd been done from scourging himself, the red haired man had put all his energy into seeking the fuckers he could blame instead. He had given himself a new goal: bring the Donquixote family down and watch them burn to the ground. His wrath had seemed to not have limits and consumed any other feeling. It was just what he had needed.

Thus, Eustass started to trail their dubious activities from the beginning. He had no idea where he had dig through at the time, and the amount of shit he'd unearthed was beyond his imagination. The red haired man had remembered Corazon's warning about the family and thought twice this time. He wanted his revenge more than he was angry so he became more cautious than he usually was. He had kept a low profile, collecting information before striking.

Kid started to sabotage their illegal activities, but he remained an insect compared to the huge web Doflamingo had weaved. His threads were sunk in so many businesses. Eustass knew he had to be smarter. It was the recent activities of the family that had led him to South Asia. They kept excavating in archeological sites in hope to find more square stones of ancient times, like the one Law had found in the White City and that guided him to the demon. But Kid was done with archeology, his mind solely focused on the means to cut off the threads.

Scheming had never been his forte but he could put up a lot of efforts when he wanted to. Trafalgar would have been quite proud of Kid's first steps in the underworld…

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Even if they weren't in contact, Eustass had heard about Law during those past months. Like Kid, he didn't seem to have chosen to settle quietly and begin a new life. Or if he had tried he hadn't succeed. Kid knew Law came back to the university; he wouldn't have gone without seeing his men. From that location he had followed the archeologist's way in the news.

For anyone else it would have been difficult, not to say impossible, to link the strange events with Trafalgar, but Kid knew Law's new abilities. So it'd been quite easy to pursue his trail. Each time a minor news item mentioned something oddly cut in pieces or things moving by themselves, Eustass could tell where Law had been. This distant stalking had been his only distraction from the Donquixote, and the red haired man had kept wondering: how was Law doing? How was he living now? Was he still doing research? Was he miserable too? Was he relieved? Had he found someone else…?

It was through the news Eustass had learnt their respective paths were getting closer. And one day he had met Law again.

He looked terrible. Kid thought he would be happy about that, but he simply couldn't found joy in anything hurting Trafalgar. The red head had hoped after so many months apart he could find something to make up the situation between them, but this meeting turned out to be a disaster. Kid even ended up getting Law's wedding ring back. That gesture had made his heart sunk, however it was nothing compared to his worry about the dark haired man. He had asked Eustass, almost desperately, to stop having faith in him; he couldn't handle things this way. But that was among the only things Kid could never do for him.

Trafalgar was struggling to control his powers. He was working hard to handle them. He even started to study medicine to acquire a better command over it. But even though Law's will was defying the norm, nothing could replace practice. The archeologist had to train and make mistakes before he could master his new abilities.

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Trafalgar's golden ring was hanging as a pendant around Eustass' neck. The red haired man felt it beat against his chest at the rhythm of his steps as he sped up, closer and closer to his house of the moment.

It was a little apartment outside the city and by far the best Kid had managed to rent since he first settled in Cambodia. He had to provide a lot of guaranties and practically sell his soul to the landlord, but the basic running water and electricity were working fine and the place was quiet and hidden –just what needed to keep a low profile. The apartment was also nice to work in, spacious enough and bright, and it offered quite a view on the jungle surrounding. Kid was itching to get home, sit down, and eat a nice meal with the person waiting for him.

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Trafalgar and Eustass had met a few more times during these last months. They were always stumbling upon each other, meeting awkwardly and sometimes at the expense of their safety. It took them a while before they acknowledged they had the same goal. Both were chasing Doflamingo to put an end to his business.

As it had been predicted, his name overthrew every other scientist's about the discoveries made in the White City; including a very ancient grave hidden in the city's quarries. Hence the archeologist's thirst of vengeance whose matched Kid's one when it didn't overtook it. In order to avoid further failures in their shared mission, Law agreed to an alliance for revenge purpose.

They had both acquired diverse intelligence about the Donquixote family and together, they actually managed to become efficient. However they realized too late they were too blinded by their revenge to see the big flaw in their plan. It was all the old memories that were brought back to them while working together. Each argument reminded them of their first dates. Each planning was recalling how well they had gotten along before they got married.

