Work Text:
Doflamingo’s ears were twitching as he slid up close to Law. “What’s wrong? You seem… angry.”
Law shook his fists as he raised his hands up from the keyboard. He tried to stop his left hand from trembling, but it always trembled when he got angry. “I swear, some people just hate cat people. They said that God hates cat people and that all cat people should be neutered if they wanted to live here – even though this country was built on the backs of cat people!”
Doflamingo hissed when he heard that. “Who said that? He doesn’t deserve to live!”
“It’s anonymous. I couldn’t tell you who it was. But yeah, I told him to kill himself for being a chud.” Law sighed.
“Good, Law!” Doflamingo nodded in approval. “Some people are just terrible people and the world would be better off without them.”
“If only there were a way to kill off these people for real,” Law grumbled. “But then again, it’s not worth getting the death sentence because of them. Fuck them all. They’re too blind to see that letting cat people have rights would benefit us all in the long run. It’s almost as if they just want cat people to suffer, just because their ‘God’ says so.”
“Religion really is the basis of all oppression,” Doflamingo huffed. “I can’t respect anyone who’s religious.”
“Me neither,” Law replied glumly. “Before I ghosted her, my extremely religious aunt invited me to so many church events. It was terrible. Pastors were saying that cat people have had their rights taken away because of they were born with sin and lived in sin, and their followers were blindly agreeing with them. What bothers me most about that chud is that there are in fact many people who think that way. I wish they would all die out so that we could have a better world.”
Doflamingo nodded in agreement. “That’s true. The good news is, they’re probably dying out. The younger generation is more open to cat people having rights. It’s a sad thing that they can’t vote. If I ever got rights, I’d be dead by then.”
“Yeah,” Law looked at Doflamingo sadly. He reached out to fondle Doflamingo’s head and to rub his ears. It hurt him to see that his beloved cat man was hated just because of what he was. “I wish change would happen sooner. The sad thing is, these old people are still the majority of the voters and the government isn’t going to change their stance on cat people. Even the opposition parties don’t dare to make a stand for your kind. If there were, I would’ve supported them long ago. Politicians are all grifters.”
“I didn’t know you felt so strongly about our rights, Law. I always knew you cared, but it’s great to know that you really believe in my humanity.” Doflamingo smiled. His eyes were narrowed and he tilted his head as Law continued to rub his ears.
“Of course I do, Doffy.” Law smiled. He enjoyed how Doflamingo reacted to his affection. “If only there was something I could do that could help.”
Doflamingo meowed thoughtfully. “If all the cat people gathered together and protested with some humans by our side, that might bring attention to our problems and show that solidarity with humans is possible.”
“I wish we could do that,” Law replied. “There are so many things that I would join a protest for. However, Doffy… We don’t have human rights in this country. It’s illegal to protest without a license. And the police don’t just issue them to anyone. Groups that support cat people and were political in nature have been denied their licenses. It’s just not possible to do anything without going to jail, and people don’t want to go to jail.”
Doflamingo growled when he heard that. “Sounds like we’re really living under a dictatorship.”
“Well, we kind of are,” Law admitted. “They just pretend it’s a democracy because sometimes, people get to vote. But the opposition parties are all weak and useless and has been effectively shut down many years ago.”
“That would explain why the actual democracies seem to be more progressive than our shitty country.” Doflamingo grumbled. “Imagine if the people of this country could go on strikes just like how the people of ****** did when their government tried to raise the age of retirement!”
“The police would quickly put an end to that were it to happen here,” Law shook his head. He had learnt about that bit of news from the websites he browsed. “That’s why we don’t even have minimum wage laws here. The government does anything it wants, and all it does is cater to corporations and religious folks, even though it’s supposed to be a secular country. The common people are basically screwed.”
Doflamingo meowed angrily. “Watching the news made the government seem like some kind of saint. I really should get my news from more critical sources.”
“Yeah,” Law replied. “The main reason I don’t watch the local media is because it is largely propaganda. That includes the news. Cat people have more rights in those progressive countries. I would’ve suggested you move there since you’re rich, but you’re a fugitive here, and immigration doesn’t look kindly upon that as a regular immigrant. You won’t qualify as a refugee – they only accept those who are in direct danger of being harmed. They don’t take into account the systemic injustices that you face in countries like this.”
Doflamingo sighed sadly. “If I could move to one of those countries where cat people are allowed to marry humans of the same sex, I’d take you with me, Law. We deserve better than this shithole.”
Law nodded quietly. He appreciated Doflamingo’s sentiment. “It sucks that we’re both stuck here. There’s nothing much that we can do.”
“Maybe you could start an anonymous blog advocating for cat people’s rights?” Doflamingo asked.
Law stroked his goatee. Since he was currently jobless, he had plenty of time on his hands to write. “I could do that. I’ll just use a VPN so that nobody can track me down.”
Doflamingo meowed happily. He took out his phone, wrapped an arm around Law, and snapped a photo. He grinned widely, showing his beautiful pearly white fangs. “Don’t worry, Law. I’ll edit your face out before posting it on the internet.”
Law looked at his phone as he added an emoji over Law’s face and typed, “Meow, my human wants to start a cat people rights blog! Will you go support him?”
Law thought about Doflamingo’s popularity on the internet, and an idea came to him. “I know, we could start a video log with you in it and make some money from advertisements!”
“Oh?” One of Doflamingo’s ears moved to the side. “That sounds like a good idea! You might not even have to look for a job if it turns out well!”
