A/N: Phew, it's been a while. I'm excited about this chapter, so I agonized over it for a long time before I was happy with it. I hope it's worth the wait! This story is close to finished though, I'd like to have it complete by it's 1-year birthday (7/7), so please look forward to that dear readers.

Law isn't aware of time passing as they drive, but eventually the car stops and he sits up to find himself in a motel parking lot.

Killer gets out of the car without a word, leaving Law alone with Eustass, who stays silent. Law just leans back against the seat and watches Eustass drum painted fingernails across his knee. After a few minutes Killer returns to drive the car around and park in front of one of the motel rooms.

"C'mon Doc," Kid says, glancing back at Law before he gets out, and Law gets out as well, following Kid up to the door that Killer is unlocking with a room key.

They file in, and Law closes the door behind himself. The room is tiny, furnished with just one double bed, a television set on a dresser, and a round table with one chair by a window. The walls are salmon pink, adorned with a single print of some beach sunset. Killer draws the curtains over the window while Kid quickly checks the room, poking his head into the bathroom and closet and finding nothing of mention. Law watches them from where he hasn't moved, just inside the door. Then Kid drops down on the foot of the bed, and Killer takes the sole chair.

"Fuck," Kid exclaims. "What a pile of shit." He could be talking about this crappy room, the whole damn day, or both. He looks over at Law. "There's some soap by the sink."

It takes Law a second to understand what Kid is talking about, but then he looks down and sees the blood all over his hands. It's mostly dry by now. He goes to the bathroom and spends several minutes scrubbing it off in the sink with the little square of white soap, until the water runs clear. When he comes back out, Killer gets up to leave.

"I'm going to meet up with Heat and Wire, then I'll be back. I've got the room next door," he says."You two need to stay inside, there must be people looking for us already. Especially you, Kid."

Kid just grunts in reply, and Killer walks out the door. Kid watches him go, then stands as well, shrugging out of his leather jacket and tossing it on the table, along with his gun and its holster. He takes his keys and wallet from his pockets and sets them down on the table with the rest of his things.

The sudden calm is surreal, and so out of place with the rest of the day that it feels like Law is still somewhere else. Shock, minor concussion, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociation, his mind offers succinctly.

He plucks at the sleeve of his shirt. It's still damp where the cuff had dragged through the blood, and is sticking to his wrist.

"Eustass."

Kid looks over his shoulder at him, pausing from reloading the clip of his gun. "Hm."

Law doesn't actually have anything to say. He knows there's a lot he should ask, like how did Eustass find him, and why are they in a motel instead of safe and sound at the family headquarters, and what is going on, what's going to happen now... but at the moment he doesn't particularly care about those answers.

There are also the bigger things, like Eustass coming to his rescue, or Law killing someone. He's not planning on talking about those any time soon, either. If he's lucky he could avoid talking about it indefinitely.

Kid is waiting for him to continue, but when Law says nothing else he leans back on the edge of the table, studying Law's expression.

"You look like hell. Are you hurt besides the whole...?" Kid trails off and makes a vague gesture at his own face.

Right, he must look as messed up as he felt from Vergo throwing him into walls and floors at every opportunity. He hadn't even noticed his reflection in the bathroom mirror, too busy watching pink suds go down the drain, so he can only assume that it's bad.

"No."

"We could get Shanks' doctor out here."

"It's not that serious."

"Alright, if you say so... Killer's gonna bring back some ice and meds, you need anything else?"

Law doesn't know, so he just says no again, and they resume staring at each other in silence.

Kid cracks first. "Fuck it," he says, and in a few steps he's in front of Law, pulling him in close with both arms circling around him.

"You have no idea..." he starts to say, then muffles the rest when he presses his face into Law's hair.

Law doesn't know what to do with his hands, and ends up grabbing onto the hem of Kid's shirt.

Of course Eustass would get sentimental now that they were safe and alone. As long as he didn't say anything too stupid Law was alright with indulging him. The man had protected his virtue at the very least, and most likely saved his life as well. And Law had saved his.

Kid doesn't say anything else though, he just stands still and holds him.

Law lets him, and rests his forehead against Kid's shoulder. Kid is warm and solid, breathing steadily, the only other sound the dull beat of his heart.

