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Bleeding, Broken, Mended (20174 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth Chapters: 4/?

Summary: Law is certain that he was 'rescued' just so Doflamingo could kill him himself, but Doffy has other plans. As far as he's concerned, Law's decade-long quest for revenge was nothing more than a sad misunderstanding. He wants to remind Law how things used to be. He wants to find a way to bring Law back into the fold-- back to him-- forever.

catch up here

-

There'd been hugs. There'd been assurances, and there'd been plans in the infirmary of the Donquixote ship. Shortly after his talk with Bepo, Law had asked Komurasaki to come back inside.

The three of them were the last members of the Heart Pirates left standing. He'd given her a hug too, and thanked them both for pulling through what he described as 'an absolute fucking shitshow'.

His mind was racing, even if his body was weighed down by the sea's presence strapped to his body, and he'd gone over the situation with the both of them. Details on the Donquixote family were shared along with the things Doflamingo had told him during their private talk; leading naturally into the biggest plan they had to sort through.

'Where do we go from here'. It wasn't as if they could simply sail away, they were pretty much stuck on the ship until landfall, as he'd told Bepo. On the other hand, the captain of the ship and the man of Law's nightmares for years on end actually seemed to genuinely mean it when he said he wasn't going to hurt them.

"So we're just going to sort of play it by ear?" Komurasaki had asked.

He'd settled on a simple, but effective plan. The Heart Pirates would ride with the Donquixote pirates to their destination at the very least. Given Komurasaki's treatment in the two days he and Bepo were out, it was sensible to imagine that it'd continue to be 'cordial'. As long as they were guests, they'd behave themselves accordingly.

Like Bepo had said already, he wasn't a huge fan of it, but the bear admitted he didn't have a better plan.

Reflecting on their discussion, Law was almost surprised that they'd been given so much time alone to talk freely. But they were eventually interrupted by a knock at the infirmary door.

Another knock that wasn't immediately followed by an opening door.

He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder. "Come in."

It was that tiny detail that kept sticking out. It was shockingly polite. He knew with Viola there they had no real secrets. But still— the knocking without barging in spoke to an implied respect.

It was then that the door opened and Doflamingo and his big coat once again shrugged their way into the doorframe. Aside from the habitual feathers he was alone this time.

"Can I speak to you out in the hall, Law?"

Law glanced over at Bepo and Komurasaki with a nod "I'll be back, alright?"

He started to stand with difficulty, hissing a soft breath before he stood up straight and gave Doflamingo a half wave. "Yeah, sounds good to me."

Doflamingo waited for him at the door, and put a hand on his back to steady him as he arrived. Law was well aware of the dubious look from Bepo as he left the door. The door clicked closed behind them.

"How's your friend?" Doflamingo asked. It was perhaps not the question Law had expected.

"He's doing alright. The drug he took activates an artificial sulong state. Takes a toll on the body, you know? He just had to sleep it off, especially after hauling me and Komurasaki through the open ocean till you guys found us. A bit of rest and he's good as ever."

"I'm glad to hear it." Doflamingo was smiling. It wasn't exactly a relaxed smile, but it wasn't the twisted giggling grimace from when they'd talked in the room. "He was out for two days, same as you were. I'm betting he's hungry. And you are too."

Law was suddenly uncomfortably aware of just how hungry he was.

He grimaced, his hand slung over his middle.

"Yeah. Two days out like a light will do that to you, huh?" He closed one eye with a low chuckle. "you wouldn't happen to have a bit of extra food in the galley, would you?"

"Plenty, in fact," Doflamingo said. Law was aware that his hand was still on Law's back. To steady him. "It's almost mealtime. Komurasaki's eaten with us already, and Bepo's welcome at the table. However…"

He gave Law an inscrutable, speculative look behind his shades.

Law felt himself flushing, almost uncomfortably under his stare, with the contact. He raised his eyebrow. "...and Komurasaki's doing well. So I know the food's safe. However?"

"It's a bit tricky bringing you to dinner with everybody right away, Law. Eat with me in my cabin."

Law stared at him for a long moment. He failed to dismiss the thought that this had gone from a fairly 'normal' semi-kidnapping to the start of some trashy novel in a Loguetown bookstore for barmaids and housewives.

'Eat with me in my cabin, goes the evil pirate captain'. He shooed away the thought with a glance off to the side.

"I mean, I don't want Baby 5 to try putting a live grenade in my soup, so..."

