Chapter Text
Corazon held his breath, feeling the warmth radiate from the small body against his own. His heart beat hard, but he was oddly relaxed. He hadn't felt anything like this for a long time. Physical touch was nonexistent in his life and he never realized it's absence until now. The Family was close knit but never in that way. Doffy's prostitutes never interested him, and it's not like Doflamingo himself was affectionate at all. Maybe it was their mother, who's face he could hardly remember, who was the last person to give Rosinante real physical affection. The only touch he ever got was from himself (once in a great while) or the violent kind while out on jobs. He had never felt its absence, never really given it a second thought until this small boy with coal-black hair made him realize what he'd been missing.
Law's small body rose and fell steadily, piping hot, curled up in between Cora's legs with his top half splayed against the larger’s groin and stomach. His sleep had overcome him suddenly, after a long 20 hours of traveling. Their mission had been assigned without warning, they barely had time to pack bags before Doflamingo had them sent out and on the move. Corazon had watched as Law went from excited, to bored, to exhausted on their non-stop journey so far, but at least the seas had been calm and kind to them. As soon as they were settled on the final ship, Law had barely laid his head against Rosinante's stomach before he was out cold.
Law had initially looked at him in near disgust when they were brought down to the sleeping quarters only to be presented with a single hammock to sleep on. Corazon wasn't too fond of the idea either; they'd been on good terms since the stabbing but they weren't exactly close. But, the captain of the large caravel had kindly granted them a place on her ship while they sailed to Willow Isle, and her crew took priority on sleeping arrangements so there wasn't anything to be done. Rosinante had rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged sheepishly while the white-riddled boy rolled his eyes in annoyance. There was no other way to situate themselves without Corazon's 9ft frame crushing Law's frail one, which is how they found themselves sleeping the way they were. The younger got over it out of sheer exhaustion, but the elder was initially uncomfortable with the small boy sleeping on his lap. Corazon was half tempted to sleep on the hardwood floor, but when he finished writing out the suggestion the younger rolled his eyes again, crossed his arms in annoyance and sighed, "Of course you're not going to do that, old man. You'll probably break your back and I'm certainly not laying on this dusty floor, so we'll make due."
'Brat' Rosinante remarked to himself, but shrugged his shoulders in acceptance, happy just to have a hammock.
Now here he was, motionless as he sorted through the thoughts in his head. He found himself quite comfortable, somehow even more so than his bed back at Spider Miles. He had never shared that bed with anyone, and now he wasn't sure why. It was nice, the warmth Law's skin put out, and the pressure against his body, even small, was comforting. The rhythmic rise and fall of Law’s back was mesmerizing, and the soft sighs he let out were almost… Cute.
'That’s an odd thought.' Corazon mused inwardly. He never really found kids cute, especially sickly, bratty ones like Law. But he appreciated the warm body more than the young boy would ever know. He chewed on his thoughts a bit more, wishing he had a cigarette for his contemplation, then Rosinante closed his eyes and finally willed himself to sleep.
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The morning was a little awkward, Law had drooled a bit on Corazon's stomach and was more sheepish than the blonde had ever seen him. Rosi tried to assure him with a dismissive expression and wave of his hand that it was fine, but Law still avoided eye contact and quickly clambered out of the hammock, grabbing his hat and leaving to get breakfast. Corazon silently chuckled to himself, prodding at the damp spot on his shirt, wondering why it didn't bother him more that a kid he really barely knew had left a pool of saliva on him. Finding himself in good spirits, he changed his clothes and went to light a cigarette then find food and coffee.
The day was uneventful, mostly just helping steer the ship when applicable and dealing with Law having attacked cabin boy for simply bumping into him. Rosinante knew Law wasn't exactly nice to other children, but the way he laid into the poor kid was vicious and way over the line. The captain had nearly thrown Law overboard as the cabin boy was apparently her darling nephew. Rosi had managed to apologize on behalf of the dark haired brat, but the captain remained contentious, the cabin boy bruised. With a flip of her violet hair, she assured Rosinante that if Law acted up again they would no longer be welcomed on her ship.
Rosinante found Law moping in their hammock after the incident. The blonde attempted to scold him with a disapproving look but Law seemed unaffected by the older man’s silent rebuke, rolling his eyes and turning away from him. Rosinante rolled his eyes in turn, throwing up his hands before scrawling an angry 'you almost got us kicked off the ship' and shoved the paper into the hammock with Law, hoping the kid would bother to read it and take it seriously. Corazon left him to his indignation and continued helping out on board where he could, being as nice to the captain and crew as possible.
They had 2 nights left on this boat before they reached their destination, and Corazon could only hope the angry boy wouldn't get himself into too much trouble before they made it where they were going. He knew the expiration date on Law's body was drawing near, so everyone was trying to be patient with his more frequent outbursts and violent tendencies. The poor kid was staring death in the face, and if they didn't succeed in their mission, there would be no hope left for him. They both knew that, and Corazon found himself wishing that Doffy wouldn't have placed this kid's literal life in his hands. Their options were to obtain the Op-Op Fruit or Law would die. Tensions were high, Corazon didn't need any more going wrong and making their mission more difficult.
After dinner Corazon found himself lounging out on the higher deck, sitting on the wood with a fishing line in the water. The evening was warm and humid and the water was calm. The sun set slowly over the sea, bathing Rosinante in a pink glow. Most of the crew had drunk heavily and gone to bed early, and the quiet was welcomed after a busy day at sea.
His peace was gently interrupted by the sound of small footsteps coming up behind him. He cocked his head slightly to acknowledge the approaching figure, but kept his eyes on his line.
