Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

Chapter 13

Now that it was dark outside and raining, the campus was pretty much deserted. Law couldn't blame people for wanting to stay inside. It wasn't that warm either. He turned up the collar of his long coat as he stepped around a puddle. He was glad he had remembered to bring an umbrella, since the forecast had said it might rain. Checking his phone for the time, he decided he could probably still make it in time to catch the next bus home if he hurried a little. The one after that would go half an hour later at this time of night, and Law didn't feel like waiting in this weather, even if he didn't mind the rain that much.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming after him, and he glanced over his shoulder. That head of red hair was unmistakable, even in this weather. Law sighed and quickened his pace. He didn't feel like having another confrontation with Eustass right now. Bonney's words still rang through his head; Eustass genuinely disliked him. Yet every word that came out of Eustass' mouth referred to the fact that he was gay, and as much as Law enjoyed trolling him, his homophobia was getting old. Honestly, Law wouldn't mind if they never met again. He had had a little hope when Eustass actually danced with him, because he touched Law without complaining, but afterwards, Eustass had looked like he wanted to take a decontamination shower right away. He didn't seem to have the same reaction to Bonney, but still, Law didn't doubt it was because of his gay cooties.

"Not so fast, you bastard!" Eustass called behind him.

Law ignored him and continued his way. If Eustass knew what was good for him, he would just go home. He didn't seem to have brought an umbrella and was already drenched, even if they hadn't walked that far. It was really pouring down.

"Law!" Eustass suddenly roared, and Law stopped. He had never hear Eustass call him by his name. Turning around to face Eustass, he was met with an image that reminded him of a drenched puppy. It took him back to the night that Eustass had come to the hospital and had actually been pleasant. Oh, the good old days.

"What do you want, Mr Eustass?" he asked coolly. "I'm trying to catch my bus."

Eustass came to a halt in front of him, his fists clenched at his sides. "When I'm done with you, you'll need an ambulance rather than a bus!" he spat.

Law sighed. "There you go again with the violence. Honestly, you should go to anger management therapy. I'm sure you'd be much more relaxed." From the vein throbbing in Eustass' forehead, he gathered he had once again crossed a line. He could tone it down, but it was just so easy to rile Eustass up that Law wondered if he could actually talk without making him mad. He doubted it, since it seemed like Law's presence alone already did the trick. "You should go inside before you catch a cold."

"Not before I finally give you what you asked for ever since we met," Eustass replied through gritted teeth and lifted up his fist.

"I told you, Mr Eustass, I can beat you with one hand behind my back. Don't try me."

Of course, Law's word wasn't enough, and it seemed that Eustass was dealing with a lot of pent up anger. His fist flew in the direction of Law's face, who easily avoided colliding with it.

"I told you–" His sentence was cut off by another punch aimed at his face. Law took a step back to evade it once again. They moved like that for a while, Eustass trying to hit him and failing, which only seemed to fuel his anger. After yet another miss, Law had had enough. He managed to catch Eustass' hand and grabbed his middle finger – Eustass seemed too surprised to resist – bending it backwards. It was always immensely satisfying to watch how docile people became when you threatened to break their finger. Law forced Eustass onto his knees, trying not to smirk too much.

"Like I said, I know the human body. And you don't want to have your finger broken, do you, Mr Eustass?"

Eustass' jaw clenched, but he didn't reply.

"I didn't think so. Now that I have you here, I almost forgot this." He handed him an envelope, which Eustass took warily with his free hand.

"The hell is this?"

"The money I owe you for the dance practice. Rest assured, I won't be joining you next time," Law replied. He was still holding Eustass' finger, just as an insurance.

"I don't need your charity," Eustass spat at him.

Law rolled his eyes. "It's not charity. I'm paying you for your services. Which, like I said, will no longer be needed."

"I don't want your money!"

"Suit yourself." Law took the envelope back. "I'm going to let you go now to catch my bus. Leave me alone, Mr Eustass, and you won't have to see me again." He turned around to leave.

Of course, he didn't actually expect Eustass to give up so easily, so he really wasn't surprised when he heard running footsteps approach him. It wasn't hard to once again avoid being punched, but Law was starting to lose his temper. He whipped around, using his momentum to drive his knee into Eustass' gut. Eustass gasped and sank back to his knees, clutching at his stomach and gasping for air.

"Will you knock it off?" Law bit at him. "Why are you so fucking persistent?"

Eustass placed his hands on the wet ground, still panting. "Because," he managed to bring out, "it's all your fault…!"