Doflamingo nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to avoid. Let your crew know, and then come on with me. 'Saki knows where to go."

She'd really taken to things in the two days he was out. That at least was almost a relief— in a way. His nerves pinging with the idea of a dinner alone with Doflamingo, just the two of them in such a close proximity, he opened the door and gave his crew a smile and an update on the situation.

Bepo, he was sure, was certainly feeling a little incredulous with the whole thing. He couldn't blame him…he told Komurasaki to show him the way to the galley before he slumped down the hall with his hands in his borrowed pockets after Doflamingo.

Komurasaki's borrowed clothes might have tipped Law off almost as soon as he'd seen her, but he'd hardly had time to take stock of his own, and finally did so as Doflamingo led him through the ship. The shirt was too big on him, with the sleeves carefully rolled up. The pants bore the hallmarks of having been hastily taken in. He could feel the extra fabric sewn down on the inner seams. It wasn't that much of a surprise. Most of the Donquixote Pirates ran a lot larger than Law was even now that he was older.

He could only imagine exactly who's hand-me-downs he'd been shoved in while he was passed out for two damn days. At least they'd made a pretty admirable effort to get them to fit. Still, he fell into step just behind Doflamingo, tugging at one of his rolled up sleeves.

Doflamingo noticed, as he paused at the largest, most impressive looking door Law had seen on the ship yet, and pushed it open. "Sorry we didn't exactly have anything more in your size. Your clothes should be dry by now, I think."

"It's fine," Law chuckled darkly. "They're gonna need a wash to get the saltwater out. And these are— they ain't bad for now... are they Vergo's?"

He leaned over to peer into the room, scoping it out, not just as a precaution, but with genuine curiosity.

"Well done." Doflamingo followed him into the room and closed the door. "How'd you guess?"

Doflamingo's cabin reminded Law of the old days in the North Blue. There was a small table that was already covered with dishes, a writing desk with a couple of books open on it, as well as a couple of tone dials, and a bookcase beside it. The bed was covered in a mishmash of cushions in conflicting, garish and bright patterns, and the bedspread was neon tiger print. The rug under Law's bare feet was soft and plush… and similarly garish. In the corner there was a pair of armchairs, hugely oversized for Law, but comfortable for Doflamingo and the kind of company he kept. There was a book open on one of the chairs too. Law immediately recognized the cover as a collection of Sora comics.

It was nostalgic, almost. The kind of familiar sight he used to see back when he was younger. Doflamingo and him had read the Sora comics together, sparking a lingering interest in the piece's villains. He'd let him listen to the tone dials, strange and miraculous inventions from the sky islands of the Grand Line that let you play back music as much as you wanted.

But it'd been over ten years since then. It was nice to see the man hadn't exactly changed. He eased in, walking over towards the writing desk to lean over it, looking down at the tone dials with a shake of his head.

"Hell of a cabin as always, Doflamingo." He glanced up. "And I guessed because he's one of the only guys who dresses like this who's anywhere near my size. Sure as hell isn't one of Derringer's. It'd be showin' a lot more leg."

Doflaming giggled. "And not just because of Derringer's taste. He's still even smaller than you are."

He swaggered over to the dinner table and threw his coat over the back of one of the chairs, before pulling out the other.

Derringer had barely been out of his toddler years the last time Law had seen him before Dressrosa.

Of all the places he was expecting to see the fishman years later, kicking men to death in high heels while tittering like a schoolgirl in Dressrosa's colosseum was not one of them.

Law took a seat with a low laugh. "...too true. So yeah. Vergo was the obvious choice."

Doflamingo giggled and settled himself in his own chair across the small table. "Well, you got it in one. I'd have lent mine but we don't exactly have the same taste in fashion, do we?

He took the covers off of the couple dishes and it was another almost-nostalgic kind of moment. They were at sea, so there were no fresh greens, but it was the same kind of fare he'd eaten with them as a child, pasta in creamy sauce garnished with peas and carrots, fish and shellfish. There were a couple of bottles of wine at the table.

It'd all clearly been set out ahead of time. This wasn't some spur of the moment thing. Unlike those days a decade ago, these familiar meals weren't set out in front of a dozen hungry pirates. They weren't eaten amidst the raucous chatter of a bunch of runaways and thieves.

Buffalo and Baby 5 weren't trying to steal bites of his pasta to mess with him.

It was just him and Captain Doflamingo Donquixote, dinner, and bottles of wine.