Against their will, they had slowly got close again. It had been so awkward at first, to cross the lines they had set between them. As always their bodies had known better than their minds. They couldn't fight the attraction they were still feeling toward each other. Their relationship will always have that undeniable physical part. But this time was different; they had to rebuild trust… Let's just say it was no pleasure cruise; they could be such stubborn jerks sometimes, but Kid had faith. They would make it work this time.

Forgiveness came with time but they happened to be on edge so often even though Kid was longing to get home, he also wondered what kind of welcome he would receive tonight.

Moving together again had been pretty rough; and Law's curse didn't help. Eustass remembered how he often got teleported by accident –and it seemed his stomach would never get used to it; he recalled how he got an electric shock the first time he kissed Law again and his heart stopped beating.

It made Kid laugh now but it had been such a fuss. That had almost made Law change his mind about living back together. It would take much more than fear and curses to keep Eustass away though. He had convinced his lover they could handle it, as long as they were together.

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The red head finally reached the building they were living in and the meal wasn't cold. Nothing was better than bringing food at home to lighten the mood and keep Law away from any kitchen tool. Their daily meals were suffering from Trafalgar's inability to use a knife without cutting the kitchen in half, even if he was making progress.

Law felt a bit useless being left at home all day, but his abilities were draining a lot of energy from him. Plus, as he hadn't got a job yet, it gave him more time to plan their next move. He definitely was better than Kid at these things, and with more training his powers might be their greatest asset. Most of their nights were devoted to making new contacts, taking down facilities and warehouses, gathering new information, hiding their tracks and disappearing.

They had travelled in many exotic countries, beat the shit out of a countless number of henchmen and made love in the angriest but also most passionate ways they'd ever done. Eustass couldn't have dreamt about a better honeymoon.

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At the front door, Eustass rummaged through his pockets to grab the key of the apartment. One of his greatest fears had been to found one of their new enemies right beyond that doorstep. But Kid was convinced they wouldn't be taken down so easily now. They often moved to stay under the radar; however this house was so great Kid hoped they could keep it a few months more.

He had gone through that entry in many ways: almost crawling after a long day of work, bleeding from a bad turned mission, avoiding the landlord when they couldn't pay the rent in time or fooling around with Law. With time Kid had even became an expert to dodge various objects flying toward him when he opened the door, accidentally or intentionally.

So he didn't really know what he expected when he unlocked the door and stepped in his and Trafalgar's apartment… but definitely not what came to his sight.

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Kid heard a hurried bustle and a blurry item flew at the end of the short entrance while he was closing the door. What… oh! A shirt. That's was definitely a shirt because his owner followed right after it, almost sliding on the floor to lean seductively on a side wall, his chest bare, showing off the tribal hearts decorating his tanned skin. The black ink on his shoulders was giving a curvy impression on his angular frame. However Kid's eyes lost themselves on the main heart curling on Law's pectorals and ending in a thin line between his defined abs. The dark haired man had become more muscled during those last months to the point it started to be hard for his husband to keep his mind clear. Especially when they were working late and clothes were often removed because of the hot air. As his eyes went down, Eustass caught a tattooed hand tugging at the edge of Law's jeans which was hanging so low on his hips it was asking to drop.

Kid heard Law teasing smirk more than he saw it and realized at the same time he had stopped breathing.

"You kept me waiting Eustass-ya…"

Those next seconds were the only ones Kid had to have a coherent thought before losing it. That kind of welcome seemed to come straight from one of his fantasies. That was the reason why the only part of his mind that wasn't aroused yet was raising the alarm. He made the fatal mistake to search an answer on his lover's face and only had eyes for his disheveled dark hair and that lecherous grin and… what was he thinking about?

The long-legged temptation didn't leave him time to recall and crossed the short distance between them with impatience. Trafalgar took Kid's bags from his stunned arms and dropped them on the floor to finally close the space still separating their bodies. Law pressed against his husband who could now feel every inch of his body from his upper chest to the end of his gorgeous legs finding their way between his.

The red haired man's brain went from blank to primitive in the instant, reduced to: Breathe, heat, sex. He could sense Law's radiating warmth through his thin clothes. Kid took a sharp breath and his lover's smell intoxicated him. He loved how that scent sometimes clung to his clothes, smelling like paper, sea salt, and lust.

Eustass stayed in awe for a moment, enjoying the touch of Trafalgar's soft skin and the shivers spreading under his eager hands. He let himself being shoved against the door. His eyes locked with Law's half-lidded ones then he greedily pressed his lips against Kid's.