"Eustass," Law says again quietly, after more than a minute with neither of them moving or speaking.

Kid pulls away only far enough to look down at him, and Law meets his eyes. Kid has relaxed, he hadn't noticed just how sharp and hard he looked before but the difference now is obvious. He still looks serious though, and like he's about to say something Law doesn't want to hear.

Law offers him a small, humorless smile. "Are you going to kiss me or not."

The shadow of a grin passes over Kid's face just before he leans down to press his lips chastely to Law's.

"Better than that," Law murmurs as he starts to pull away.

Kid's hands smooth up over his shirt, one cupping the back of his head and the other spreading open between his shoulder blades. "Alright," he says, dipping in for another kiss, and another, until they slide together in a long sweet meeting of lips and tongue.

Law presses himself flush against Kid and tilts his head to deepen the angle, his fingers curling into Kid's shirt, allowing his restless thoughts to be wiped away. This is what he needed, spoken reassurances or confessions were nothing compared to the feeling of dissolving in Kid's mouth.

And Kid does not stop kissing him, lips moving softly over his face and jaw, down his neck and the part of his shoulder the collar of his shirt doesn't cover, but always being drawn back to his mouth, insistent and open.

After a long time of only sharing breath and smooth easy kisses, Kid sighs and nudges his nose against Law's cheek. "You're really ok," he says.

"Yes." He isn't completely unscathed, his injuries still ache and he's beginning to feel light-headed, in fact he should probably lie down soon, but he's alive, and so is Kid.

He can imagine exactly how close either one of them came to dying today. One missed chance, and Vergo could have ended everything right there.

Absurdly, his most salient realization is that he had only been a second or two away from losing the chance to ever feel what it would be like to have Eustass inside of him. All that time making Eustass wait for it had really gone on long enough. Honestly, he can't remember what the point of all that had been, or why he should wait another second.

As Kid starts to kiss lightly along the unbruised side of his face, Law turns to catch his mouth again.

"Eustass," he says, his lips brushing against Kid's. "Fuck me."

Kid stills, and blinks at him. "What?"

"I want you. Right now."

"Doc..."

"Shut up." He kisses Kid more firmly, dragging teeth over Kid's lip when he pulls back. "I don't care. Just do it."

Kid stares at him for a moment, a crease forming between his eyes, and Law frowns.

He starts to step away, but Kid grabs the back of his shirt, muttering, "You're so damn confusing," and covers his mouth with his own.

This time the kissing soon turns heated and breathless. Law reaches up to put his arms around Kid's neck and bring him closer, sliding his fingers into Kid's hair, and Kid's hands fall to his ass, pulling them tightly together.

Law grinds his hips forward, making Kid break off with a quick inhale. He can feel Eustass getting hard against him, so he does it again.

"Bed," he commands, and Kid walks him backwards over to it. He drags Kid down with him, unwilling to let him catch his breath even for a second. When he tugs on Kid's shirt, Kid sits up only enough to pull it over his head and toss it away before coming back to Law's mouth.

It's difficult to get the rest of their clothes off while they're both too distracted by kissing each other and touching every inch of skin, but somehow they manage. The slide of bare skin on skin makes Law feel raw and over-sensitized, like his nerves are exposed. It's too hot, too much, and it's perfect because it's the only thing he can focus on.

He spreads open under Kid with one touch on his knee, allowing Kid to settle between his legs, and he almost whines when he feels the full length of Kid's cock press into his own. He bites impatiently at Kid's lip, earning himself a groan, and Kid rocks against him, all muscle and hard cock and hot smooth skin that Law wants to completely lose himself in.

Then Kid pulls away abruptly. "Fuck, lube."

Law is ready to stab him in the face when he jumps off the bed and disappears into the bathroom, leaving Law propped up on his elbows, panting and annoyed.

Kid returns after a moment with a little bottle of something or other that Law suspects he normally would not tolerate being fucked with, but at this point he really doesn't care, as long as Eustass doesn't dare interrupt things again.

Kid climbs back into bed, sitting between Law's spread legs, and squeezes white cream from the bottle onto his fingers before spreading it over Law's entrance. It's cold, but it's slick and wet, and when Kid presses a thick finger into him it feels so good he can't stand it.