"Yeah, I think I'd actually drown in your coat, Doffy." he said dryly, before he looked down at the table. "...you really went all out here, didn't you?"

"Not really." He shrugged, grabbing one of the bottles of wine and uncorking it. "It's just what the family's eating in the galley, but I said I was going to eat in my room."

"I'm lucky we're not having anything with bread today then," he chuckled quietly, before he made to shift food to his plate, looking up at Doflamingo just in case. "It takes me back, I'll say that much."

Doflamingo didn't stop him– he was pouring wine into glasses for each of them, and made his own plate afterward. It seemed table manners were the same casual ones as ever, too.

"I just didn't bother to have them send any bread down. You never ate it, it just got thrown across the table."

He snorted softly.

"Yeah I ah…I'm not good with bread. I got some bad memories with it and they stuck with me." Eating moldy, half decayed, stale bread to survive in a village of corpses did wonders for souring him on the stuff for life. He grimaced, before he shook the memory away and pointed towards Doflamingo with his fork. "...thanks."

"No problem." Doflamingo pointed his own fork back at Law, and then twirled it in his fingers for a moment. Law remembered that he too had sometimes been 'picky' about things at meals. Especially how red meat was cooked. "You know, this is a lot nicer of a reunion than our last one, I have to say."

Law snorted softly , taking a bite of the pasta with a sidelong glance at him as he swallowed.

"Yeah well, Dressrosa was a shitshow. Not exactly a lot of time for pasta and smalltalk," He leaned on his hand. "This one ain't half as chaotic, that's for sure."

"Funny how that works out," he chuckled. "Thankfully, your Straw Hat friend doesn't seem to be around to start screaming and punching people so, I think it'll stay pretty quiet."

Law laughed sharply. "Careful he doesn't find out I'm here then. If he heard I was on your ship, he'd probably rubberband around from the final stretch of the Grand Line and crash onto the deck."

Doflamingo's fingers tightened briefly on his fork, but he laughed. "Yeah, actually I have Violet watching out for that, so I'll have a heads up just in case. I think he's busy with some of his own stuff right now though."

"Given the way shit's gone sideways since Wano, I ain't surprised." Law smiled grimly, leaning on the table with his hands half wound through his hair, his other hand on his fork as he twisted it in the pasta. "So things should be peaceful while we …do whatever we're doing here. I'd call it catching up, but…"

"Is it not catching up?" He looked up at him over the laden dinner table, taking a sip of his wine. "What would you call it?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Doffy, I dunno what to call it," Law looked up to meet his gaze. "...maybe it is catching up, but that just sounds too normal for the levels of complicated things are."

Doflamingo's smile lit up much more broadly and he sat a little further up in his chair. For a moment, Law wondered what he'd said to cause such a reaction. Then he realized— he'd called him Doffy.

"I think, unfortunately, it's still catching up no matter how huge a mess it is, Law. " Doffy leaned on his hand. "I followed your career once you started getting in the papers, you know. Mr. Supernova."

He felt his face flush at his own slipup— and at the fact that Doflamingo had apparently been watching his progress through the grand line.

Of course he had been. The runaway gang member who vanished shows back up being called one of the most dangerous up and comers of the pirate era? Of course he'd be following it.

But still.

"You did huh? I was following yours too, in a way. What'd you think when I started showing up in the papers?"

"Well I was fucking thrilled to learn you weren't a Marine for goddamn starters," he laughed. "I thought about coming after you to bring you back to the family but… well, you knew where we were, right? Maybe had to be a little convinced on that point, admittedly."

Law's smile hitched.

"...I'd never become a marine. I still hate their guts, even after everything." Doflamingo had to be convinced not to hare off from Dressrosa and his Warlord duties— just to intercept him? "You had to be convinced, huh?"

"At length," he huffed, scooping up his wine glass again. The gruff tension in his voice when he said it made it sound like it had been quite a 'convincing'. "Admittedly, I was pretty curious how far you'd get. What you'd do. As for becoming a marine, well, we were told you'd been handed off to them, you know? And never heard from you after that."

Law hissed softly through his teeth.

"Yeah I mean…most people who get handed off to 'em get brainwashed into their little justice obsession." He grabbed his wine glass and took a long sip. "I became a pirate, formed my crew from a bunch of ragtags, and got myself a ship. Heh… I bet it'd be a hell of a show, reading about it."