A single kiss finished to set fire to his soul while his tongue got back home in Law's mouth. The dark haired man sensed the thrilling surge of power flowing in every cell of his body. Law would never get tired of this sensation filling him every time they kissed, not the curse's energy but to have Kid on his mouth again. He tilted his head to link fully with his husband's lips and savor the lust on his taste buds.

Trafalgar's hands were in Eustass' hair, tugging on the red strands enough to make his lover moan of excitement. Kid grabbed everything he could get his hands on, clothing and flesh lighting fire on his path. When his grip settled on Law's ass, the red head brought them close, grinding their crotches in a breathtaking hold while he lifted slightly the dark haired man off the ground.

Kid was only feeling so well and complete when he held Law in his arms. All he could have felt before was dull in comparison… the sensation of Trafalgar's heated lips devouring his, the possessiveness of his hands grabbing the sides of Kid's face, the way his breath was caressing the red head's skin… Everything felt right, because it was his Law and no one else.

Both gasping between their feverish kisses, Trafalgar withdrew just for an instant to whimper, "I want you to fuck me against that door Eustass-ya. Right now. You're up to it?"

Only a groan answered through Eustass' swollen lips, promising to show how much he could take up that challenge. The response seemed to utterly please Law.

"Get those pants off," He commanded with a wicked smile. That hint of craziness in his lover's eyes was turning Kid on more than it should have been allowed.

Trafalgar slid his divine hands from Kid's face along his neck, and the red head suddenly jolted when they got toward his necklace where Law's wedding ring was hanging.

"I'm just taking it off," Law assured.

"Yeah…" Eustass told unconvinced holding Law's wrists between them, "Ya gave it to me because gold was constantly relayin' the electricity shocks in your hands remember? So let me take it off myself before you stop my heart again."

The dark haired man's lips tightened at that memory, guilt taking over him for a brief moment. Kid let him to it, enjoying having Law's wrists restrained, but as this thought just occurred to him he realized his hands were covered with grease, as well as all the places he had touched his husband. And Law hadn't made a single comment about it… That was weird enough to wake some connections up in Kid's brain.

"So, shall I prepare ya with that cheap lube?" The red head mocked staining his lover's wrists with more grease to make his point clear. But Law didn't let the alluring mask fall down.

"What do you think I was doing while waiting for you to come home? I'm already so open, I just need you to be inside me, to fill me and make me moan and cry your name again and again…" Trafalgar panted with desire and pressed Kid further against the door. He was frowning as Kid kept denying him what he wanted. The mechanic's mind was picturing it with too much clarity. It would be so easy to yield to his sexual desire, to roughly pin Law on the nearest surface and give him what he was asking for. The red head already hated himself when he stared at his husband with a suspicious gaze.

"Come on, ya hate when I got back all dirty from work. It's so unlike ya to jump on me like–"

"Are you complaining?"

"That's not what I said," and Eustass struggled to get back on track, "but I don't get what's your motive here."

"Do I need to justify every time I want us to make love?" Trafalgar snorted.

"Your exact words were 'oh fuck me against that door right now!'"

"First, I don't have such a slutty voice–"

"Yes, you totally do; and you were so eager I'm sure ya hidin' something from me."

Law simply stared at him in disbelief and Eustass took it as an affirmative answer. Kid huffed and let go of the dark haired man's wrists before throwing his husband over his shoulder. Trafalgar yelled and kicked him in the ribs but Kid was holding him firmly, heading for the living room.

Right before Kid stepped in, he felt held back. Law had extended his arms between the entrance's walls to stop his track.

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"We said no more lying right? I wasn't going to. I know for sure though we're gonna fight and yell at each other for a few days. I simply wanted to have an intimate moment with you before we get mad. We were on mission those previous nights and… I wanted to do jump on you like that for quite a time."

Hearing Law's smirk instantly soothed Kid's voice.

"What happened?"

"Remember the first month we moved in here? When our assholes neighbors almost made their floor drops on our head?"

Oh yeah, Eustass recalled too well that couple of jerks from upstairs that had instantly took a dislike to them when they got installed. They started construction work in their apartment and accused them from destroying their floor.

Law kept going, "I said I could stick the building back to together with a bit of training, and you said we had enough proofs to denounce them to the owner, get them arrested and definitely out of our way. Finally we choose my way to not draw unnecessary attention on us."