Eustass is being painfully slow, hardly moving at all as he massages the cream into him.

"Hurry up," Law snaps, though his demand is dulled by the breathless way the words fall out.

Kid's eyes are fixed at the point where he's entering Law. He murmurs something inaudible, but he does obey, drawing the first finger out and replacing it with two, and a third after another half a minute of gentle stroking and stretching. It's not enough at all.

"Eustass, come on already!"

Kid looks up, gaze trailing over Law's body from where his cock is flushed and laying hard against his belly, up to his mouth, set with impatience. Kid swallows and grabs the bottle again so he can slick up his cock, then finally, finally, he's leaning over Law, braced up on one arm and lining himself up to press in.

Law fists his hands into the bedcovers, opening himself as much as he can, forgetting to breathe while he watches what he can see of Kid's cock before it sinks into him.

His flesh is parted all at once by the wide head of Kid's cock and he pants open-mouthed as Kid keeps going, still too patient but insistent, filling him with an aching pressure that burns in his too-tight muscles and lights up his nerves.

Kid's eyes are half-closed and sightless above him. He lets go of himself and reaches under Law to lift him up, and with a few more rocking thrusts he's seated all the way inside. He takes one halting breath, seeming too overwhelmed to do much else.

Law is quicker to adjust. He wraps his hand around the arm Kid has planted on the bed by his side, and shimmies as best he can with Kid holding him up. "Yes, good... keep going."

Kid rolls his hips tentatively, barely enough to move even an inch, but the slide inside him is so damn good.

"Fuck, you're perfect," Kid sighs, pulling out to thrust back in a little harder.

But still too fucking slow. Law digs his fingers into Kid's forearm, at the same time grabbing Kid by the hair and dragging him down. Kid makes a startled sound that gets cut off by Law's mouth, and his hips jerk forward on their own. He automatically catches Law's thigh to steady himself, struggling to keep his control and not doing very well.

Law is determined not to help him with that. He licks into Kid's mouth, curling over his tongue and bringing him to distraction, and wraps his legs around Kid's waist to coax him into moving.

Kid melts over him with a little encouragement, starting a slow pulse that speeds up to a hard snap of his hips, until he's driving into Law so deeply each time that it pushes the breath from his lungs.

There could be no better feeling than this: on his back, Kid's wonderful thick cock fucking the sanity right out of him. His fingers are twisted in Kid's hair so tight his knuckles are getting sore, but Kid is far from complaining. He's kissing Law helplessly, fucking him desperately, like there's nothing so important in the world as getting as far inside of him as possible.

Law is eager to give himself up to it, moaning against Kid's mouth, breaking away to catch some air so he can gasp, "Yes, yes, so good, just like that—" before he's pulling Kid back down and stifling the rest with lips and tongue and teeth clicking together.

Kid's nails are clawing into his thigh but the pain is far away, overrun by the pressure and heat filling him up, the hot liquid pleasure spreading out under every inch of his skin until he can't stop it from brimming over and he's coming without warning, without even having been touched.

"Oh fuck, fuck—" he curses, and grabs onto Kid with every last ounce of his strength, reflexively yanking Kid's hair as his orgasm floods through him, like he's really going to be swept away by it all.

Kid's rhythm skips a beat, and then he's gone too, falling forward to bury his face against Law's neck as he slams in one last time and spills deep.

They're both left catching their breaths, their racing hearts slowing down in tandem while they lie tangled together and silent, both unwilling to move or speak for at least a minute or two.

Then Law squirms enough for Kid to get the hint to pull out and stop squashing him into the mattress.

Kid gets up and manages to pull the sheets and blankets over them before he settles back down, still on top of Law but in a position that fits them together more comfortably. He's warm and heavy and humid, smelling like fresh sweat and sex, and he gives Law a kiss. He doesn't stop with just one of course, it turns into three and six and ten.

Law accepts them all without complaint, even though it feels like they've been kissing for hours already and his lips are soft and tender. His head is pounding again too, and his cum is drying and turning sticky where it's pressed between his stomach and Eustass', but he's finally run out of energy and it would take more than any of that to get him out of bed now.