"They should have written about you more." Doffy grinned widely at him. "Of course, then you became a Warlord, and the paper stopped covering you. And here I was, thinking we were going to meet at the next big Warlord's meeting."

"Imagine that meetup," Law laughed with a wry smile. "You, me, the rogues gallery of the Warlords.Sadly, I was pretty intent on cashing that chip as soon as I could."

"Too bad, would have been a real shindig. Popcorn worthy, for sure." He giggled again, leaning on his hand. "They barely lasted six months losing me, anyway. Government didn't like their dogs getting off the leash. I had a hunch you weren't in it to last anyway, after I heard about you coming to stay at Punk Hazard."

That answered that question, after all. Monet had been reporting in on him.

"Got it in one," Law snorted softly. He hesitated. He leaned on his hand. "I'm sure Monet told you all about what I was getting up to there. Buddying up with Caesar, the operations— the target being the SMILE. All things considered it was nice to see she was doing okay, despite everything."

He regretted the way things ended with Monet. He hadn't expected to see her working as a mad scientist's assistant, and yet, he could tell she was enjoying the assignment. It made him feel all the worse for how it ended.

He really hadn't expected Caesar to go right for the kill, not a sadist like him who liked to watch people squirm. He thought he'd notice before he destroyed the heart.

"It's funny. That's the way I felt hearing her reports on you." Doflamingo's smile had faded a little and his shoulders sunk.

Monet had been with the family a long time. She and her sister had joined just before Law had been spirited away, discovered begging and scamming to survive by Doffy and Dia on an expedition to an island halfway across the North Blue.

He hadn't known her long, her or her sister, but in the little time he'd spent with them he'd come to like them. They were unfortunates just like him, survivors in a nasty world out to destroy you. Kindred spirits.

Law's shoulders shook slightly as he reached for his wine glass. "At…at least to a point I'd believe that."

At least until she'd reported his true goals, and…he presumed…her final transmission. A sting of guilt hit him again.

Doffy topped up both their wine glasses after Law had taken his drink.

"She seemed to be having fun, living with you there," he said. He adjusted his sunglasses. "But why don't we talk about something else. Unless… there was something you wanted to say about that."

"She was. She was pretty happy during…during all that." he murmured quietly as he raised his glass to his lips and took a long sip.

What the hell could he say? 'Sorry' wasn't going to cut it. Especially with the complicated history between them. But as it stood, the whole mess looked like some active cruelty on his part.

He took a deep breath. So what if it sounded insincere, so what if it wasn't going to cut it? He tipped back a long sip of his wine and said. "Doffy, I'm sorry. For Punk Hazard, I mean. For Monet."

Doffy could have exploded. Could have slammed his hands on the table and told him it wasn't good enough.

But he didn't. He just nodded. He took a long drink of his wine, almost finishing it in one gulp. He set the glass down.

"Thank you," he said. There was a quiet croak at the back of his throat. "Thank you for saying so. Monet knew the risks in this life. We all do. But I miss her."

Law wound his hand into his hair, leaning on the table after putting down his glass. "I know, and I can't fix that. Monet, I liked Monet. I was just… I was ticked off when I found out what she and Caesar were up to, and I was backed into a corner and I thought I could play a gambit for more time. I didn't think it'd go like that. I didn't mean it."

"I feel you," Doffy said with a shuddering sigh. "Hell, I've been there. We all can do stupid shit when we feel panicked. Backed into a corner. Sometimes it happens and people die. Sometimes people we like. It's just part of this life, eh?"

Doffy's smile twitched back to life like a frog on a dissection table. Despite its sharp, moonlike shape there was something soft in it. Hesitant. Maybe hopeful.

Law glanced down at his plate.

"Yeah, it is. As much as I try and stop it, it's just the way things are. I try not to do stupid shit, but— " He waved his hand. "Here I am. Shipless and mostly crew-less. So I guess I ain't so great at avoiding doing stupid shit."

"I mean, you've always been a little fucking reckless, yeah," Doffy chuckled in the back of his throat. "Acting before you think and all that. But as far as I can tell this latest disaster isn't your fault, anyway."

"Might be the first time for me it ever came down to a bad gamble rather than a reckless disregard for safety, huh?" Law looked up at Doflamingo again, looking through the man's sunglasses to study his expression. "...but it went how it went. And now I'm here."

