Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
To make pretence of giving a proper a trial to this case, a makeshift court took place in one of the various lounge rooms of the castle. They sat around a huge table that granted them the opportunity to be as far from the CP-0 as it was possible. Law found the whole thing disgustingly hypocrite; the more he heard from the negotiation, the more he wanted to draw his sword, slaughter the fuckers in the room and flee on the back of his dragon.
What could be saved was saved – meaning Doflamingo's position-, after his lord so generously pledged his word and money to the church, but the condition was that the dragon and all evidence of its existence should be annihilated before sunset. He would be lying if he said that he honestly believed that his dragon could be spared, but the harsh reality punching him in the gut still catches him off-guard.
Gloom hovers over them, the air is heavy with tension, the sunset casts orange light on the world, making it look like it was on fire. Law thinks that it would really only take a spark to ignite -just one little spark to set the unbearable atmosphere on fire. It's hard to walk – his feet feel like they have a boulder tied to them, he's sweating and his lung screams for more air while his gut twists itself around in him, and he feels sick.
He's the one to get the dragon, as he is the one whose presence they're the most used to.
They raise their head as Law gets there, staring at him almost unnervingly, and he forces a smirk on his face. A few moments later the flimsy imitation of a grin is off of his face, leaving a frown there and the dragon cranes their long neck to be on the same height as he is.
They push their face to Law's side, nestling gently, the blunt lower part of the horns brushing against his ribs through his clothes, but it doesn't feel threatening or painful, it's just there to remind him that they are a deathly spawn of hell, not some house cat despite how much they act like that. Hell however, doesn't even sound all that bad, if every demon there is like that – at least he knows that he is going to a good place once he dies. He doesn't have the slightest doubt that he is going to end there.
He slides one hand on the back of their head, pulling them in an awkward half-hug. He scratches the top of their head, and keeps them in his hold for a minute before he pulls away.
He takes the end of the chain which is supposed to keep the dragon grounded. ''Come'' he says, not wanting to tug at it – he feels bad enough with leading them on a leash. What makes everything worse that they just fucking obey, without the slightest doubt they just do what Law says, like they fucking trust Law to do whatever he wants. It's probably the case. The knowledge of that doesn't make him feel any better.
It blurs together, or plainly slips his memory, how he handed the leash over, or how the dragon got to the CP-0; all he remembers is their eyes boring into him, not accusing, not angry, they were calm, is if they were saying "it's alright", like they understood. The fucking resignation there is the worst of all.
He faintly hears a monotone voice talking but he's too anxious to listen to it.
" In the name of the Holy Church, under authority of the Gorosei, I shall take the beast's head" the voice says suddenly, all too soon, and that seems to trigger everything.
Kikoku's in his hands, blades crash, gasps are heard, and Law only realizes what he has done once he has done it. He directly went against the church. He ensured his own execution to be the next one. He basically gave up on his life for a beast. He never thought he was the self-sacrifice type. On the brighter side the brighter side though, he at least got a seat in hell reserved only for him, where he might be surrounded by creatures like his dragon.
Fuck it all, he thinks, charging forward again, hasty and predictable movements driven by anger easily dodged by the CP-0 agent. He feels ridiculous and pathetic, compared to his opponent he's the child throwing a tantrum while the parents look on unimpressed. He can't be so humiliatingly weak – even with uncontrolled, amateur movements, the masked guy is just impossibly, inhumanly strong.
It was obvious from the very beginning, from the moment their swords met for the first time, that Law doesn't stand a chance. While he's skilled in material arts, his strongest point has always been his brain; he is more of the strategist type than the muscle headed type. He's used to plan things thoroughly before acting, not just pulling stunts like that. What was he thinking anyway, when he attacked? Oh right, he was not thinking at all.
That being said, that he's going to lose, it was not a secret. Still, a hint of panic is present in him as the familiar, comforting weight of his sword disappears from his hands. Law watches helplessly Kikoku dragging against the ground, the metallic rattle ear-splitting in the muted world.
Game over.
He straightens himself then, choosing to meet his demise standing proudly, but what his brain isn't completely registering is the clanking in the background, though his gut tells him that something is off there. The setting sun glistens on the blade, coloring it reddish orange that resembles a sick mixture of fire and blood, like death and the eternal flames of hell; a foreshow of what awaits him.
He feels a gush of wind hitting him from behind, and hears rustling through the rattling of his heart and the persistent clanking, then there's the shrill sound of something breaking, more rustling, and in the next moment a pained growl. He opens his eyes, and sees a bloodied sword inches from his face. The blood isn't the only thing that paints it red, there's a crimson light surrounding them, like a protective shell around him, and he gets a very, very bad feeling from it.
There are rip-like patterns, dark compared to the area where the light travels through, and he feels like he is in a mist of blood. The sword turns to the side so that the blade points towards the ground, and with a harsh push downwards the material tears and shakes a bit, and there's an earsplitting screech filled with agony, and Law looks on horrified when he realizes that what defended him was his dragon's wings, and the patterns he saw are the blood vessel in it.