Kid seems close to exhaustion as well. His kisses get slower and clumsier until Law realizes that he's going to fall asleep while kissing him.

"Eustass, just go to sleep if you're tired. We can do this in the morning, I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't wanna stop," Kid mumbles against his lips, with his eyes already closed.

"You're going to smother me," Law says, but instead of stopping him he just reaches up to run fingers through his hair. That seems to do the trick, because a minute later Kid is sound asleep, his head tucked into the curve of Law's shoulder.

Law envies his ability to do that like it's nothing, but he doesn't begrudge him for it. It would be a good idea for him to try and get to sleep as well, even though it's still early. He needs to recover, to put some distance between himself and this day that's sitting in his mind like it's crouched right behind him. He'll gain control over it. He'll know what to say about it in the morning.

Still, he doesn't want the first night he sleeps with Eustass to be in some crappy motel bed. It's a stubborn desire, and somewhat irrational, they had just fucked for the first time in this same crappy motel bed after all.

He doesn't care, sleeping is different than sex. He's had sex a thousand times with many different partners, but he can't remember ever being able to sleep with another person in bed. It's hard enough just falling asleep by himself.

He's not going to tell Eustass to leave though, even if it means he won't be getting any sleep at all. He might just lose it if he has to spend the night alone in this ugly pink room.

He has to push Kid off him after a while. The man weighs a ton and puts off heat like a furnace, he'd be lying in a disgusting puddle of their combined sweat given another ten minutes. Law stays at his side instead, just looking at him, tracing over Eustass' closed eyes and crooked nose, the soft blush of his lips, down his thickly muscled neck and shoulders that are dappled with hundreds of tiny freckles he's never examined close enough to notice before.

From a distance Eustass looks as smooth and hard as marble, but like this it's easy to see the imperfections, all the scars crisscrossing over him, thin and white and almost invisible on his pale skin. Whenever Law has taken the time to look it seems like there's always more than he remembers – proof of a violent life.

Kid's knuckles are especially battered, and Law grazes a thumb across the ones of the hand Kid has resting on his stomach. They're hard and solid as cast iron, taking a hit from them would doubtlessly feel like getting mauled with a 50 pound sledgehammer. The hands of an idiot who would go tearing into Doflamingo's mansion almost entirely alone.

Law lingers on one mark that scores over Kid's bicep, not as old and worn as most of them and still a little pink. It's less than a year old after all, the same slash that Law stitched together the night they met. As a surgeon he's unhappy that it's still visible, having not healed perfectly since Kid ignored all of his aftercare instructions, though by this time next year it might be gone.

When the nostalgia is too much for him to bear he starts to get out of bed.

Kid closes a hand around his wrist before he goes very far. "Where ya goin'?" he asks, less awake than not.

"Bathroom," Law says. "I'll be back in a minute, go to sleep."

Kid grumbles a bit, but he lets go and rolls over face down into the side of the bed Law had just vacated.

Law cleans himself off at the bathroom sink with one of the scratchy washcloths, then finally takes a good look at himself in the mirror to assess the damage. He has a huge bruise on his cheek, one hell of a black eye, and he prods the lump on the back of his head with a wince. No wonder Kid had seemed anxious.

It hurts just as bad as it looks, though it looks worse than it really is. His vision is alright, and his pupils are dilating normally, so his head can't be too fucked up, plus he's not missing any teeth and his bones all seem to be intact. He'll just look and feel like shit for a few days.

Eustass had mentioned something about Killer and pain meds, but Law has seen no sign of Killer since he left. Chances are he had returned by now and correctly assumed they weren't in any condition to answer the door.

Law doesn't bother trying to get in touch with him, even though all it would take is a text message and he would be able to ice his bruises and take a few painkillers. He doesn't want to get dressed, and he doesn't want to talk to anyone else until tomorrow.

When he returns to the main room, going back to bed right away doesn't seem appealing either. He knows he won't be able to fall asleep for hours. Instead he goes over to where Kid's jacket is laying on the table, and takes out the lighter and the pack of cigarettes that are always in the inside pocket.