"And now you're here," Doffy repeated. He smiling wider now, as he loomed in his chair on the other side of the table. Doflamingo always loomed. Either he enjoyed it, or he couldn't help it. "Not a lot of people are thrilled with that, Law. Least of all you, probably. But I'll admit. Honestly? I'm pretty pleased."

Law shifted, feeling not unlike a bug pinned to an examination board for display under Doflamingo's smile and looming presence.

"You. You're pleased. After everything in Dressrosa you're pleased to have me here."

"Like I said before, we didn't exactly get a chance to talk in Dressrosa," Doffy said. He licked pasta sauce off his lips before dabbing them with a napkin. "It's not like I'm not pissed about Dressrosa, Law. I mean, I am. It sucked. It sucked a whole fucking lot, okay? But I'd feel worse if we never got another chance to talk."

Law nibbled a piece of fish, staring at him for a moment. "...this ties into your whole 'I always want to rescue you when you're in danger' thing, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. I know you… believed otherwise," he grumbled, tossing his napkin aside. "But I spent a whole hell of a lot of time when you were a kid pretty preoccupied with how to save your life. As annoyed as I am with you trying to kill me, I'd be pretty damn upset with a scenario where you end up dead after all that."

Law's smile twitched a bit. Upset in a scenario where he wound up dead, huh? Somehow, he believed him. Even in Dressrosa, things conspired to keep him alive, even beaten to hell and back. And here Doffy was, fishing him out of the sea to the fury of the crew.

"Don't tell me you'd miss me if I was gone."

"Does that really surprise you, Law?" Doflamingo stared at him through unblinking red lenses from across the table. "My brother really managed to convince you I didn't care about you, didn't he? That I didn't give a flying fuck about anyone but myself."

"He did tell me you were some kinda heartless monster who he was tasked by fate to clean up after, or some shit like that, yeah." Law leaned forward over his plate. "I don't believe in 'born evil' or anything like that…but he certainly painted a picture of you, Doffy."

"You were a kid back then, so I'm not going to hold it against you for believing what someone else told you." Doffy rubbed his jaw with obvious tension. "But I have to ask, now that you're your own man, Law. How's that hold up? Does the famous surgeon of death who delivered a hundred pirate hearts to the world government think I'm a heartless, pitiless monster?"

Law sized him up quietly for a long moment, his eyes narrowed as he leaned back in his chair. Was Doffy a heartless, pitiless monster, or was he just a man like any other? A violent man, even a cruel one…but just a man. Like any other pirate on the sea.

He flexed his fingers, the sensation of lack with his powers cut off permeating him before he sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Komurasaki's been wandering around this ship for two days, and she's fine. You fished me outta the sea with no gain to your crew, and I know— I know they ain't happy about it. You're sitting there with an expression like a kicked dog, so… no." He looked down enough to see him, even leaned back as he was. "...I don't think you're heartless."

"I'm glad you don't think so, Law." Doflamingo's expressions could be hard to read sometimes, but he sounded genuinely relieved. "It's fun to play at being a fairytale monster, but it stops being fun when the people you like believe it."

Law chuckled roughly. "...yeah, I bet it does. I can't imagine it feels nice to be called some kind of heartless fiend. But I think it's pretty clear you've got emotions outside of just…pure malice."

"Feels like it might be easier if I didn't, admittedly."

That made Law laugh even harder, half doubling on the table. "yeah. Sure would huh? If you couldn't feel anything but some gleeful dark malice, life would be a problem for everyone BUT you."

This was insane.

He couldn't help but laugh. He was here having a conversation with the man he'd spent ten years trying to put in the ground out of revenge, laughing about the way his brother made him sound like the very incarnation of the devil of the sea.

How could he not laugh?

Part of him still reached for something, some kind of catch to this that wasn't 'Doflamingo missed you, Law'.

Doflamingo watched him for a moment, and then, apparently his laughter was contagious, because Doffy started giggling along with him. "Sure fucking would!"

"Hahah…shit." Law shook his head. "But you've gotta deal with emotions, same as the rest of us. Just like any other bastard of a pirate. Like me."

Doffy took a minute to catch his breath. Did he realize how insane this whole thing was, too? He leaned on his hands, watching Law again.

"Like you. And I'd imagine you're pretty fucked up right about now. With everything that's happened."

"You can say that again, Doffy," Law shook his head, and tipped back the rest of his wine. "Everything that keeps happening too. This…" —he gestured to the meal, to him— "included."