The archeologist had done a great job repairing the floor actually, and their neighbors had looked like two damn fools complaining about damage that weren't there. "Well it happened we were both wrong. The repairs I've done masked the weakened structure of the load-bearing walls and the floor will actually crumble on our heads soon, with or without my intervention. Also the neighbors didn't forget what we did. They gave our description to one of the family's agent. I saw him checking the building this afternoon."

Fucking hell! If they just had taken care of these fuckers when they had the chance! Kid only wanted to go on the upper floor and killed them both, he sure could made it look like an accident… everyone could accidentally got their eyes ripped off falling out of a window? Anger grew up under Eustass' skin and he remained tensely still, seeing their sweet home already taken away. Plus they'd managed to stay hidden from the beginning, if the Donquixote ever suspected them to sabotage their business they were in trouble. He brooded over it for so long his husband started to worry.

"You ain't out of your mind?"

"What? Of course I am! But it doesn't matter now who were right or wrong! We have to be safe before kicking any ass," The red head growled, "Did the agent identify you?"

A creepy laugh answered him as his lover dropped his arms off the walls and stood up in Kid's arms to face him, "By now the man would have to gather all his pieces before being able to talk to anybody…"

"You–"

"I took care of him. As well as our lovely neighbors." His tone seemed definitive and Kid got pretty interested to have more details on what Law actually did to them. However the mechanic was more dumbfounded by the turn of the events. Months ago they would have thrown plates and yelled over what they could have done to avoid their problems or argued about the other's initiatives to fix them.

Now after losing themselves once and with the motive to stay safe and achieve their goal, Kid had realized they had better to do than quarrel uselessly. Damn, was that how it felt to grow up? Weird.

"You're awfully quiet, talk to me," Trafalgar kept worrying.

He was impressed by Kid's change during those last months. For sure the red haired man had stayed true to himself, but he became smarter than Law would have thought him capable of. Trafalgar couldn't help but to feel guilty, upset by the impression of not having as much faith as Kid had in him. He told Eustass about that. They never had had such long emotional and honest conversations before, because they hadn't faced any hardship as overwhelming as this one.

Law had realized all that through time, and it brought to light how he had changed as well. He was more willing than ever to fight in order to protect what he cared about. They were tackling a vast criminal organization after all. He gained the confidence to act; now he had the devilish power to keep them both safe. However Law learnt to rely more on Kid, that he wasn't showing weakness but giving his husband his trust.

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Trafalgar didn't regret leaving Kid months ago, but he considered his best decision had been to come back. Kid was making him feel stronger more than any supernatural ability, and Law knew could never stop loving him. Since their honeymoon had begun, he was showing more concern about Kid. It wasn't like he had never cared before, but he had opened his heart, and allowed himself to believe in Eustass again. Being the heart of Law's concern was worth to get mad another day.

"How much time do we have before we'd have to move out?" The red head inquired.

"Before someone found the bodies? Less than a week at worst. Before the floor actually falls on our head? A few hours."

"So what should we need to get started first?"

Law ran a hand in Kid's red mane, enjoying its soft touch, and chuckled, "Right now, I'm still sported a raging hard-on and I'd like we take care of that."

That was where that poking in the red head's shoulder came from. He didn't need to check himself, already sensing just a few words from his husband had reminded him of his own arousal. Kid didn't felt like keep thinking.

"Is the bedroom still usable?"

"Hum… a bit risky," Law considered, "maybe the counter top will–"

"Kitchen it is!"

As Eustass eagerly headed toward the said room –putting Law over his shoulder again– the dark haired man seemed to remember, "Grab some lube on the way!"

"Oh what happen to Mr 'already prep myself waiting for ya'?" Kid made fun of his husband once he'd laid him on the counter. He felt heat spreading through his belly down his crotch, seeing Law propped up on his elbows, legs spread apart as his jeans were falling down his hips. The dark haired man solely bit his lower lip, burning Kid from his metallic eyes.

"I might have overdone that part a little."

"You dared lie to me? How could I trust ya anymore?" Kid overreacted.

"Why don't you have a little faith in me?" Law teased making Eustass laughed and replied, "Oh shut it!"

Here, this story well and truly ends, it's been an amazing journey! Thank you very much to my dearest beat-reader, Rainripple, and all the people who have supported this story, leave reviews or put the story in their favorites, or even read it to the end!
I hope find you again on another fiction -I have plenty of plots going on ;)
See you again dearest readers!