Title: The Dark Side Of My Shadow
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: R-ish for now, will increase
Characters/Pairing:Eventual Law/Sanji, other pairings mentioned
Chapter: 9/?
Word Count: 3872
Summary: Sanji hadn't planned on getting bitten that night. Law hadn't planned on taking a vampire home with him. Now there's no going back. AU, Vampire!Sanji, eventual Law/Sanji.
Notes: There are some elements of torture in this chapter but I'm generally a wuss and can't write anything too graphic, but just fair warning…
Spoilers: For recent chapters.
Chapter Nine
"Fufufufufu…so you're finally awake."
Law snaps into consciousness abruptly, trying to sit up before he realizes that he's already upright, and from that moment everything slams into him like a tidal wave, starting with a lancing pain from his back that has him biting his tongue to hold back a cry. He can't tell where he is, except it's dark and probably underground, and he tries to catalogue all of his injuries before anything else. His arms are pulled straight to the sides and his shoulders are feeling it enough that he's betting the muscles are at least over-extended, and he can barely feel his hands which is scaring him more than anything.
He's naked from the waist up, strung high enough up a damp stone wall that his toes are barely brushing the floor, and he tries to rein in his panic because he honestly has no idea what's going on right now.
"Long time no see," the man steps forward, into a shaft of light beaming down from a window high in the stone wall, and Law growls when he sees who exactly is talking to him. It's been almost fifteen years, but he hasn't forgotten. "Are you surprised? Did you think you were free?" he chuckles, eyes as always hidden behind a pair of sharply slanted sunglasses. "Oh, you silly boy. You're doing a very bad thing and need to be…disciplined," he moves forward, a sadistic grin on his face as he fists a hand in Law's hair and tips his head back sharply.
"Doflamingo," he all but spits, but he's inwardly trying to keep his cool because he's rather helpless at the moment. "I was never yours to begin with."
"You're mistaken," the older man pulls his head back more, baring his throat. "My brother was loyal to me, so I thought, and as his…protégé," he sneers, "the same applies to you whether you accept it or not. He got too big for his britches and decided to go against my wishes. You see, he also had the bright idea years and years ago to get the government to stop hunting down harmless half-breeds, knowing full well that if their top agents were focused on that than they'd be blind to…other things going on."
Law bites his lip because he knows where this is going now, and he's known all along, really, but to get confirmation of it…yes, Doflamingo's name is well known in the underground, and Law's heard rumors that he's got plants inside the government itself, which wouldn't surprise him. He's never been exactly sure what the man's been after, other than to cause as much chaos as possible, but until now it hasn't been his problem and he wishes it would have stayed that way.
"So you killed him," he chokes out, and Doflamingo growls, his free hand grabbing Law's throat enough to restrict his airflow.
"No. I simply…led him into a nest of vampires. I would have liked to have done it with my own hands, but this way nobody would suspect anything and I could walk away unscathed," he presses harder and Law kicks rather uselessly at the air, unable to breathe. "You look scared. So did he, before they ripped out his throat," he removes his hand then and Law gasps, coughing, trying to force air into his lungs.
"Fucking bastard," he hisses and Doflamingo clicks his tongue, reaching back and slapping Law's cheek hard enough that he can taste blood. He spits it out, feeling some of the liquid drip down his chin, and tries not to seem disgusted when Doflamingo catches some on a fingertip and sucks it into his mouth.
"That's not nice," he finally says, gripping Law's chin and forcing him to look up. "You'd fetch a good price on the market, you know. With a face and a body like yours…" he chuckles, and Law feels a spike of fear go through him. Maybe it shouldn't surprise him that Doflamingo is involved in human trafficking after everything else, but the thought of it is nearly paralyzing. "Good. I think I've got your undivided attention now," he leans closer.
Law tries to speak but all he can do is cough rather pathetically, more blood running from his mouth.
"Stop what you're doing. I don't care about the hybrid experiments, in fact those are useful to me, but stop trying to prove vampires are anything other than monsters. I'd like to think I'm a…fair man, and I'm giving you a warning, but if I hear anything about you continuing with this, the pain you're in now will seem like trivial compared to what I'll do to you then," he holds Law against the wall, grinding his shoulders back, and Law can't help the yelp of pain that escapes this time.
He knows he's got open wounds on his back, at the very least, and the wall is so covered in dirt and grime that rubbing anything into them is going to cause a nasty infection.
"No, st-…"
"I'd like to hear that pretty mouth of yours begging for your life, but now's not the time," Doflamingo thankfully lets go of him and Law blinks away tears from the pain. It feels like his back is on fire. "I need to return you before anybody realizes you're gone," he steps out of Law's line of vision and when he returns, he's holding a rather wicked-looking lash in his hand. "I think you need another lesson, though…"
Law closes his eyes but still screams when the whip comes down over the middle of his chest, but it's only one strike and he looks up in surprise.