"Well, I'm sorry about your ship and your crew. But I'm not sorry for dragging you to dinner." He smiled widely again. Law couldn't quite tell if it was a joke. It probably wasn't a joke. "Feel free to tell me how you feel about it though."

"About the loss of my men and my ship, or about being invited to your fuckin' boudoir for a candlelit dinner?" Law drawled.

Doffy giggled sharply and slapped his hand on the table.

"My boudoir! Oh I like that, Law. I invited you to my boudoir, yes." He rubbed his face under his glasses. "Seriously though, I mean, I don't exactly that expect you see me as a shoulder to cry on any more after everything that's happened. I wouldn't' say no-– but I did mean about the boudoir. I mean dinner."

He giggled again.

Yeah, he was pretty clearly amused with the idea of this being like a trashy romance novel now that it was pointed out to him.

Law couldn't keep the tentative smirk from his lips. "...maybe I'll cry about it soon. But for now, this dinner's the most surreal experience I've had in years."

"Given the kind of lives we live, I'm almost inclined to take that as a compliment." Doffy grinned widely, crossing his legs, and leaning his chin on his hand. "Admittedly, it's pretty surreal for me, too."

"Is it now?" Law's eyes lingered on the curve of his lips, that dagger of a smile he always seemed to wear. "I feel like I've stepped into some kinda light novel. Or a fever dream."

"You calling it my boudoir does make it sound like some kind of cheesy romance novel. That's really where your mind went first? I'm flattered, Law. No, I'm intrigued."

He giggled again, that evil smile like a slice of moonlight. The leader of the Donquixote pirates was striking, handsome, in an eerie, almost unearthly way– 10 feet tall and constantly dressed to grab attention, his natural features sharp and statue-like.

He poured both of them more wine. How much had Doffy had, anyway? He'd already smelled like it, Law reflected, when he'd met him in his room the first time.

Knowing his old habits, Doffy had probably been drunk off his ass for days. He'd probably gone through almost a dozen bottles of wine by the time the table was set. It was always his go-to stress relief, after all. Law felt his face heating up , and downed some more wine himself. It was dangerous to get drunk around Doflamingo….

It was even more dangerous to his mental health not to.

"...d-did I say that was where my mind went first? I never said that."

"Why call it a boudoir then?" Doffy giggled. He leaned forward across the table. "Dia always says it looks more like a kid's room."

Law felt his face heating even warmer— the room briefly seemed to wobble in his vision as he tore his eyes from Doffy's smile to look at the desk instead.

"Hah. Yeah yeah…I mean it does look like a kid's room. With your comic books…" that Law once had in the Polar Tang along with his Germa merch. "...and tone dials and obnoxious colors. It's not a boudoir at all. That'd be dumb."

"But you called it a boudoir," Doffy hummed, still half shouldered across the table. "So now I think I want it to be a boudoir. That sounds like fun."

Law sank back against the chair, feeling increasingly embarrassed the more Doflamingo shoved his bulk across the table.

"Alright, then it's a fucking boudoir. But that doesn't mean I think it's anything like a romance novel."

Doffy sat back, still smiling widely. He was quiet for a moment as he finished the last bites on his plate. "It'd be a pretty weird romance novel, admittedly. You're so funny, Law. I missed teasing you, you get so riled up."

Law hurriedly ate the rest of his own plate, before grabbing his cup of wine with a sharp huff, flicking his gaze back up at Doflamingo. "...can you blame me? You're pretty much tailor made for riling people up!"

He giggled. "Tailor made for riling people up. What a thing to say. I guess you're not wrong. But this is nice, don't you think? Having dinner like two people not trying to kill one another?"

Law smothered his twitch response of a snide reaction with another sip of wine, looking down at his empty plate.

'This is nice'. 'Having dinner like two people not trying to kill one another'. Only an idiot would miss it. Doflamingo really, really seemed to miss him. This was verging on desperate. And that fact alone was sending Law reeling at a loss for words.

"Y-yeah. It's pretty great."

-

Doffy was finally feeling the wine go to his head somewhere in the middle of the dinner bottle with Law. Usually food settled him, but not this time. This time he felt a warm and hazy glow through him that he hadn't managed to drink enough to find in a while. Maybe it was thanks to the company.

Law had always been such a snide little shit, alternating between biting sarcasm and easily flustered brattiness. That, it seemed, hadn't gone away in the intervening years. It was nostalgic. It was fun. It was almost enough to forgive all the bullshit that had happened between them.

