Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. I didn't forget about the ficlet though and I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter. I got plenty of comments and I wanna thank all of you for your compliments, advises and for letting me know that you enjoy my little story.
Also yukidaru asked who Penguin is: he is one of Odas original characters and a member of Laws pirate crew. He wears a hat with his name on it. If you google him, you'll see that I didn't make him up myself.
And now on to the story! Enjoy!
Pain. Numbness. Pain. Numbness again.
One moment he lies awake, next he drifts from unconsciousness to a tight sleep, shivering every now and then. His leg feels like it caught fire. Hot and aching. He opens his eyes with an effort and glares down at the stained cloth wrapped around his shinbone. The blood has dried and turned black. Ignoring the salty scent in the air he smells a faint reek of pus and sighs. It got infected then. Brilliant.
He shifts, sitting up and immediately regretting it as the morning chill hits him full on. By his side, he finds Kid sleeping like a log.
The Captain has his nose nuzzled into the thick fur of his coat, somewhat looking like an animal during hibernation. His breath is steady and regular and Law is amazed at how Kid is in total ease with his own pain.
The bleeding on his forehead has stopped, some of the cuts along his chest look infected as well, but nothing to worry about.
A small smile spreads across Laws face, despite the pain and bitterness.
He surely has never met anyone as confident and fearless as the redhead before. Sleeping here, not giving a shit about anything, knowing that if necessary, he could kill any invader in the blink of an eye.
'Enviable', Law ponders, even though his strength is on the same level.
He shifts, triggering a low grunt from the man sleeping by his side and only then notices the heavy arm wrapped around his waist.
He smirks, already imagining Kid talking his way out of this, should he care to point it out. So the great Captain Kid gets a little clingy at night, huh?
"Oi."
No response.
"Oi, spider monkey."
Kid growls and turns on his back, blinking irritated.
"Whatdidyacallme?", he slurs, obviously still sleepy.
"Nothing. We should get moving. The sun is rising already and I don't wanna travel in the midday heat."
"You wanna leave like… now?"
Obviously the redhead is used to sleeping in.
"I do. My leg is infected and I need medication."
"Well isn't that bloody marvelous."
Kid gets up eventually, ignoring the pain throbbing in his head. He feels dizzy for a moment, trying to keep his composure. Could it be a concussion after all? He shrugs the thought off and stretches, his spine articulately snapping.
Law wrinkles his nose.
"Do you drink milk and eat cheese on a regular basis?"
Slowly the redhead turns and stares at the doctor sitting by his feed.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Someone of your weight and body frame will need a hell of lot of calcium to keep the bones firm. Same goes for vitamins and magnesium. I guess you work out, meaning you need a proper diet to go with it but you don't seem like the kind of person to bother with dieting properly which is why I asked in the first-"
"Can you just shut the fuck up? Jeez, stop being so fucking random or I'll leave you here to die!"
"Not a morning person, huh?"
"Just die."
"That's rude."
"Just die, please?"
He tries to keep the rattling low and quiet but feels like he's failing miserably. The amount of blood that's being washed down the sink should probably scare him to death, but his patient is fine. A little drained maybe, but he'll get by eventually. He cleans the scalpel he had bought the other day, along with the two kidney basins. His medical equipment is far from being perfect, but better than nothing.
Drying the shimmering object in his hands with a bathroom towel, he glances into the living room area. The place is clean; his bed on the couch neatly tucked away, pillows accurate, no signs of the emergency operation of last night left anymore.
The window is wide open, letting some fresh air and sunshine drift into the room to get rid of the heavy rusty smell of dried blood.
His patient is lying in bed, the blanket covering his lower body up to his chest. He's bandaged nearly from head to toe and here and there blood starts leaking through the bandages already. Good thing he put a bunch of towels on the sheets, before placing the – now sleeping – body there.