He nudges the chair closer to the window and sits down, pushing the curtains apart a few inches so he can open the window before he shakes out a cigarette and lights up. He hasn't smoked in years, but the drag is still smooth and the taste isn't too bad – he's been getting it secondhand being around Eustass all the time. The sun had set some time ago, and he rests his elbows on the windowsill while he looks out into the dark parking lot, letting the smoke trail from his lips to be caught in the slight breeze blowing outside.

The cigarette is only halfway gone when Kid appears at his side and plucks it from between his fingers, tossing it out of the window.

"Stop poking your head out, somebody might see you," Kid mutters, moving Law away so he can slide the window shut and close the curtains again.

"No one could see me."

"Don't take any chances, alright?" Kid cups his face briefly in one hand before he sits back down on the side of the bed, only a couple feet away from where Law stays in the chair.

"Is he really that dangerous?" Law doesn't have to say Doflamingo's name, doesn't want to say it in case it summons him like a curse. They both know who he means.

"Not just him, that bastard Croc is mixed in too somehow. It's a real fucking mess right now." Kid's voice drops down to just above a growl as he goes on, "I don't know why he decided to screw with you. I knew he was a freak, but I didn't think he'd do anything like this. He only saw you for a minute at the party. I should've looked out for you better though... there's no reason you should've been involved in this shit. We'll take care of it, don't worry. I'm gonna kill that fucker at least."

A little shiver of unease sinks through Law and settles in the pit of his stomach. There is a reason that he was involved, and Kid couldn't have predicted it, he didn't have the whole story. Law hadn't told him. It almost makes him feel sick to realize that Kid is thinking he should have been able to stop this from happening in the first place. As much Law doesn't want to say anything, he has a chance clear that up now.

"That party wasn't the first time we met," he says, then regrets it immediately when Kid looks straight at him, sharp and intent. This was a mistake, he should have waited until morning. Something is wrong with him right now if he's suddenly giving in to fits of conscience. But it's too late, Kid is hooked.

"What? What do you mean? Was that bastard bothering you?"

"No, he knows me from... before I started working for the family."

"What the fuck? Why didn't you say anything?"

"It was old history, and not any of your business."

Kid leans forward, grabbing the edge of the bed and glaring at him. "The fuck it's not my business! How the hell did he know you?"

"That's not something I want to get into," Law says, any remaining desire to alleviate Kid's guilt quickly drying up in the face of his temper.

"Then what am I supposed to do! You could have fucking died!"

Law snaps. Kid is the one who had almost been shot to death right in front of his eyes, and he had the gall to get mad at him? "I wasn't going to die! You almost got us both killed by getting involved, and that's exactly why I didn't tell you in the first place. I knew you would lose your stupid head over it and just make it worse!"

"Wha- What the FUCK are you talking about! Make it worse? Are you fucking insane, I had to come! What did you think Doflamingo was going to do with you?!"

That touches a cold hook of fear still lodged in his chest. He had known, of course, that Doflamingo's designs pointed directly towards him getting violated, and he had divided all his mental energy between trying to escape and steeling himself for that inevitability if he couldn't get away in time. But the thought of what would happen to him after Doflamingo had had his fun was too much to consider, so he hadn't spared it much thought.

Clearly Kid's mind had been working through all the worst possible outcomes for the both of them.

Law's anger is short-lived, replaced by a fresh crush of exhaustion. He drops his face into his hands, rubbing his eyes.

His head hurts. His stomach hurts. He's never had the shit kicked out of him before and it's fucking awful, but he's not going to complain about it at this point. It's shameful how Vergo had no trouble bringing him low. No doubt Eustass, or anybody in his crew, would've been a lot more difficult to abduct.

He doesn't want to be arguing about anything with Kid right now, let alone this. He wasn't going to get fucked by a blond madman, and neither of them were going to die, because Kid had found him despite everything else.

"I don't know what he'd do. It's not my fault I got kidnapped, so stop yelling at me for not spilling my life story to you on the off chance that this could have been prevented."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you fuckin' know it," Kid growls, but the near-frantic edge of his voice has broken off. "I'm not trying to make you give up your damn secret identity, but shit like this is different. Your bullshit silent treatment almost got you killed, you can't fucking do that – christ, I don't know what the fuck I'd do, alright? If there's something else you need to tell me, please Doc, please."