Law had called his room a 'boudoir', evoking the kind of chest clasping pirate romances that cluttered the less reputable bookshops of port towns all over the world. Doffy hadn't thought of it like that before then. But once Law put it in his head, he'd been struck with the image of just such a lurid book cover, Law clinging to his open shirted chest.

It had really gotten a giggle out of him. And it had flustered the hell out of Law. That was something. He wondered what exactly.

Doffy uncorked another bottle and poured. It was about time for dessert. "Cheers. To not killing each other."

"Cheers, to not killing each other." Law raised his glass once the pour was finished. He seemed to be having trouble meeting Doffy's eyes, but he'd long since stopped catching himself from using the nickname and substituting it out at the last second.

"It's a grand line miracle," Law drawled. His face was flushed pink under his scruffy beard, not yet trimmed from his time out like a light.

Doffy grinned. He couldn't help enjoying watching him squirm a bit. It was funny, and adorable, like teasing a rather grumpy cat. It had been the same way when Law was a kid, and now, despite– or perhaps because of– Law being older, it was even more fun.

The scruffy beard looked cute on him, too. Petulant and audacious, it suited him. It had been one of Doffy's first thoughts, seeing pictures of him, and then in person. That Law had grown up to be really handsome, in his own way.

If still a little undercooked.

"We haven't had enough of those, recently." Doffy said, sitting his wine more restrainedly now. "Grand line miracles. Well, not in my favor, anyway."

"I've seen a fair share of 'em, I guess," Law shifted in his seat, and Doffy watched as he tipped down the rest of his wine like he was trying to get drunk. Maybe it was an attempt to seem less flustered, maybe it was an attempt at liquid courage.

Either way, the lazy way he leaned in his chair with the stem of the glass between his fingers was almost picturesque as he glanced at the door as if worried someone might burst in at any moment.

"Stands to reason even a bastard like you's got a few coming your way."

Doffy chuckled, and refilled his glass for him. If he was trying to get drunk, he was more than happy to indulge him; as much, or more as he had when he'd been a part of the family.

"Even me," he chuckled. "I hope so. Losing sucks."

Doffy's whole life was marked like that. Long stretches of winning streaks, marked by horrible, stomach churning falls. The abrupt end of his childhood in Mary Geoise into the chaos and destruction of the North Blue. Losing everything he'd ever had. His mother. His brother. His innocence. His eye.

That awful fall had led him to meeting the future executives and founding the Donquixote pirates. That winning streak had gone on for a long time. Up until Rosi came back and ruined his life. He'd been a wreck for months.

Then there was Dressrosa. And that had ended in disaster.

Doffy felt like he was due for an upswing. He hoped.

Law's brow was slightly furrowed for a moment, maybe thinking about his own downswing. That wreck and his crew's bodies floating among it.

He shifted to lean on the table again with his wine glass balanced between his tattooed fingers.

"Losing does suck, Doffy. So tell me this— what's your idea of a grand line miracle look like?"

"Good question." Doffy rubbed his jaw, thinking about what to say as the wine glowed through him. Stalling for time, perhaps, or looking for a distraction, he pulled the cover off of desert– a pair of ramekins full of creme brulee.

He'd asked Law to come back to the family before, in Dressrosa. He'd asked him to take up the mantle of Corazon that he'd been promised long ago. Law had thrown it back in his face.

But it had been a bad day for everyone. Tense, full of fighting. The situation was different now. He tried to decide if he was ready to ask again, or if it was too soon.

He picked the dessert up and offered it over to Law, hoping that he couldn't see the indecision on his face.

Law's eyes were always keen, and even dulled by the drink and the heavy flush on his face— he seemed to be looking right through his indecision as he took the creme brulee with a half smile.

"Looks good," he said…obviously waiting for his answer.

Doffy's fingers brushed Law's hand very briefly as he passed him his dessert, and he sat back more firmly. He picked up his spoon, and cracked the sugary surface.

Why was he hesitating? Wouldn't Law be wondering if Doffy meant to offer again? What if he'd be disappointed if he didn't?

For just a flash, anger welled up in Doflamingo's chest. Maybe, after everything, Law deserved a little disappointment. Maybe he deserved to be kept in limbo, not knowing where he stood. After all the chaos and the pain he'd put them through— he'd put Doffy through. Maybe he should keep him guessing.

