I hate May. I miss having more than half an hour of free time T_T

Here's chapter nine. I'll publish the epilogue on May 20th, along with the first chapter of a new story :)

Chapter 9: The solving of the case

Eustass Kid lay on the bed, legs and arms outstretched wearing nothing but his shorts and a shirt on. The only reason he allowed Trafalgar Law to use his stomach as a pillow with the horrible heat of that summer afternoon was that, due to some reason that didn't need much thinking over, the dark haired man was always cold to the touch, and having him there felt nice.

Then Kid's hand decided, almost on its own volition, that to lower itself to Law's head to tangle in his hair was for no other reason than the cool feeling the action provided.

"Hey, Trafalgar."

"Mh?" Was Law's lazy answer, who didn't move from his snuggled position in the bed with Kid as his pillow.

"When we're done with all this, and Doflamingo and his men are dead, what will happen then?"

"What do you mean?" Law asked, his voice sounding half asleep.

How the man could sleep in the first place was something Kid didn't really understand.

"I mean, what will you do? Will you stay here being a pest as always until I die or what?"

Then Law moved, sitting up on the bed and making Kid's hand to drop where the man's head had been. Law looked at him, and his face showed no trace of his usual mocking smirk nor the cocky one the redhead had been expecting.

Kid understood something wasn't right.

"Once whatever it is that holds me here disappears, I'll have to go as well."

"What?" Kid sat up as well, staring at his companion with wide eyes. He was kidding, right?

"That's what I was told."

"But, if there is something else that holds you here?"

Law shook his head.

"No, that's something they made very clear."

"Then what? Doflamingo dies and you disappear, just like that?" Kid demanded to know, trying to keep as calm as possible, his hands fisting on the bed sheets.

"Well, I'll have a couple of days of margin, but yes, that's what will happen…"

Silence fell for a moment until Law, his lips stretching in a smile that didn't reflect in his eyes, said:

"Looks like you'll be able to get rid of me after all, Mr. Eustass."

Without even thinking, Kid punched Law and shoved him on his back, straddling him.

"Don't you fucking dare joke about that!" He yelled, holding him by the wrists. "It's not fun, you hear?!"

The smile disappeared from Law's face, going back to the previous serious expression he had, and the man, rising up as much as he could in his position, brushed his lips against Kid's.

"I'm sorry."

They were in the bed, both naked and cuddled under the covers, Kid ignoring the low temperature of Law's body even though it was a cold winter day.

That night was raining, and it had been two hours since they came back from killing Vergo in that deserted alleyway.

"I have decided something." Kid spoke, his lips almost brushing Law's forehead by doing so.

"Are you going to dye your hair green?" Law asked, almost asleep, with his head lying on the pillow and nestled against Kid's neck.

"No. I'll go with you."

Law lifted his head so fast that he hit Kid's nose. Ignoring his companions' complaints, he demanded:

"Tell me you're kidding."

With a hand still holding his nose, Kid answered, shaking his head:

"No, I'm being serious."

"Are you stupid or something?! Are you going to kill yourself, just like that?!" Law yelled, clenching his hands on the covers.

"I think you've made it clear already. And yes, I am going to 'kill myself just like that', as you've put it."

"And what about your life?" Law inquired, his voice lowered barely above a whisper, his most intimidating voice and one Kid had heard on very few occasions.

"I don't have much of that. Sure, Killer will get mad at me, and probably will kick my ass once we meet again, but apart from him and the workshop, and this sounds cheesy as fuck but I have no other way to say it, you are my life."

Law was left speechless, staring Kid in the eyes, seeing that he was completely serious and hadn't looked away even for a moment.

"… It's still stupid." Law finally said. "It's just a few years. And, who knows, you might even meet someone less annoying than me." He tried to joke.

Kid snorted.

"I doubt I could stand someone less annoying than you." The redhead answered, lifting a hand to the back of Law's neck to bring him closer.

"That's a contradiction, Mr. Eustass." Law whispered against his lips.

"I don't give a shit." Kid said right before kissing him, shoving Law carefully backwards and making him lay on the bed without parting from him even for a moment.

Marco and Ace walked as fast as they could without breaking into a run through the hospital's hallway, heading for the first of the two rooms the doctor they spoke to had indicated them.

That morning they had gone to the workshop to find out that Eustass Kid had just left, apparently taking the rest of the day off due to "personal matters", and they learned that Doflamingo's vehicle had been there for the past couple of days, but had left that same morning as well.

They had barely gotten back to the car when the notification came through the radio informing them of the explosion.

When they arrived there, the place was a mess. The street and the front of the buildings surrounding the area were completely trashed and there was a crowd of scared and curious people trying to discover what had happened.

They were informed that a man had died, the limousine's driver, and they would try to separate him from the remnants of the car once it was taken to the lab. There had been three people injured, who had been already taken to the hospital: Donquixote Doflamingo and one of his men were in a critical condition as a consequence of the explosion, and a redheaded man, who had been identified as Eustass Kid with his driver's license, had been shot in the chest.