"What, Mr Eustass, exactly is? How do I have such a major impact on your life?" Law tapped his foot impatiently. "Honestly, the only way I can is if you let me, and I can't help but wonder why."

Eustass looked up angrily, his red hair sticking to his face. "Because you…"

"Because I what, Mr Eustass?" Law snapped. "Because I'm gay? I can assure you, I'm not the only one, nor am I the first person to ever be. In fact, rather a lot of people have been prosecuted and murdered throughout history because they were gay. I'm happy to live in a time and a country in which that is not the case. Unfortunately, entitled dickheads like you are still allowed to live here. You don't strike me as a religious fanatic, not that they have a leg to stand on, but still. Which brings me to the conclusion that you're just a major twat who thinks he has the right of telling other people how to live. So let me tell you something, Mr Eustass, I can do whatever the fuck I want and whoever the fuck I want as long as it's consensual. So I would very much appreciate if you just fuck the hell off and crawl back under the rock you came from until you're ready to face the fact that the world does not revolve around you."

Law hadn't expected Eustass to be actually silent during his speech, but there he was, still on his knees and staring up at Law. Law flipped him off for good measure. However, somehow, that seemed to be the trigger for Eustass to snap out of it. He tried to hit Law once again, jumping to his feet, but Law moved his head out of the way in time, and Eustass punched next to him. He froze, pain written all over his face. Law turned and saw that Eustass' fist had collided with a tree at full speed. He sighed. "Let me see."

"Don't fucking touch me!" Eustass snapped as he cradled his hand.

"I'm a doctor, Mr Eustass, need I remind you? Your hand could be broken. Now, let me see!" His voice implied he wasn't in the mood for being contradicted, and fortunately for Eustass, he seemed to get that too.

Law clenched his umbrella underneath his arm so it was still shielding him from the rain and took Eustass' hand. His pale skin was scraped. "Does this hurt?" He gently bent his fingers. Eustass hissed, answering his question. Law hummed and prodded the hand some more. "It doesn't appear to be broken, but it needs to be cleaned and bandaged. Where is your dorm?"

"I'm not letting you in my room!"

Law gave him another no-nonsense look. "I'm not happy about this either, Mr Eustass, but I have an obligation as a doctor, and I'd prefer to prevent you from getting gangrene and having to amputate your hand. Which I imagine is what will happen if I leave you to your own devices. So where is your dorm?"

Reluctantly, Eustass pointed to a building with his free hand, because Law was still holding the injured one. Law all but dragged him to the dorm. Inside, they got a few stares, but Law ignored them in favour of getting to Eustass' room. Eustass opened the door without any argument – perhaps he had finally figured out that Law wanted to be here as little as Eustass wanted him to be and that it would all go faster if he just cooperated.

"First aid kit?" Law asked curtly, and Eustass pointed at a drawer in one of the desks. "Good, now sit." Again, Eustass obediently did as he was told and slumped down onto one of the desk chairs, despite the fact he was still dripping wet.

Pleased with his reaction, but not with the situation, Law entered the bathroom, which wasn't as much of a mess as he had expected. That was probably Killer's doing, as Penguin had told him that they shared a room – since he wasn't present, Law assumed he was still with Penguin. Law retrieved a clean looking cloth and dampened it under the tab. On second thought, he also grabbed a towel, before returning to Eustass, who still hadn't said a word. He threw the towel at him, getting no reaction at all aside from Eustass starting to dry himself with his good hand.

Law grabbed his other hand a little more roughly than he would have with the average patient. With the cloth, he started to dab the blood away from the wound so he could see what he was dealing with. The wound didn't look too bad, at least not as bad as it could have been. There was some dirt in the scrape, which Law took out with tweezers he found in the first aid kit. After cleaning the wound with the cloth, he searched for some disinfectant. He was pleased to find the kit so well stocked – again, probably Killer's doing. Law didn't doubt that having a good first aid kit came in handy when living with Eustass.

When he had bandaged the wound, he rose, walking to the bathroom to wash his hands. "Change the bandages frequently. If it starts to infect, go see a doctor," he instructed Eustass before walking to the door and picking up the umbrella that he left there. "One that is not me, preferably. Goodbye, Mr Eustass."

Eustass remained uncharacteristically silent, but when Law placed his hand on the doorknob, he suddenly said, "Did you mean what you said?"

He was probably not questioning Law's instructions, so Law turned around. "Yes, Mr Eustass. I truly think you're a self-involved dick." He grabbed at his heart in a dramatic manner. "I would be pleased if we never met again, so remember what I said about therapy." He turned to leave, when a thought struck him. "I already mentioned this when we spoke on the phone, but while I'm fairly certain Mr Killer will deal with you in his own manner, I do wish to remind you that I won't act kindly if you hurt my friend. You've already had your fingers almost broken twice today, Mr Eustass, the next time it won't end that well."

