Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta'ing

Reminder: this story contains sexual content

Chapter 15

Hands made their way up his legs, and Law revelled in the feeling. The hands had a way of claiming him, and while Law usually did not take well in being commanded or dominated, the bedroom was the one place that counted as an exception.

He looked down to see what his lover was up to next – and to see who it was in the first place. The man between his legs didn't have a face, but there was something familiar about that pale skin, the black painted nails, the mop of bright red hair…

Law woke up with a gasp, his eyes wide open as slowly the implications of his dream dawned upon him. He did not just have an erotic dream about Eustass. Anyone but that annoying…

He sighed. It had definitely been Eustass. He didn't know anyone else who would want to be caught dead with such a ridiculous hair colour. Damn Penguin for putting ideas in his head! As if he and Eustass would ever work out!

Groaning, he sat up, wincing when his jeans rubbed against his boner. He had fallen asleep still dressed, probably soon after he had ended his call with Penguin, since his phone was still lying on the bed. He had to stop wearing such tight jeans. If only they didn't make his ass look so great.

Now that he was fully awake, the implications of his dream started to get through to him, and he decided it might not be that bad after all. First of all, the fact that he had had a dream meant that he had slept, which was a good thing in itself. While it was only five in the morning now, he still had had a solid six hours of sleep. That had to be a new record.

Secondly, the fact that he had dreamt about Eustass wasn't all that bad. He had been attracted to him initially, to his bad boy look and attitude. Fact was, Eustass was hot in his own way. No, he wasn't pleasant company, but that had hardly been what Law's dream had been about. It was perfectly okay to be physically attracted to Eustass and fantasise a little, as long as Law kept it under control. And Law was always in control.

Content with that thought, Law made his way to the bathroom, where he peeled off his jeans and the rest of his clothes. Maybe he could indulge himself a little bit in the shower.

Annoyed, Law tapped his fingers on the table. He did not like to be fooled, yet somehow, Penguin had managed to lure him over and made him face Eustass. Yes, he had agreed to be civil, but he could at least have been granted some time to prepare himself.

It had been several days since he had seen Eustass last, and the dreams had haunted him every night since. Seeing him in all his bad boy glory – and knowing what lay beneath those hideous clothes, or at least under his shirt from when Eustass came into his hospital drunk – brought the images of what they had done in Law's dream vividly before his mind's eye.

Still, he tried not to show anything, crossing his arms before his chest and tapping his foot. At least Eustass looked like he wanted to be there as little as Law did.

"Come on, you agreed to be civil," Penguin said all but begging. He looked from one to the other. Law and Eustass sat as far away from each other as the small table in the bar allowed.

Killer came back with their beer and sighed when he saw them. "Nothing, huh?"

Penguin shook his head pouting.

Law's eyes flicked over to Eustass. It looked like he had to take the first step. "How's your hand?" he offered.

Eustass looked at him suspiciously. He was sitting slouched on his chair, legs spread and arms crossed before his chest like Law. Law had trouble not imagining himself on his knees between those legs.

"Fine," Eustass finally said curtly.

"Good."

They became silent again.

"At least they aren't bashing each other's heads in," Killer said to Penguin and picked up his beer.

"He couldn't even if he tried," Law said with a smirk.

Eustass jumped up, looking ready to pummel him, but Killer stretched out his arm. "Sit." Eustass obeyed, but not without throwing a deadly look at Law.

"Law, you promised!" Penguin said reprimanding.

Law held up his hands in defence. "Alright, alright. I apologise."

"Why don't you try saying something nice about each other?" Penguin suggested. "Law, you go first."

Law sighed and rolled his eyes. He should have seen something like that coming. Penguin would probably not let him leave until he and Eustass were BFFs. They would sit here for a long time. He looked Eustass up and down. Something nice… Telling him he was hot would probably not count, because it would only rile Eustass up, and Law had promised to behave. He and his big mouth. "Fine," he finally said."I suppose you're not a horrible dancer."

Eustass snorted. "You are."

