Kids of Heart – Chapter 10

A/N: We haven't heard from the other band members for a while, so I figured it was time for some more bromantic action. Sorry that this chapter is a little short, but chapter 11 should be a lot longer to make up for it!

Warning: Strong language from the beginning. Heavily implied malexmale but nothing specific.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Oda, and the song lyrics used belong to The Blackout and their record label. You should check 'em out, they're a quality band.

CIVIC HALL WOLVERHAMPTON – 10TH SEPTEMBER 2012

Bright and early the next morning, the Kids of Heart emerged from their hotel and headed to the tour van. It was a surprisingly mild day for September, and the sky was a beautiful, clear blue. Not that any of the band members noticed this, of course; they were far too busy trying to cram their luggage into the van and get sat down so they could get back to sleep ASAP.

However, Sanji had other plans for them, and just as the tour van was setting off he clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention, blatantly ignoring the complaints of Bepo, who'd only just managed to fall asleep again.

"Ok guys, listen up. I don't really have much to say this morning, but Kidd and Law both have an announcement they want to make, and it's pretty important so no, Luffy you cannot sleep through it."

Sanji turned to Kidd and Law, giving up the floor, and they glanced at each other to settle their nerves before turning to face the rest of the band. "Well, uh, I don't know if you guys have noticed anything between us recently, but Law and I have been doing some thinking and now we're going out with each other. So, yeah, we're an item." Kidd's cheeks may have flushed the colour of his hair but his voice remained steady, smiling nervously as he put his hand on Law's knee for equal parts comfort and support.

"We've actually been going out for a couple of days, but we had to tiptoe around it for a bit whilst Sanji sorted out all the press that's gonna go with it." Law added.

"Is this anything to do with the rumours about you two floating around on the internet?" Zoro asked, raising his hands defensively as the bands' attention and scrutiny turned to him. "What? I like keeping up to date with my favourite music blogs, and they all mentioned it." He pointed an accusatory finger at the rest of the band. "To be honest, I'm surprised the rest of you never found out about them. They were part of a massive feature in the last Kerrang! edition."

"You may be overestimating some peoples' sleuthing abilities." Killer pointed out, which gained a nod from Sanji.

"That, and failing to account for my influence. I wanted to make sure the majority of you didn't get hold of the rumours so that Kidd and Law could make a decision in their own time." Sanji raised an eyebrow at Zoro. "I wasn't quite able to monitor your internet browser history, though, so that's why you slipped through the cracks there."

"So, what happens next? Are you gonna come out publicly?" Bepo asked, bouncing up and down in his chair excitedly.

Law nodded. "Yeah; as soon as we can, really. Just to stop the rumours spreading and getting too out of hand."

"On the second-last date of the tour, I've scheduled you all for a massive photo shoot and interview with Kerrang!, and because there's no way they won't address the rumours, I figure that'll be the best time for you to come out. So you've got a couple of days to prepare yourself for that." Sanji smiled, before pulling out his iPad and sitting back in his chair. "Well, if that's everything, feel free to go back to sleep or do whatever you want. Today's trip is only about an hour long so you'll have a load of free time before the sound check this afternoon."

The manager turned to the tablet in his lap, signalling that his announcements were over. However, whilst ten minutes ago the main priority for each band member was to get some sleep pronto, their new-found curiosity in Kidd and Law's relationship meant an interrogation, rather than rest, was in order.

~x~

A few hours later the sound check was taken care of, and Kidd sat side of stage tuning his emergency bass. The purpose of the check was to ensure that any problems with instruments or equipment formed in transit was dealt with before the band got up on stage for real; one of those issues being Kidd's favourite bass hadn't been stored properly, and one the strings needed to be replaced. Whilst it wasn't ideal, and his favourite bass was the favourite for a reason, he'd have to rely on the back-up for tonight.

The redhead was snapped out of his concentration as he heard the solid thud of heavy boots heading towards him, and he looked up to see Zoro in front of him, leaning back on a stack of amplifiers.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"D'you mind if I ask you something?" The guitarist looked unsure, unconfident, so Kidd placed his bass on a table to the side, to give Zoro his full attention. This sounded serious.

"Sure, go ahead. What do you wanna know?"

~x~

Sanji gathered the Kids of Heart, minus Kidd and Law for now, in a group huddle 10 minutes before show time.

"Your past couple of shows have been on top form, so make sure you all keep up the hard work tonight! I know we had a couple of issues during the sound check today, but they should all be sorted by now."

"Hey! Where's Kidd and Law?" Bepo asked, seemingly only just realising that they were absent.

"Probably doing gross couple stuff." Luffy replied, pulling a face.

"Believe me, I know Kidd and he's the last person who'd wanna do couple stuff." Killer pointed out, gaining nods of agreement from the rest of the band.

"Just because they're going out now, doesn't mean they'll suddenly change into different people." Sanji added, acting as the voice of reason.

"They'd better not. We work perfectly as a band as it is." Zoro commented.

"Damn right we do!" Killer said confidently.

"It still surprises me that the two of them would get together in the first place, though." Zoro said, glancing around at the other band members to scope their reactions. "They seem so different!"

"I was surprised too. I mean, I've known Law for years and I only thought he liked girls…" Luffy scratched his head in confusion.

"He's a pretty private guy. He's my best friend, and I knew he wasn't straight, but I never said anything because I figured it's his business, and it doesn't really matter." Bepo said with a shrug.

"It doesn't matter. Whilst we're on the topic, though, try not to tell anyone else about Kidd and Law getting together. News spreads quickly, and we want the official confirmation to come from them." Sanji said.

"That'd definitely be for the best. We don't need any more rumours and crazy drama; there's already plenty of that to go around." Killer said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure there won't be any drama! At least, I hope not…" Luffy trailed off, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Don't worry about there being any problems, guys." Law said from behind them, and the group huddle disbanded to see him and Kidd stood together in the doorway. After being beckoned over by waving hands they soon joined the rest of the Kids of Heart.

"Both of us know what we're getting into, and we both know that the band and the music will always be our priority." Kidd said. "So if either of us ever act distracted or anything like that, you'd better snap us out of it, ok?"

"You've got a deal!" Luffy said with a grin, drawing them into a hug and somehow managing to get his arms around everyone.

"So we'll still be the same band?" Bepo asked.

"Definitely!" Was the emphatic shout from the couple in question. "Now let's get out on stage and show everyone what we're made of!"