He wants to throw up from the metallic smell that fills up the air.
The wings twitch, retreating from the source of pain, and finally the dragon folds them up, and Law is dragged backwards by two clawed paws. The touch is gentle and careful, but his clothes still tear from it and it presses against his skin a little uncomfortably, like he is being poked with something sharp. Even with all the trust he puts into the dragon, he can't help feeling like a mouse in the claws of a cat. He's completely powerless, not for the first time that day. It's slowly becoming a habit, and a very irritating at that.
He's used to be in control, and losing every control over his own life isn't easy to deal with.
His breath gets stuck in his throat as a wave of fire comes from behind him, setting a tree on fire. He doesn't even have the time to be surprised before he's lifted up, and he instinctively kicks, trying to reach the ground with his legs. Panic takes its hold on him as the wall of the castle is rapidly nearing him; he's positive that if he gets stuck between a four feet thick stone wall and a dragon that weights around thousand pounds then pancake is the best thing he could end up as.
The impact doesn't come, but his breath is knocked out of him from the abrupt stop they came to. Rubble falls from the castle as the dragon sinks their claws into it, and starts to crawl upwards clumsily on the ninety degree wall while still holding Law in one paw, leaving only three limbs moving. He almost feels lightheaded from the sudden change of height, looking down from the roof of the castle's tower, he thanks the god for not being born with a fear of heights.
Then the dragon opens their wings, splashing blood to the world below, and then they push themselves off, using the building as a catapult, making a crater and more rumble to fall down. Wild, cold wind hits his face like countless tiny needless, hurting his eyes to the point where he has to close them. He feels like sinking, like in those falling-of-into-nowhere dreams, and he snaps his eyes with a dreadful feeling, relaxing slightly when he notices that they are descending gradually.
They land on a clearing and Law has a hard time restraining himself from jumping down as soon as they're within a distance that wouldn't be fatal to fall from, not wanting to spend any more time off of the ground. Humans were born to walk on the ground and not to fly.
The grip on his waist lessens as his feet touch the ground and he sighs in relief. He hears shuffling and a pained, grunt-like nose from behind him, and he instantly turns around, worried about the wellbeing of his dragon. They got injured defending him after all, they put their head on the line for him. He feels guilty about that.
But what more concerning is that what in the seven levels of hell are they going to do now? The dragon might have somewhere to go, but he sure as hell doesn't, not to mention that with that damage on their wings they cannot fly, which would be essential if they plan on fleeing as hiding something as enormous and flamboyant as a big fucking red dragon is quite the difficult matter – impossible even.
He thinks his eyes are tricking him when the drake begins to glow – firstly in a vibrant red color that quickly fades into white, nearly pellucid. Soft, cracking whimpers are heard as the beast seems to shrink significantly, becoming shorter and slimmer, the tail and horns seems to retreat into their body, the claws morph into hands, until there's a naked human – more like a human looking creature in front of him. It's plainly too surreal to not be true.
Law allows himself a glance downwards. A male.
''Nggh'' the boy – in lack of better term- says, moans as he stretches his arms, popping his spine out. Law almost winces; that creak couldn't be natural or healthy. '' It's been a while..'' he says after that, voice sounding weirdly unused, like it doesn't even belong to him.
He also notices that his voice is oddly high-pitched, higher than a puberty-stricken teen's, but has a more mature feeling to it. It's strange, but he likes it. It's nice to listen to, he thinks.
''What the fuck are you?'' he asks, maybe a little bit more rudely than he originally intended to.
''Me?'' the dragon asks back, tilting his head innocently, like he doesn't fucking know what Law's referring to.
''Who else?!''
'' Isn't it obvious? I'm a dragon, you silly!'' he declares, sporting a proud, toothy grin like he didn't just say that he's a fucking dragon in human form. He also called him silly.
They remain in silence after that, in a long, awkward silence – at least Law feels like it is. Then, thankfully, the shorter male breaks it.
'' I'm Luffy! And you're Torao, right?"
" Just call me Law.'' he nearly begs, mortified at the idea of being called by that ridiculous misnomer. His dignity suffered more damage during this insane month than ever, there's no need to add another embarrassing-factor.
''Thanks for wanting to save me, Torao!''
'' It was just a spur of the moment.'' he says, ignoring the butchering of his name. '' More importantly, what are we going to do now?''
'' What do you mean?'' Luffy asks, placing his hands on his hip.
''They'll be on our tail soon – where should we go? ''
Luffy hums, looking up to the sky as if expecting an answer from here. '' I gotta go home – Ace and Sabo are gonna be mad '' he says absently, pondering on something.
Law doesn't ask who Ace and Sabo are; he figures it's none of his business.
Luffy continues. '' But you got into trouble because you wanted to help me… I'll help you!'' he says, putting his fist into his open palm.