Next to Doflamingo they'd found a gun that had been fired.

And now, having gone as fast as possible to the hospital once they had all the information, the two men were headed for the room where Doflamingo was. The doctor had told them that, for the time being, he was conscious. The bodyguard had died at the ambulance.

Te blond man was lying on the bed, the covers up to halfway over his chest and dressed in a simple hospital gown, a scene far from the extravagant clothes in which they were used to seeing him. The constant beeping of the machines he was connected to and his breathing were the only sounds inside the room.

That was the first time Marco saw the man without his glasses.

"Hello, detectives." Doflamingo greeted them as soon as the door opened, with his customary grin stretching over his lips. His voice had far less strength to it than usual.

"We don't think he will survive the night."

Those had been the doctor's words when they asked him about the man's condition.

"Doflamingo." Marco greeted. Ace did an awkward gesture with his hand, not knowing how to behave in that situation.

"You got the good news already? I'm dying." Doflamingo said, lifting his arms and extending them dramatically before dropping them back on the bed.

"And that are good news?" Ace asked impulsively. His expression when he said it made it clear he hadn't been able to hold himself.

Doflamingo laughed.

"You're Garp's grandkid, I guess. You're as impulsive as your grandfather." He observed. "Of course they are good news, boy: this means you can close all those cases you have opened against me.

"You are too calm for someone facing his last hours of life." Marco said, looking closely at the man. It was as if he wasn't affected by the news of his impending demise, or as if he hadn't been surprised when the doctors told him, something that couldn't have happened more than half an hour earlier.

Doflamingo laughed again, but his laugher turned into a coughing fit.

When he recovered his breath and the ability to speak, he said:

"Let's say this experience has proven to be very enlightening to me."

Marco looked at him, disconcerted, before deciding it didn't really matter and shrugging it off. If the man wanted to be mysterious to the end, it was his choice, and with that thought in mind he turned around to leave.

"Wait." Doflamingo called after him.

Marco stopped. Ace, who had his hand already in the door handle, did the same, and they both turned to look at the man.

"You're going to see that brat, right? Tell him… tell him we're even."

Marco evaluated him with his eyes, thinking about what he'd just said and the man's previous comment. Perhaps…

Now he understood why the man was so calm.

"By brat you mean Kid… or Law?" He asked.

Doflamingo seemed to freeze for a moment, obviously not having expected for Marco to know that, before he began to chuckle.

"You can see him? What a coincidence." Trying to calm himself and be serious again, he answered the question. "Both of them, I guess. It wouldn't make sense if it were just one."

Marco nodded his head and this time both men exited the room, leaving there the last victim of the serial killer who's been murdering people for years without leaving any trace.

The serial killer who was dying at the end of that same hallway.

"We had to sedate him and, agents, I doubt he will wake up. You won't be able to talk to him."

That's what the doctor had said. Marco suspected that, even if they couldn't talk to Eustass Kid, they might still be able to obtain some answers.

That suspicion proved right when, through the open blinds behind the room's window, he saw a young man sitting on Eustass Kid's bed, his back facing the glass and his head slightly bowed to the man next to him.

Marco looked at Ace, and Ace looked at Marco.

Both men nodded and, taking a step forward, the blond man opened the door to the room occupied by Eustass Kid.

Trafalgar Law didn't pay them any attention, surely thinking they couldn't see him, and didn't move either when Ace approached the window and pulled the blinds shut, blocking the entrance to the hallway's light and giving them some privacy.

Marco took that time to study the scene in front of him.

Eustass Kid was, just like Doflamingo, covered halfway up his chest with the sheet, a hospital gown on and connected to several machines, but his eyes were closed and he seemed irresponsive to the man who, sitting next to him, held his hand tightly without taking his eyes off him.

"He won't survive this." Marco spoke in a gentle voice.

Trafalgar Law did a small surprised movement and turned his head, not standing up or letting go of the redhead's hand, to look at the two men who had entered the room. His expression was surprised, surprise that didn't cover at all the sadness his face reflected.

"Can you see me?"

It was Ace who answered, nodding his head.

"If the cops are here, I assume you have discovered us, right?"

Ace and Marco looked at each other.

"If you mean Eustass Kid being the serial killer we were looking for, yes, we know." Ace answered.

Law smiled bitterly and looked at Kid before centering his attention back on them.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore. What do you want to know? That's why you are here, right?"

This time Marco was the one who spoke.

"Why?"

Law laughed, a sound that didn't hold any traces of humor to it. His lips stretched in a twisted and rather disturbing smile.

"Do you really have to ask that, eh, Marco?"

Marco felt surprised at that, and next to him Ace let go a surprised gasp.

"How do you know my name?" Marco asked, trying to keep calm.