“Well, it’ll probably just be a side hustle until I can find a real job,” Law sighed. He was still applying to jobs, but he did not receive any callbacks. Word on the street was that companies were retrenching at that very moment. “Though, I don’t want to be in the videos. I don’t like the idea of becoming too popular. And besides, the cops will figure out that we’re staying together and come knocking on my door looking for you.”
“You could just film me and use filters to edit your face so that you look completely different!” Doflamingo suggested. “You can also filter my face, too!”
“Do those filters work on videos?”
“Yes, they do now! Why do you think there’s so many ‘gorgeous’ women and men on the internet?” Doflamingo laughed. “There are even channels dedicated to showing that those fake beauty standards are a lie.”
Law nodded. He had an idea about what to film for his first video. He grinned, and stood up without telling Doflamingo anything.
Doflamingo’s ears twitched as he watched Law walk to the bathroom.
Law began to film himself once he was in the bathroom. He explained to the camera in a deadpan voice, “My cat man and I have to shower together because this is what happens whenever I go to the bathroom alone.”
It did not take long for Doflamingo to meow sadly from the other side of the door. Law said, “See?”
He opened the door. Doflamingo stood on the other side. Doflamingo meowed happily as soon as he saw Law, and Law reached up to pat his head, while still filming him. He made sure that the focus was on Doflamingo instead of himself. Once he was sure that Doflamingo’s cuteness was captured in the video, he ended the video.
“Look, Doffy. This is my first video.”
“Oh?” Doflamingo looked at his phone curiously. He laughed when he saw the video play. “That’s true, I always do that. That’s why we shower together. Not that you’re complaining, are you?”
“Of course, I’m not.” Law smiled at Doflamingo. He always enjoyed seeing Doflamingo’s flawless body in the shower. It was also an act of intimacy between the two of them. “I just hope the comments won’t criticize me for showering with you.”
“Controversy will just make the video more popular,” Doflamingo grinned widely. “Now, all you have to do is apply the filter.”
“Alright.” Law nodded. “Let me download the app first.”
Doflamingo leaned against him as they went to sit down on the couch. Law fiddled around with his phone, while Doflamingo purred like a machine as he rested against Law.
Once Law was done editing the video, he thought about other ways to film his life with Doflamingo. Having a cat person living with him really enriched his life, and he hoped to capture that essence with his videos.
“Hey, Law.” Doflamingo meowed. “You can start filming me now. I’m going to do something cute.”
“Oh? Okay!” Law pointed his camera at Doflamingo.
Doflamingo meowed at the camera, and held out his hand. “Show me your hand!”
“Okay!” Law stretched his hand out. Doflamingo took his hand and put it against his face, rubbing against it lightly, before licking it as if he was grooming Law.
“Your hands are so small!” Doflamingo grinned.
“No, your hands are big!” Law replied, laughing.
Doflamingo let go of Law’s hand, and Law ended the video there. He asked, “Do you like my large hands, Law?”
“Of course,” Law smiled. “I like everything about you, Doffy.”
Doflamingo grinned at Law and held him tightly, before smooching him on the lips. “I hope your channel is successful, Law!”
***
That night, Doflamingo was breathing heavily and hissing in his sleep. He was having a nightmare where he was a child, and was tied up and could do nothing as the human mob was about to burn him with a bonfire. Right before he woke up, he saw cat ears, and mewled out loud for help. As his eyes opened wide, he saw the ceiling, and assured himself that it had merely been a nightmare, nothing more.
As he looked in the dark, he saw a human reach out towards him. The human asked, “Is everything okay, Doffy?”
All Doflamingo saw was a human. He instinctively swatted the hand away. He was ready to claw the human’s face off if he dared to try anything else, but the human held back, as if he knew that now was not a good time to approach the cat man.
He got up and went to the kitchen to fetch himself something alcoholic. Eventually, he came to his senses, and realized that he was living with Law, and Law only had a couple of cans of beer sitting around in the fridge. He opened the fridge, took the can of beer, popped it open, and drank desperately from it. Once it was empty, he threw the can into the dustbin.
Oh, right… The human must have been Law. Doflamingo gasped when he realized what he had almost done to Law. I should make up for it. He must’ve been worried about me.
When he returned to the bedroom, he saw that Law was sitting in bed. He climbed into the bed and bumped his head against Law’s body gently, meowing as he did so.
Law scratched his ears and patted his head fondly, and he smiled to himself. “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to, Doffy. I just want you to be okay.”
Not all humans were like the ones from his dreams; he was safe with Law. He meowed as he thought about how much of it he should reveal to Law. He didn’t want to think about the nightmare too much, so he simply said, “I just had a nightmare. I’m okay now.”
“I’m glad you’re fine,” Law smiled at him. Doflamingo rubbed his face against Law’s. When Law lay down on the bed, he followed suit, and wrapped an arm around his beloved human.
“It seemed so real,” Doflamingo confessed. He was feeling much better now that Law was in his arms. Law’s scent and presence comforted him. “I wonder if it’s just a nightmare, or if it was a memory.”
“I guess we’ll have to wait for you to remember more about your past to know for sure,” Law replied. He, too, wrapped his arms around Doflamingo’s larger frame.
“I wonder if that’s what Trebol meant when he said that I would never have dated you if I remembered my past,” Doflamingo wondered aloud. “But you’re a good human. You’re not like the ones in my nightmare. I’m safe with you.”
“You’re always safe with me, Doffy.” Law reassured him. “I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”
“Well, then I’m glad I lost my memory when I met you. Being with you is worth it,” Doflamingo chuckled, and then started to purr. Whether it was a mere nightmare or a fragment of his past, Doflamingo was determined not to let it affect his relationship with Law.