Law made a 'how can I work with this'-gesture while Killer punched Eustass in the arm.

"Dammit, fine!" Eustass looked at Law. "You seem to be a not too horrible doctor."

Penguin looked pleased from one to the other, though he did shoot a warning look at Law to hold his tongue. "That was great! Can you do another one?"

"I wouldn't push your luck," Law said. "How about we do something easier? I could say something nice about Mr Killer."

"That's great too!" Penguin said, his eyes glistening. He took Killer's hand.

Law had to bite his tongue not to make a comment about how great Killer was at keeping Eustass in control. "I haven't known either of you that long, but in a short time, Mr Penguin has become a close friend of mine. And I honestly believe you make him very happy," he finally said.

Penguin beamed at him, and Killer seemed pleased as well.

Eustass just rolled his eyes. "Now I'm supposed to say something nice about Penguin? Fine." He turned to him. "When I first learned that Killer was dating a guy, I was disgusted. But when I met you, it turned out you weren't that bad. Probably because you're practically a girl," he finished.

Penguin's mouth had fallen open slightly, and he exchanged a look with Killer. "Thank you?" he finally said.

Now it was Law's turn to roll his eyes. That had been one questionable compliment, to say the least, and he wasn't about to let it slide, consequences be damned. "And I suppose you're the definition of masculinity? I didn't know that included ugly trousers."

Eustass jumped up again. "Typical that you should comment on fashion."

"Having a decent sense of style has nothing to do with sexuality," Law replied coolly. He wasn't surprised that Eustass stooped to using stereotypes.

"Does a 'decent sense of style' include stupid hats?!"

Law smirked. "Now who's the fashion diva?"

Eustass looked ready to smash his face in, but Killer grabbed him underneath his arms to hold him back while Penguin stood in front of Law, trying to calm him.

"Law, Kid, you promised!"

Both Eustass and Law sunk back down on their chairs, glaring daggers at each other. Maybe it was good that they met again, Law decided. The last time he had seen Eustass, he had looked quite defeated and deflated. Now Law remembered what an asshole he really was. Maybe that would stop the dreams. "Look," he said to Penguin, "I know you mean well, but some people just aren't meant to be friends. We," he gestured between himself and Eustass, "obviously don't like each other, so it's no use to force us to interact more than we have to."

"Finally something we agree on," Eustass said.

Penguin pouted, but Law wasn't about to be swayed. He picked up his beer as he continued, "And another thing–"

He was interrupted when someone suddenly bumped harshly into him, causing him to lose his balance. Beer spilled over the edge of his glass, ending up all over Law's sweater and, as it turned out, Eustass' crotch, which was where Law's face currently was located.

"Oi!" Eustass yelled as he jumped up, but much to Law's amazement, his anger wasn't aimed at him. Eustass was yelling after the person who had knocked Law over.

Penguin helped Law up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Fascinated, he looked on how Eustass was threatening to punch the guy who bumped into Law in the face. At first it looked like it would turn into a fight, but when Killer stepped behind Eustass, the guy lost his will and quickly apologised. Eustass almost looked disappointed, but was stopped by Killer from going after him.

Law looked at the large beer stain on his sweater and sighed. "I'm going to see if I can dry this," he said to Penguin and headed for the men's room. As he was pulling off his sweater in front of the taps, he heard the door opening again. When he had freed himself from the fabric, he saw Eustass standing, staring at him. "May I help you?" he asked after a while, when Eustass hadn't moved.

"I'm just here to dry my pants," Eustass muttered and moved to the hand dryers.

Law turned on the tap and tried to rinse out the beer. From the corner of his eyes, he looked at Eustass. He had pushed on one of the hand dryers and had tilted his hips slightly forward to let his pants dry.

"Careful you don't damage anything, Mr Eustass," Law remarked as he wringed out his sweater. He walked over to Eustass to dry his sweater underneath another hand dryer, still topless.

Eustass looked at him again, and Law raised his eyebrow. Eustass looked away. "Why do you always call me that?"