"Think of it as a reminder of our conversation. Goodbye, Law. I only hope I don't have to see you like this again."
Law tries to struggle when the other man holds a cloth over his nose and mouth, but one whiff of the sweet-smelling substance on it and he knows it's going to knock him out. His last sight before he blacks out is Doflamingo's grin, a mocking reminder of just what he's now gotten himself into.
000
When he wakes up again, he's in his own bed, and he can hear hushed whispers from the other side of the door. He tries to take inventory on himself but his torso is so wrapped with bandages that he can't see properly. His back still hurts, but it's manageable, and his shoulders are aching. There are rather ugly, raw marks around his wrists from where he'd been restrained, his jaw feels swollen, and when he tries to sit up his entire body practically screams at him so he stops, collapsing against the pillows with a sob of pain.
"Don't move!"
"Doctor Tony," he murmurs, watching the tiny reindeer push the door open and come in.
"You've been hurt really badly."
"I know," Law replies, eyes half-closed. "My back…"
"It's the worst part, but I think we've managed to clean all of your wounds and it shouldn't scar if you keep them from getting infected. You're going to have some nasty bruising but internally everything looks okay," he sniffles, crawling on the bed, and Law fights through the pain so he can lift a hand and pat the small creature on the head. "Law, what…"
"I can't tell you," Law whispers, because he's not risking anybody else getting hurt for this. "I know who it was, and I don't think he'll be back, but I can't tell you."
Chopper looks at him seriously, his soft brown eyes filled with determination, before he nods. "Okay. I don't like it, but okay," he hops down. "I'm going to give your some painkillers, so take them before you go to sleep for the night and again in the morning. I'll leave the ointment and bandages here and Sanji can take care of that, but I'll be back tomorrow to make sure everything's still healing properly. Eat something if you're hungry, you should be able to handle solid foods," he rattles off breathlessly and Law reaches to strokes his fur.
"Thank you, Doctor Tony. It means a lot to me that you'd make such an effort to save me," he says, completely honest, and Chopper blushes and starts to wiggle around.
"Don't thank me, you bastard! That doesn't make me happy at all!" he claps his hooves together. "You sure you'll be okay? We can set a guard on your house if you want…"
"No," Law shakes his head. "No, it's…best if we pretend nothing happened."
"Okay," Chopper nods and gathers up his things, clip-clopping out of the room. Law can hear another hurried conversation before the door opens again.
"I can stay."
"No, I'll be okay to handle him," Sanji sounds tired and Law wonders just how long he's been out.
"Aye, well, call me if you need anything. I'll be on patrol most of the night but I can hop over right quick."
Obviously Kaku, Law thinks, because nobody else talks like that, and he hears Sanji assure the agent that he can manage before the sound of footsteps and then the front door closing reaches him.
He keeps his eyes on Sanji when he enters the room, moving like a man on the verge of collapse, and Law feels a harsh stab of guilt when Sanji only climbs up onto the bed and snuggles against his side, head resting on his chest above the bandages. He grits his teeth against the pain when he moves his arm, wrapping it around Sanji and stroking his fingers through Sanji's golden hair.
"I was so fucking worried," Sanji murmurs.
"How long was I gone?"
"Half a day, maybe," Sanji shrugs. "But nobody knew where you were, and when Kaku found you...fuck, both of us thought you were dead at first, and you've been out for about a day..." he shivers so Law pulls him closer, staring at the ceiling. "What happened?"
"My past catching up with me when I had no idea it was chasing me in the first place," he sighs. "I can't tell you everything, but…essentially I was told that if I didn't stop trying to prove half-breeds are more human than not I'd be killed," he knows he has to say that much at least, but he's surprised when Sanji sits up and looks at him with a rather startling determination in his eyes.
"Then we stop. It's not worth your life," he decides instantly, and Law's too worn out to argue with him right now. The last thing he wants is for Sanji to be in danger again if he no longer has government protection, but quite frankly they have time to figure that out and he's not thinking clearly at the moment. "Law?"
"Forgive me. I fear I'm not up for much intellectual conversation at right now," he coughs and gasps when Sanji touches his neck, thumb stroking over his throat.
"You've got…did somebody try to choke you?" Sanji sounds disgusted and Law sighs.
"No. Not seriously, at any rate. It was mostly meant to frighten me, I think, but the man responsible doesn't do anything by halves and honestly I'm surprised all of my body parts are still intact," he mutters.
"Law..."