The anger sputtered out like a match starved for air, smothered under the weight of Doflamingo's own needy, possessive desire. The desire for after so much grief for something, one thing, that had been long denied him to be set right. Surely Law needed that too, right now? After all, his own crew, his whole life, was in tatters…

He put a spoonful of the sugary treat in his mouth and rolled it on his tongue for a moment, letting Law hang for a moment. Just for a moment.

"Tastes good, too. As for my grand line miracle…" he replied quietly with a smile. " He glanced up at him, his world as always, a little rose-tinted."There's a big empty space with your name on it. Like there has been for a while."

Law's spoon dropped from his fingers and its edge cracked the surface of his creme brulee.

–

Hearts. It always had come down to hearts for Law. Corazon, Rosi…the second Corazon had been the one to spirit him away. He'd named his crew the Heart Pirates. He'd tattooed the symbol all over his body in spiked lines like barbed wire.

Doflamingo had offered him the seat that he'd claimed to have reserved for him in Dressrosa.

As his spoon fell from his fingers to crack the surface of the dessert between them, he was shocked to find it come back to it once again.

'The Big Empty Space with Law's name on it' was undoubtedly that offer once again.

'Be my third Corazon.'

Doffy was watching him. Watching his reaction from behind his shades. He'd taken another bite of creme brulee, and was quiet; maybe waiting for his answer, or waiting to decide how to follow up what he'd said.

Either way, a silence fell over the table for a moment.

Law's fingers twitched as he reached down to grab his spoon.

"...hell of a miracle, Doffy." He scooped a healthy portion of crystalized-sugar topped custard and took a bite to stall for time.

"Oh, trust me, I know," Doffy said quietly, licking his spoon. "It's already slipped out of my fingers a few times. Starting to think it's an impossible one. Well, I've already been told it's impossible, but I really don't like hearing that."

An impossible miracle. Law's lips twitched into a smirk as he hastily took another bite of the meal. No, Doffy never was someone who took 'impossible' for an answer. There was something to be said for the man's willpower and drive against the odds…

His fingers tightened around his spoon. "At the end of the day nothing's really impossible, is it?"

He watched as Doffy's posture shifted, shoulders squaring as he sat up in his seat, leaning slightly over the table. His chest swelled as he took a breath."Damn right it's not. Nothing's impossible for me, and my family."

There was a while in Law's childhood where he'd heard that quite a lot. 'Nothing's impossible for the young master'. 'Nothing's impossible for the Donquixote family'. For a long time, that was one of his biggest inspirations. For someone trying to burn the world down to make even the tiniest impact he could, the feeling that nothing was impossible with the right support was…heady. Powerful.

He looked into his dessert instead of Doffy's eyes for a moment, taking a bite. "And I mean, you're still here aren't you? Seems there's more to that than just talk."

Doffy met his gaze, a hint of the scar tissue on his face visible, his glasses slipping slightly down his nose.

"A hell of a lot more. Setback after setback, I'm still here. We're still here. I–" he paused, and fumbled, before tightening his jaw, and shaking his head. His voice was strong. "I was going to wait to ask you, but fuck it, right? You've been through a lot. I wanted you to know that you've still got a place here, if you want it."

Law felt his body tense. He couldn't say yes. All that conflict between them, the decade of strife and vitriol as he tried to tear him down…

The hopes of the end of the Grand Line and the One Piece. Not that it was ever Law's dream. Law's dream, his goal, was vengeance for Rosi. But that fell through, dropped like lead in the ocean— and it might have all started on false pretense anyway.

A pointless revenge that culminated in a pointless and tragic loss.

And here was Doflamingo offering him a place back with the gang. A place of honor, in Doffy's twisted worldview.

He felt his face flushing more as he grumbled an answer. "As your Corazon?"

"As my Corazon," Doffy answered in confirmation. He put his hand over his chest. "You don't have to answer right now if you're not ready. But you asked what my miracle would be, Law. And that's it."

Law stirred his spoon around in the bowl.

"It'd be a hell of a miracle, Doffy." He said it again, the idea playing through his mind as he leaned on the table with a wry smile.

"You've got me stuck here for a while yet. Who knows. Maybe you'll convince me."

He wanted to shoot himself the moment the words left his mouth.

He'd issued a challenge to Doflamingo, just then. A goal.

There was nothing more dangerous in the world than a Donquixote with a goal.

The sharp knife of Doffy's smile could have sliced pure moonlight.

"Maybe I will convince you."

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