"What? Mr Eustass? I told you, your first name is too ridiculous to pronounce."

Eustass narrowed his eyes. "And yours isn't? What is your last name, anyway?"

"Trafalgar."

Eustass frowned, slamming the hair dryer on again.

"Are you okay?"

"Shut up, I'm thinking."

Law smirked. "Don't hurt yourself."

Eustass looked like he wanted to hit Law, but seemed to change his mind. "It sounds familiar, is all."

"Well," Law felt his still damp sweater and pressed the hand dryer on again, "either you have paid attention in history and are thinking about the 'Battle of', or you remember seeing it when you dragged your drunken ass into my hospital." Realising this was as dry as it would get, he pulled the still slightly damp sweater over his head.

Eustass stared at him again, though it was differently this time. Perhaps because he wasn't half naked anymore, a voice in Law's head said, but he pushed his aside. That was just his penis talking, or rather, hoping.

"You talk weird," Eustass finally said musing.

Law stared at him, blinking. That was not what he had expected to hear, and he wasn't sure how to react.

"I mean, you talk all posh and vulgar at the same time," Eustass said with a shrug. "It's weird. You from a posh family?"

Law stood in front of the mirror and started fixing his sweater, which had become wrinkly. "One might assume because they're rich, but no. I wouldn't call them posh."

"So you're rich, huh?" Eustass leaned against the wall and looked at him expectantly.

"My family is. Like your situation, or at least how I understand it. Well, aside from the fact that I chose that I wanted nothing to do with them anymore." Law leaned against the sink behind him and crossed his arms before his chest. "The only person who truly cared about me died a long time ago." He wasn't sure why he was talking about his past, to Eustass of all people. He liked to keep those things private, yet now they just spilled out of his mouth. He wondered if Eustass would make fun of him. If so, he would have to kick his ass again.

Surprisingly, Eustass merely scratched the back of his head. "That's tough."

The corner of Law's mouth curled up. Was Eustass trying to sympathise with him? It was oddly… endearing.

"I mean, I get what it's like not to get along with your family," Eustass continued. "Maybe I should have cut the ties sooner, like you did. I even tried to please them by trying to marry a lesbian."

The story had made sense up until that last sentence. "How would that please them?" he asked puzzled. "Wait, are you talking about Ms Bonney?"

Eustass shrugged. "She's one of the few women I can stand. And marrying women is something that guys do, right?"

Law took a step closer, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Have you ever considered you might not be heterosexual? I don't mean to say you're necessarily gay," he hastily continued when Eustass' facial expression soured. "Just maybe asexual?"

"I have a dick, you know!" Eustass snapped.

Law had trouble suppressing a smile. "That's not what that means. Just that you don't feel sexually attracted to anyone."

"So you think I'm broken?!"

"Again, no. It's a sexual orientation, just like being hetero- or homosexual. It's perfectly normal," Law explained.

Eustass scratched the back of his head. "Do you think I am?"

"I can't tell you what you are. You'll have to find it out for yourself. I merely wanted you to know the option was there."

Eustass opened his mouth, but hesitated for a second. "What are you?" he finally asked.

"I'm homosexual," Law replied.

"How do you know?" Eustass asked almost inaudible.

Law's lips curled into a smirk. "I like dicks." Only now he noticed they were standing awfully close. He couldn't help but wonder if Eustass had noted the same thing, but if he had, why was he still standing like this? The air was thick with tension, and somehow, Law didn't think it was the kind that led to being punched in the face.

The door of the men's room flew open, and Penguin came in panting. "You didn't kill each other, did you?" he called out, panicked.

Eustass jumped away from Law like he had the plague, and the tension, whatever it had been, was broken. Penguin had to jump aside when Eustass all but fled the men's room.

Penguin turned to Law, his brow pulled in a frown. "It took you really long to come back. Are you guys okay?"

Law looked at the now closed door of the bathroom and sighed deeply. "You know what?" he said softly. "For a moment I thought we were."