"Just…leave it alone. It's over," Law knows he probably sounds pathetic and he hardly thinks Sanji will, but the younger man nods at least and it'll have to do for now. He closes his eyes, resting one hand over the bandages on his chest, before a thought hits him. Doflamingo's last strike had been with far too much purpose to have just been a last kick at him, and if he's right…he tugs at the bandages and Sanji reaches to stop him. "No, I have to see, what did he…"
"Okay. Okay, don't…" Sanji helps him sit up, which leaves him gasping from the pain of it, and unwinds the bandages as gently as he can. Law sees they're already stained with blood and ointment and he steels himself for what's about to be revealed when they're completely away. He shifts himself to look in the mirror in the corner, hand touching the tattoo on his chest, and he's not that violent by nature but he truly wants to wring that bastard's neck. "What is it?"
"You remember how I told you that my mentor used a smiley face on his equipment?" he looks over and Sanji nods. "The man who…he's…he uses…a crossed-out smiley face," he curls his fingers into a fist, body shaking, and Sanji sucks in a startled breath. "Is my back…is it the same?"
"I mean, you were…obviously hit more than once, but there is one…in the same place," Sanji admits slowly, and Law curls over, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to cry. "He marked you."
"I'm not his. I never was, and I never will be," Law vows, and Sanji wraps his arms around Law and kisses the top of his head.
"They'll heal. Chopper said that we got to it fast enough that it shouldn't scar, so you probably won't be able to tell," he's trying to be reassuring and Law does appreciate it, but it doesn't change the fact that both of his smiley-face tattoos, the ones that are supposed to be a tribute to Corazon, now have an angry red gash in the same place that Doflamingo's own symbol does. It's a cruel and mocking thing to do, but then, Law should have known. "Law? What do you need right now?" Sanji's already working on redoing the bandages and Law lets him, waiting in silence until he's finished.
"I…" he frowns, because the one thing he truly feels he needs is something he won't ask Sanji to give him yet, but maybe… "I just…"
"Hey," Sanji leans over, pressing him gently down against the bed and kissing him, and Law lets out a sob that's half-pain and half-relief, clinging to Sanji's shirt without caring how much his arms hurt. "You're scaring me. What do you…"
"Your shadow," Law clears his throat. "If we…do you think it will..." he pauses, because this is a strange thing to ask, but Sanji's eyes widen and he seems to get it.
"Oh. Oh. Yeah, probably. Do you…do you want that?"
"I want something to help me forget, and I know you're not prepared for that yet, but if it…"
"You want my shadow to…" Sanji laughs nervously, and Law can't tell what he's thinking. "Okay. It's…"
"Strange. I know. But…" Law shrugs, or tries to, before he winces in pain, and Sanji sets his jaw in a rather determined fashion. There's silence for a few seconds before Law feels Sanji's shadow creeping up his legs, and he looks down to see that he's only wearing underwear. The shadow, however, seemingly makes quick work of that and Law notices that Sanji's trying really hard not to look. "You can look. If you want. I don't have anything you haven't seen before," he shrugs, and Sanji's eyes flick downward.
"That's so fucked up," he laughs, sounding slightly hysterical, and Law tries to crane his neck up and has to agree that, yeah, the sight of these…black tendrils wrapping around his cock and stroking him to full arousal is not something he'd ever thought he'd see. Sanji reaches to cup Law's cheek, kissing him with much more purpose than he ever has up until now, and Law responds eagerly, trying not to move too much.
"Oh, fuck," Law gasps against Sanji's lips, feeling the shadow tighten and start to stroke, and it feels…almost like a hand, but there's something still cold about it, mist-like and not quite solid, but he doesn't care because for whatever reason it seems to know what it's doing.
Sanji grabs his shoulders, keeping him pressed against the bed so he can't writhe around too much, and he decides to just fist one hand in Sanji's hair and grip the sheets with the other, hips jerking up into that phantom-like touch because he just can't help that.
"Is it that good?" Sanji asks, voice low and a little rough, and Law's not sure if it is or if it's just because it's been so long and he's with somebody he trusts and that, honestly, makes him feel safe. It probably doesn't matter, because the end result is going to be the same.
"Just…" he sighs and kisses Sanji, trying to hurry this along because he needs it but he doesn't want to drag it out, not now when neither of them are fully invested in it. The other man, thankfully, doesn't press him and just goes back to kissing, and Law can feel himself getting closer to the edge, already stretched too thin from the day to care how desperately he's behaving.
"Hey. Look at me," Sanji grabs his face, gently, and Law makes a questioning sound in his throat as the other man forces their eyes to meet. Sanji's eyes are a clear, calm blue right now, no trace of the vampire at all, and Law would normally hate for anybody to see him on the verge of breaking down but right now he's too drained to even care that he's being utterly vulnerable. "Just stay here," Sanji urges, and Law understands that he's afraid Law's slipping back into his memories. He's not, at least not now, but the concern is appreciated and he can feel himself inching closer to the edge, pleasure spiking through him as the shadow increases its pace.