The way back to the tiny hotel had been rough. The man weighs far more than looks would tell and he had continued to drop unconscious every now and then. Penguin had half carried; half dragged the taller guy back to his room, hoping he wouldn't die on him on the way. A bit of hush money would keep the owner quiet, plus the promise to not fuck up the hotel room.
When he had tried to take the mask off, the other mans hand had skyrocketed, jerking his hands away, nearly smashing his wrist on the bedside table. He hadn't tried taking it off since, wondering how a half dead guy like the one before him could still build up so much strength to keep someone away. He hadn't resisted the rest of the treatment though; even staying still while Penguin had removed a couple of bullets and splinters.
"Tough guy", the heart pirate mumbles in his band collar, still drying the surgical tools.
He barely notices the other man flinch a little and it's not until he hears heavy, rattled breath that he returns to the bedroom.
"You awake?"
The masked man makes a hissing sound, probably noticing the pain finally.
"Where am I?", his voice sounds dry and a little hollow due to the mask.
"You're in a hotel room."
"And who are you?"
Penguin feels uncomfortable. He can't see the guys' eyes and it's making him nervous. After all Kid's people are supposed to be some dangerous folk and he trusts this guy to still be strong, even though he can barely move at the moment.
"I'm one of Trafalgar Laws crew. I took care of your wounds."
He believes this to be sufficient.
"Your name's Killer, right?"
"How do you know?"
"You're a supernova."
He can't move. His arms and legs feel heavy; his torso seems to be filled with concrete. He can't even lift his head properly. He stares at the guy in front of him, irritated that he can't see his face. A collar and a bonnet only leaving a narrow slit cover it. The tip of the guys nose is visible; the rest of his face remains hidden in the shadows.
"How are you feeling?"
Killer remains quiet for a while, apparently pondering over something.
"As if hit by a train."
"You're injuries wouldn't be worse if you had actually been hit by a train. Wonder you're still alive."
"I'm quite sturdy."
"I can tell."
It's quite remarkable actually that the two of them are able to understand each other even though none of them speaks clearly.
Penguin settles at the foot of the bed, watching the Kid pirate quietly. His voice is muffled, but sounds calm.
"I'd like to continue my examination but you'd have to take off your mask for tha-"
"I will not take off my mask!"
Penguin blinks. That came quickly… and clearly.
"I should really check for wounds in your face, you still seem to be bleeding from somewhere."
"My face is fine, mind your own business!"
The smaller man is clearly irritated. He's spent the entire night trying to save this mans life and now he seriously refuses any proper treatment?
"You might have some nasty infection you could die from."
"I'm not letting you see my face."
"Hm."
Penguin watches his patient for a while, trying to grasp what is going on. He gets up and turns around eventually, taking the keys to the hostel room from the bedside table.
"What are you doing?"
Killer sounds leery, a little aggressive maybe but too weak to be actually able to do anything about his state.
"I better buy some straws. Unless you only wanna drink in the dark."
"I don't mind that as long as you won't see my face."
"So it would be fine if I closed the curtains and drained out all the lights in here?"
He can barely move his head with the heavy mask tied to it but Penguin recognizes a faint nodding. He leaves the windows open but closes the curtains, even pinning them together with a spare acus so the wind won't blow them apart. He switches the light in the bathroom on, making sure he can't properly see the bed but the area in front and then looks around the dim room.
"Is that alright?"
"I suppose so."
"I'm gonna need some light for examination but I'll tell you beforehand so you can put your mask back on."
"Why are you doing this?"
Penguin fills a glas of water and places it on the dark bedside table.
"Why shouldn't I?"
He can't see his patient clearly. Only some outlines, spots where the faint shimmer of the light does hit the bed but he hears the jaring of leather and Killers next words are spoken clearly in a rather deep but somewhat pleasant voice.
"Well, thanks."
"There's no use in me asking why I'm not supposed to see your face right?"
"Well, why can't I see yours?"
Only then does Penguin realize that his own face is just as covered up, hidden in shadows.
"Touché."