"I remember you, you investigated my murder. I followed you for a while, I had nothing better to do." Trafalgar explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

That brought a new question to Marco's mind and, even though he could imagine the answer, he decided to ask it.

"If we had solved your murder, would that have changed anything?"

Trafalgar Law looked him in the eyes and, in the most straightforward way Marco had ever heard, answered:

"No. I promised them I would take my revenge, and that's what I've done." Then he lowered his head to look at his companion again and whispered: "This wasn't part of the plan, though."

"Kid?" Ace asked, unsure.

Law nodded.

"The original plan was for him to stay until the bomb exploded and then leave, but a couple of weeks ago he decided he wanted to come with me and I couldn't convince him not to. Mr. Eustass is too stubborn for his own good." He laughed bitterly again. "I think that's obvious."

Marco felt uncomfortable, realizing there was something far more deep between those two than what they could see. He was going to say they were leaving when he remembered what Doflamingo had asked him.

"There is something more." He began. Law lifted his head again. "Before coming here we went to Doflamingo's room. Congratulations, I think, he's not going to make it."

Law smirked, the same twisted smirk he gave them earlier.

"Those are the best news I've heard today."

Marco and Ace looked at each other again, this time feeling definitely uncomfortable, and the younger one said:

"He asked us to pass a message." Law tilted his head to the side, looking curious. "To both of you, really: he says you're even now."

Law's smirk softened considerably at that.

"Oh, that's good."

Law centered his attention back on Kid and the two agents left the room without another word. After all, what were you supposed to tell to the dead guy whose boyfriend, because there was no doubt that's what they were, was dying?

Law didn't pay any mind to the door when it closed, his whole attention was on Kid, who had been sedated since his arrival at the hospital. In the ambulance the redhead had recovered consciousness and, when he saw Law's face and the track tears that hadn't completely dried yet, he'd tried to reassure him. As a result, the paramedics thought he was having hallucinations and that's why they decided to sedate him.

"Shit. You had to go and do this, right?" Law told him, even though he knew Kid couldn't hear him.

Bending over the man's body, not releasing his hand, Law put his free hand on Kid's cheek and kissed his brow. Then he rested his own forehead against the other's and stayed there looking at him, ignoring the tears that began to gather in his eyes and fall, dripping onto Kid's face. To anybody who saw the scene, it would seem it was Kid himself who was crying.

"Fucking dumbass. I would have waited for you…"

He stopped feeling Kid's breathing against his face a fraction of a second before a high-pitched beeping filled the room.

Closing his eyes, Trafalgar Law bit on his lower lip and, tears still falling down his face, kissed the still lips of Eustass Kid.

A hand rested on his shoulder and Law sat up again, turning around and seeing a pale face, lacking eyebrows and with intense red eyes.

"What are you crying for?" Asked Kid, giving him a huge grin. "It's a bit stupid, don't you think?"

"You're dead…" Law whispered.

Kid shrugged.

"Looks that way."

"You're dead."

"I tol-" A fist colliding with his face cut off whatever Kid was about to say.

"Fucking dumbass!" Law yelled, standing up and letting go of Kid's body's hand, that fell heavily on the bed. "Why did you have to do that, you bastard?!" Law lunged at stunned Kid, hitting him again and shoving him against the wall just when the door opened and two nurses entered to disconnect the machinery.

"What the fuck's your problem?!" Kid yelled, trying to catch Law's arms and getting a fist to his right eye.

Finally, Kid managed to get a hold of Law's arms and pinned them to the man's body, turning them over so he could hold Law's body against the wall.

The nurses turned, startled, when the catheter next to the bed fell without any apparent reason.

Pinning Law against the wall, and putting a leg between the man's so he couldn't kick at him, Kid spoke again.

"Are you calmer now?"

"No, I'm not calmer!" Law yelled again, trying to free himself. "You're a fucking asshole! Why did you have to go and kill yourself?! Why did you have to kill yourself for me, bastard?!

Without letting him go or saying anything, Kid lowered his head and kissed Law's cheek, taking with him the tear track there before doing the same on the other side.

"Don't cry, it's not like you." He said, speaking in a gentle manner that erased any coldness those words could have had. "I admit I'm a bastard, and you can hit me if you want, but I won't apologize. I'm dead, ok, so what? You are dead too. It's better like this, neither of us will have to spend years alone missing the other." Kid's hands let go of Law's arms. "Because, no matter how annoying you can be, I'd miss you, and I think you would miss me too."

Law didn't say anything, and instead glared at Kid's chest. When he lifted his head, most of the anger had disappeared from his eyes.

"You couldn't take pills or something, couldn't you? You had to get a fucking bullet in your chest.

Kid grinned huge and crooked.

"Pills are for cowards, and this was more entertaining."

"Fucking suicidal bastard." Law muttered, winding his arms around Kid's neck and standing on his tiptoes to give him a desperate kiss. Kid wrapped his arms around Law's waist and pressed him closer, kissing him back.

For once, he'd let Law have the last word.

To be continued