A raspy voice piped up behind him, "Corazon… I… I…" He turned more, keeping his hands on the pole but eyes on a sheepish Law, "I jeopardized our place on this ship, which could have cost us our mission. I didn't even really have anything to be mad about. I've already apologized to the cabin boy and the captain. So…" he hesitated, his voice growing more indignant, "So… I'm sorry. Okay?" He avoided Rosi's eye contact and crossed his arms.
The blonde chuckled inwardly. He was relieved to hear it, and amused by the flair of defiance. Corazon was stunned by how adult Law was sometimes, despite the sass, showing more maturity than any other teenager he had met. Rosinante was happy for a moment that of all the kids he had to travel with, it was this intelligent young boy.
He fully turned towards Law, fishing rod set down and forgotten, and sat down cross legged on the deck to be closer in height to the smaller boy. Cigarette clenched in his teeth, he flashed Law a big grin of reassurance and wondered if the dark haired boy had ever seen his smile before. Law looked shocked for a moment, only to break out into a fierce blush a second later as he looked away again, expression bashful. The blonde was surprised, hardly ever seeing anything but apathy, anger and annoyance on the kid's face before. It softened his sharp features just slightly and made him, well, cute.
'There's that weird thought again.'
Rosi had the urge to reach out to him, maybe place a hand on his head or his shoulder. He hadn't seen a softer side like this of the boy before and he wanted to encourage it. He wasn't sure why, but looking at Law now with his flushed and embarrassed expression made a warmth bloom in his stomach.
'Affection.'
He pieced together the odd sensation after a moment of thought. Bright gold eyes shone up at him adorned by pink cheeks and Corazon slowly reached a large hand out- simply wanting to pat Law's shoulder to reassure him further. What ensued was Rosinante's line finally getting a bite… after he had abandoned it.
The pole lurched forward with force, the angle of the tug causing the handle to whip upwards, slamming into Rosinante's chin and breaking the skin. He let out a choked gasp as the sharp pain hit him, barely conscious of the pole flying over the edge of the ship and his cigarette dropping from his mouth. His hands flew to his chin as he bent over and tears welled up in his eyes.
" Corazon, you idiot!" Law huffed, back to his usual self as he snatched the dropped cigarette and threw it overboard. Small hands quickly pat out the fire that started on Rosinante's coat while he continued to scold the large man. The pain started to subside so Corazon released the hands that were holding his chin, only to find them coated in crimson.
"Are you seriously bleeding?!" Law snapped, giving the blonde a sour look. Corazon couldn't do much but shrug, and laugh silently at himself through the pain. Law rolled his eyes and stepped towards Rosinante, reaching up and pushing his large head upwards by the jaw. He recoiled at first, surprised at the sudden touch.
"Let me look, idiot. You might need stitches." Law scolded, taking a scrutinizing look at the open wound. The blonde held his chin up, sitting on the deck with his weight on his hands behind him. The small hands were adept and gentle, the soft fingertips brushing against Rosi's jaw as the young doctor inspected the gash. “I can’t believe you’re Doflamingo’s brother…” Law commented quietly, incredulity peppering his softer tone. His golden eyes seemed to bore through the larger man’s skin, and he was standing so close…
"You're lucky," the dark haired boy stepped back and crossed his arms, "No stitches needed, but you will have to clean and bandage it. Can you handle that on your own?" Corazon gave a thumbs up, a smile, and a nod, then winced at the pain his grin had caused. Law huffed and rolled his eyes one last time, then turned away and headed towards the sleeping quarters. There was a tinge of pink to his face that was not lost on the blonde.
After the boy disappeared, Corazon found himself lightly tracing where Law's hands had held his jaw in place. Through the pain on his chin it had felt oddly lovely to have the small, soft hands on his skin. He smiled to himself, warmth blooming in his core again.
‘Yeah, this is definitely affection. But why… Him? I've never liked kids or teenagers very much, so why is he special? Is it his maturity? His soft, blotchy skin? His striking golden eyes… ‘
Corazon stopped himself. That was another unusual thought, and it wasn't one entirely bathed in innocent fondness, either. He found the eyes… attractive?
‘Affection and attraction? To… him of all people? Maybe I'm losing my mind…’
He rubbed his eyes with fingers after wiping them off and mused over his lost fish and how he would have to pay for the pole that flew overboard. He hoped the vanished tool wouldn't make the captain too upset.
He sighed silently, looking out over the ocean dancing in the humid dusk.
‘I think I just need some sleep.’
He went to the bathing area and washed up his chin, bandaging it as best he could but he knew the raven-haired boy would have done a much better job. He almost wished that he would’ve said ‘no’ when Law asked if he could handle it himself. He wanted those small hands on his face again.
When he finally ducked into the sleeping cabin, Law was already fast asleep in the large hammock, fuzzy hat strewn aside. His coarse hair stuck out in all directions, making Corazon think he'd been tossing and turning.
The blonde contemplated how to get into the hammock without disturbing the sleeping boy, and quickly realized it was futile. His best option was probably to pick him up and get in the hammock while holding him. Resigning himself to what he was sure would be verbal abuse when he disturbed the angsty pre-teen, he slowly worked his large hands under Law's body, praying his clumsy nature didn't betray him.
‘So small ’, he thought while easily hoisting the lithe body up with his large hands. He quickly situated Law against his chest and carefully slid into the hammock in record time. Rosinante held his breath, waiting for the beratement to start, but instead what he heard was a soft sigh, followed by a quiet groan as Law turned over, still laying against Corazon's chest. The blonde quickly covered them with his coat, despite the heat of the night he didn't feel comfortable leaving Law exposed like that.
Feeling comfortable and safe, and strangely happy at their sleeping arrangement, Rosinante let himself fall asleep to the sound of slow breaths and the rise and fall of the little chest against his own. His last thought was how content he was to be able to be so close to Law again.