He was surprised when he wasn't yet again almost hit with a fist, but after he had closed the door behind him, it remained silent in the room, as if Eustass hadn't moved. Law didn't feel like sticking around to see if he changed his mind, though. He had missed the bus he had intended to take, of course, but because of the Eustass incident, he only had to wait a few minutes until the next came.

While he was sitting in the bus, Penguin called him a few times, but Law ignored him. He didn't feel like talking at the moment. When he arrived at his new apartment, Shachi came out of his room just as Law was taking off his coat.

"Good, you're here!" he said. "Penguin called me because you didn't answer your phone, so he got worried. I told him you could take care of yourself, but you know him." He shrugged.

Law sighed and fished his phone from his pocket. "I'll let him know that I've gotten home okay." He started writing a text while retreating to his bedroom. He had bought something to eat on campus before the dance practice had started, so he wasn't really hungry, just tired. It was very unlikely, however, that sleep would actually come.

A few minutes after Law's text, his phone started to vibrate, longer than an announcement of a text would take, so Law stretched out his arm from where he was lying on the bed and sighed when he saw that Penguin was calling. It didn't seem like he could ignore him any longer. "Hello?" he said when he had pressed the answer button.

"Oh good, you're picking up. I was getting worried," Penguin's voice sounded.

"That is sweet, but like Shachi said, I'm perfectly capable to take care of myself," Law replied.

"I know that, but… I'm sorry about leaving you like that. Though, your text implied you just got home. You found the way back okay? Or did you end up staying?" Penguin's voice sounded hopeful.

"I did."

"With Kid?" He sounded even more excited.

"I went to the dance class he teaches."

On the other end of the line, a muffled sound could be heard, and Law knew he was trying to contain his excitement. "That's great!" Penguin finally said, obviously trying to sound casual. "Did you have fun?"

Law hummed. "Oh yes. We had a blast."

"Really?"

Law regretted his words now that Penguin sounded so relieved. He wondered if he should explain the concept of sarcasm. "No, not really," he finally said. "I may have hauled him over coals afterwards."

Penguin stayed silent for a moment. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Because he is a backward twat." Law could hear Penguin groan softly.

"Look, I agree that some of his views are… problematic, but don't you think you could give him a chance?" he asked.

Law snorted at his choice of words. "That is rather an understatement. I know you want everyone to get along, but he did try to punch me. Several times. That is not the way I usually make friends." Law rose from his bed and walked to the window to close the curtains. It was still raining outside.

"So you don't like him?" Penguin sounded disappointed.

Law froze on his way back to the bed. "You thought I liked him? What on earth gave you that idea?"

"I-I…" Penguin stammered. "I don't know… I just thought you might."

Law mused for a moment. He had to admit that he had been somewhat attracted to Eustass when they first met, but his manners and worldviews had put him off quickly. "I suppose one could call him handsome if you ignore the lack of eyebrows, but honestly, I have better taste than that," he replied. "Besides, there would be another problem."

"I know, I know." Penguin sighed. "It just would have been fun, I guess. But still, I'm dating his best friend, so it would be nice if you two could at least be civil to each other."

"I'm always civil," Law replied.

"I wouldn't have called you civil this afternoon," Penguin protested. "Look, I don't know everything that has happened between you, and, frankly, I don't want to know either, but I don't think you're being fair to him."

Law's eyebrows shot up. "Fair?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, sure, his views are a bit backward, as you put it, but that's just the way he was raised, according to Killer anyway. He is actually making an effort to change, though, for Killer. It's just not that easy to change your views radically. And I don't think you give him enough credit for that," Penguin said firmly.

Surprised, Law looked at his phone. He had never heard Penguin sound like this, nor had he considered his point. Was he being too hard on Eustass?

"T-that's what I think anyway," Penguin said a little nervously after Law had been silent for a while. He probably feared for Law's reaction.

"Is that so?" Law finally said slowly. There was something to what Penguin was saying, but on the other hand, Eustass was incredibly annoying.

"Yes. I know you don't like him, but he's Killer's friend and you are mine. I would hate it if you two couldn't be in the same room together," Penguin continued. "Could you at least try to be civil to him next time you meet?" he pleaded. "If not for him, then at least for me?"

Law pursed his lips as he thought Penguin's words over. "I will not stop calling him out on his 'problematic' views, to use your term," he finally said. "But I suppose I could cut Mr Eustass a little slack."