"I'm…" he starts, unable to say anything else, and Sanji ducks his head, kissing his neck gently and licking over the bruises there, and Law's breath hitches because there's something so tender about how he's acting. Not that they'd done much before now, but it's either been overshadowed by the threat of danger or by Sanji's own hesitancy, and this is something Law's never expected or even thought about.
Sex, to him, is something that's not always unpleasant but hardly more than physical release, and the thought that somebody would want to make him feel better, to make sure he enjoys it, is more than a little surprising. But then, Sanji's proven to be rather hedonistic, so it would make sense that, even if he has no experience, he'd want sex to be as intimate and personal as possible.
It doesn't feel like pity, not really, which is good because Law would resent it if it did, but Law's not sure what it is except…
"Oh, fuck," he hisses, too close to the edge without realizing it, and he tries to keep his hips from snapping upward when his orgasm hits him, leaving him gasping and over-stimulated when the shadow keeps touching him even after he's finished.
He can feel it pull away then, sliding down his legs and off of his body, and Sanji kisses his neck one last time before moving back up.
"Tell me the truth. Who was he?" there's a grim set to Sanji's jaw that tells Law he's not getting out of this without admitting it, and well, Law can't really say he's afraid anymore.
"My mentor's older brother. He…he might not have pulled the trigger, but he loaded the gun, and it's because of him that Corazon is dead," he murmurs. "I want…" he swallows heavily because he'd like nothing more than to see the bastard taken down, but… "I want to avenge him somehow, but I don't…"
"We'll figure it out," Sanji vows.
"You need to stay out of it," Law tries to sound firm but Sanji smirks at him, quirking his curled eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Look, shitty surgeon, you've saved me more times than I can count and you didn't have to do any of it. It's high time for me to return the favor," he says, and Law sighs and knows he's too tired to fight this right now. "How did he know what you were doing?"
"He's got to have somebody working within the government offices. He said he was…interested in the hybrid experimentation, but I don't know what for yet. So…" he shrugs and Sanji clicks his tongue.
"Okay, so we find his mole and expose them."
"He'll suspect something," Law tries to quickly put the kibosh on that idea but Sanji persists.
"Did you forget you have the best fucking agents in the whole damn city on your side? If anybody can find it out, it's them, and you should have…" he chuckles. "Fuck, I thought Kaku was gonna kill somebody after we found you…" he stops and breathes out slowly.
"I'm not agreeing," Law says slowly, because while Sanji's right Law's not entirely sure just how much pull Doflamingo has and he's not going to put even more people in danger just for his sake. "But we can discuss it when I'm feeling a little better."
"Sounds good," Sanji sits up a little. "Um, are you hungry or anything?"
"I think right now I just need to take my painkillers and go to sleep. And if you could get me a damp washcloth that would be appreciated," he realizes he's still lying there naked with cum on his stomach, and Sanji laughs nervously but nods and goes to do that, coming back with a glass of water and hovering nervously before he heads into the washroom.
Law sighs, cleaning himself up as best he can and pulling his boxers back up, and he forces himself upright enough to take his pills before flopping back into bed.
Everything's aching even more now, if it's possible, and he feels guilty and stupid and worthless. Maybe it would have been better if Doflamingo had just killed him, because living life with the fear of that man hovering over his shoulder isn't going to be pleasant in the least.
"Hey," Sanji slides in behind him, keeping his distance, and Law decides that he doesn't care anymore and turns over with a groan of pain, curling around the blond and letting his head rest on Sanji's shoulder, arm tight over his chest. "Law?"
Law shakes his head, because he can't stoop low enough to ask for Sanji to hold him, but the other man seems to understand and wraps him up as tight as he dares. He's still freezing cold, but his presence is comforting and just knowing somebody is there is what Law needs right now.
"You're getting under my skin, you know," Sanji's back to using that tone where he makes everything sound like some sort of affectionate insult, and Law smiles a little because it's actually helping. "I don't like it."
"I don't like it much either, but I think…we're stuck with each other for right now," he admits, and Sanji barks a laugh.
"Finally he gets it. You're damn right about that," he says assuredly and Law presses a kiss against his shoulder.
He can feel his eyes slipping closed after that, and this time when he slides into nothingness it's not to pain and fear, but to Sanji's slender fingers stroking through his hair and Sanji's voice, humming what almost sounds like a lullaby, in his ears.
Notes:
1. Apparently I need better plot twists, if the number of 'it's Doflamingo and he's going to torture Law!' reviews I got after last chapter is any indication (although can I at least say that nobody saw the shadow thing coming?). I sometimes wonder about my own thought processes, though, because 'okay yes he gets captured and tortured and then gets jerked off by a shadow' should not be something that crosses a person's mind, I don't think…
2. Thanks again for the feedback & support!