Law takes off his cape and drapes it over Luffy to hide most of his body, feeling uncomfortable of his nudity. He's rather attractive in this form. ''Whatever. We can talk about it later, once we're safe. I assume you can't fly with that damage?''
Luffy shakes his head with a pout, muttering a 'no'.
''Will they heal?''
''Yeah, but without Kureha or Chopper it'll take forever..'' he whines.
There's the sound of the drawbridge being lowered near, along with shouted commands. ''We're parting – comb the forest. They couldn't be far"
He just quickly grabs Luffy's wrists and drags the boy after him, breaking into a run. ''Hurry up!''
''Alright, alright…''
By the time the sun completely set, they've managed to lose them.
They're hiding in a nearby cave now, he and Luffy, and Law's relishes in what little warmth the fire offers them. Luffy, on the other hand looks perfectly fine while being covered only with a cape – but maybe that isn't really a surprise, since he wouldn't be wearing anything if he were in his dragon form either.
Law can't say he's comfortable, because of multiple reasons.
It isn't the drastic drop of temperature, not their wet surroundings, not even his slightly damp clothes – he can get over that. It's still the shock that makes his mind reel; having Luffy – a dragon – taking a human form… It'd make sense that once you wrap your mind around the fact that dragons exist, it shouldn't be really surprising, really.
It is, apparently.
His eyes drifts to Luffy's lap, to the bare thighs and the cape pulled over the crotch, but he quickly averts them when he realizes what he is doing. It isn't like he hasn't seen a penis before, it's just…
It's just the fact that Luffy has one – and a human like at that.
When he first met his dragon, he just treated him like he'd treat an animal. Somehow, during their time spent together he acknowledged Luffy as an equal partner, he has grown to respect him like he would respect some people worthy to it, as rare as it is.
Never once, though, the thought of checking for a gender crossed his mind. Vaguely it did, yes, but that was before Luffy wormed himself into his heart. Back then, the avoiding of the matter was only question of fear, fear of what a beast would do if some human messed with their genitals.
Later on, it just felt wrong, disrespectful. You can't just go to someone and look into their underwear, Law thought, so he just left the question hang in the air. And with time, he found himself seeing Luffy as well, genderless. Because it didn't matter – he has come to like him as he was
With Luffy taking a human form – something that was familiar to him – it was answered, probably with the least awkwardness possible in the given situation. Luffy doesn't seem uncomfortable or anything, he is obviously used to nudity, but Law still feels really, painfully awkward.
He even knows that it is his fault, though. Not that he can help himself, it's not like he can stop himself from finding Luffy attractive. He knows he likes men, knows he is going to hell for his unnatural preferences and sodomy, big deal. He has done worse things than that, and again, he didn't ask for be like that.
However, he knows one thing for sure, that being sexually attracted to a dragon must be the bottom of how deep one could sink in the sea of morality. In a sense, it's like being attracted to an animal – sick, even in his own standards. Still, Luffy is not just an animal – he's a lot more than that.
What even makes a human to be a human? Intelligence? Luffy has that. The look? He can take a human look. If he looks at the subject like this, there isn't anything really wrong with it, only the gender, but to him? It doesn't matter. They won't have children – big deal. It's probably for the best.
He shivers, not from the morbid image of a half-dragon half-human creature, but from the cold. He squirms closer to the fire, feeling Luffy's – in this form – dark eyes resting on him. He avoids looking into them though, resolutely keeping his eyes on the dancing fire that reminds him of the flames Luffy breathed a few hours ago. He hears a quiet shuffle and soft steps, and then he feels something warm pressed against him.
The skinny arms wrapped around him remind him of a rope, but it doesn't feel threatening; it feels strangely comfortable. ''Luffy?''
The dragon just hums, pressing closer to Law, pulling his cape over their lap, making the situation even more awkward.
''What the fuck are you doing?''
''Keeping you warm!'' he beams, and Law isn't sure what to think of that. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would backstab him, though usually that's what makes the catch-the-traitor game interesting; they never usually look the type. He decides on believing him, for now.
He's way too tired to think about the possibility that that wonderfully comfortable and warm body pressed against him means ill. His body heats up a little, starting from where Luffy's touching him, and it isn't until he feels really warm that he realizes how cold he had been. Drifting to sleep is really easy like that, so he just does that, pulling Luffy closer in his half-asleep state.
A/N: Hey! I was going to update this yesterday, but FF just went nah ._. Oh well. Anyway, I'm glad you guys liked the previous chapters! :) What do you think about this one? :D
Reviews:
Guests: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! :)
reader b: I can totally see him as an every animal kind of person :3 I'm glad you found it interesting.
Paulie MickeyJ: I'm not going to abandon it! I'm glad you found it interesting, and the dragon just ought to be adorable - afterall, we're talking about Luffy there :)
Bluebird42: I'm glad you like the settings! I admit, I was a little insecure about it after I published :C Thank you!
The One Piece Virus: Here's the next chapter! :) I'm glad you liked it! :D