Law hates it. Hates how Kid can say something like that, hates his honesty, hates how he's just been allowing Law to keep his layers of self-defense when all this time he could cut right through them like it's nothing, like it's pointless.

Fuck you, he wants to say. Why the fuck do you think you're allowed to care. How could you fuck this up so much.

He wants to rip into that vulnerability that Kid admitted so easily, to fucking scream, but he's so goddamn tired and he hates that he can't do it.

"I'd do anything for you, you know," Kid murmurs after a minute of silence. "I'll really kill him." He's staring at his clenched fists, like he's going to do it right now.

Law knows. Worse than that even, he knows Kid is ready to die for him. He won't forget the sight of Eustass glaring up the barrel of Vergo's gun for a long time, as much as he wants to cut the memory out like so much rotten flesh.

Fuck. Fuck it.

"Alright, alright I'll tell you, just- just stop talking already," he says. When Eustass stays quiet for half a minute, he forces himself to speak.

"Doflamingo is a business associate of my father's. I'd only spoken to him a few times, nothing unusual. I don't know if my parents are aware he has gang affiliations, but I had no idea until I saw him at the hotel. He recognized me of course, and held my real identity over my head." He confesses it all in one breath, and Eustass doesn't make a sound, even when he finishes and is waiting for a reaction.

He finds himself rambling on in the silence, saying things that aren't relevant. "My father owns insurance firms, and my mother is an heiress, her family built hospitals... they have a lot of social standing, connections with wealthy people that want their names on a building. If their perfect little son was arrested for organized crime it would mortify them.

"Not that I would mind," he adds bitterly, "but I have my own reputation to maintain as well. It would be a shame to lose these credentials over something as petty as violent crime."

Kid isn't watching him anymore, but Law can tell he's listening intently. When he pauses, Kid's eyes flick over to him, entreating him for more while trying not to say the wrong thing.

Law finds it almost amusing. Eustass must be thinking how spoiled he is, the son of stinking old money, more worried about his reputation than anything so low-class as going to prison for his crimes, or getting kidnapped and raped to death by a member of a rival gang.

"I'm really a surgeon you know, not a physician. Specialized in cardiothoracic surgery. Used to cut my patients up every day. Would you believe I'm a prodigy?"

He says it sarcastically, but Eustass answers anyway.

"Yeah, you're enough of a shithead for it."

It's such a typical response from Eustass, but so unexpected that a short clipped laugh takes him by surprise. Here he is spilling out his other life, his real life, and Eustass doesn't seem the least bit fazed. "That's right. I'm famous too, it made the news when I started working at the city hospital. Maybe you've even heard of me."

"What's your name, doc?" Kid asks quietly, after months of not knowing, not prying.

He still wants to evade, to shy away and refuse to give up that last piece of secrecy, but what's the fucking point anymore.

"..Trafalgar. Trafalgar Law."

"Hm." Kid leans over and reaches out to hook a hand around Law's elbow, tugging him out of the chair and into bed with him.

Law doesn't protest, he's too relieved that he doesn't have to say anything else.

"That sounds like you," Kid says. He moves back against the headboard and slides an arm around Law, keeping him close to his side under the sheets. "I always thought you'd have a name like Percival, or Reginald though... something so prissy you didn't want anyone to know."

"Fuck you." Law is kicking himself now for saying anything beyond the barest necessity. Tomorrow he can blame it on Eustass taking advantage of his head injury.

"Mr. Big Fancy Surgeon can't take any shit, huh?" Kid says, hiding his grin by nuzzling into Law's hair.

"You're just an asshole."

"Yeah, yeah," Kid breathes, a warm puff of air over his temple. "You want someone to keep an eye on your folks?"

"No, they're fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, now shut up. I don't want to talk anymore," Law mutters, turning his face against Kid's chest to make it clear he's done with conversation for at least the next few hours, if not the rest of the foreseeable future.

"Alright. You gonna be able to sleep? I can go bunk over with Killer."

"Eustass, shut the fuck up." Don't be considerate, you stupid prick. I can't deal with any more of this.