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It was Cora san's scent. Always so warm and comforting.
Law sank into the stench and closed his eyes, letting the aromatic drug waft in untamable tendrils through the room. The cigarette burned between his fingers, a small red glow in his otherwise dark room. The void threatened to consume the lonely captain all together if the light was snuffed. Another long drag on the shortening cigarette left the cinders burning hotter.
A soft, nearly unnoticeable, glow illuminated the brighter hairs on Trafalgar's chin as he lay upon the untucked sheets of his bed. The scent diffused throughout the room, capturing every inch in the unforgettable comfort. Law let the bed hold his bare skin soft like a fleeting hug from the only person he could ever love this deeply. On nights like these, long and dark as the ocean vast and mysterious, he yearned for that once familiar touch.
Another mouth full of smoke was blown from puckered lips, the smell catching on his pointed nose only enforcing his dreams. He could almost feel those long fingers caressing the midnight ink of his tattoos, following each curve and spiral as red eyes would follow the same path. Law could feel the shiver of excitement as those crimson eyes looked up at him from under blond bangs.
There was a harsh ash undertone to the stale air. Law could choke on the thick clouds of smoke as they hung heavy in the lonely room. Another long drag brought him out of that illusion. He was faced with a large, empty room and the lingering loneliness of missing Corazon. The cigarettes that he had once smoked only deepened the solitude that engulfed him. That sweet smell that lingered above it all, enticing and tasty only for a second drove Law to a high. He chased that safe moment that the smell promised him.
Another long stream of smoke spilled from his pursed lips, tangling among themselves in the still air. The clouds were disturbed as the heavy metal hatch of his door slowly opened. A tall figure obscured by shadows stepped in, pausing to consider his steps carefully. "You know," the voice cut the silence, "you can open your window since we're docked tonight."
A hearty laugh reverberated against thick metallic walls bringing life to the droll cabin. The hall light caught the edges of Corazon's red cap and made it glow just like heated embers on the end of Law's cigarette. The tall man made his way across the room in two steps and rested a hand in jet black hair as a greeting. His other reached for the window, prying it open and letting the accumulating smoke pour free of the submarine's confines.
"I'm tired of the ocean smell," Law lazily defended his actions, or lack there of.
Long fingers plucked the stub of cigarette still clinging to life out of the captain's hands and brought it up to his own lips. Red lipstick stained the filter as he took a substantially longer drag than what Law often dared. The waves of smoke that rolled out of his perfect lips wrapped around in tendrils, accentuating the very air itself in decorative beauty, before being swept up in the fresh breeze that washed in from the open port. "You know I hate it when you steal my cigarettes."
"You were taking a long time."
"I was grabbing provisions. You're the one who gave me and Penguin the list of supplies we needed." Corazon sat down, weight shifting the entire mattress, causing Law to roll into the man's thigh. Tired eyes looked up at the grumpy face hovering so far above his own.
"Don't take as long next time. Captain's orders." Law reached his hand up towards the cigarette, daring to pluck it from the man's frown. A large hand easily encircled the thin wrist, holding him still as effortlessly as breathing.
"What am I supposed to do with such a selfish captain?" Corazon snuffed out the last of the burning cigarette in the ash tray, letting the lingering smoke vanish unnoticed into the night air. He leaned down and captured Law's lips in a gentle kiss, letting the ashy taste linger between them. It was harsh and disgusting, but the two of them relaxed into the moment, letting what little sweet smell in the air gloss over the action.
The chaste kiss broke and Law was left inches away from the soft breaths coated in that familiar scent. "Brush your teeth before kissing me," Law chastised. "I like the smell better than the taste."
"Then stop smoking my cigarettes when I'm not around." Corazon leaned down again, capturing the reluctant man's lips in another kiss and laughed into it as Law's arms fought against him, trying to push the tall man off.
Corazon's arms were warm on Law's bare skin, his lips soft against his own, and that smell that lingered in the room and on his clothes made him feel truly at home, loved, and comfortable. A dying whisp of smoke rolled and danced from the ash tray, forming a heart before disappearing into nothingness. The smell lingered the whole night through.