Work Text:
Law sighed. Doflamingo looked at him curiously and sympathetically.
“What’s wrong, my love?” The cat man meowed at him.
“I got laid off from my current position, but the company is offering me a job as a storekeeper.” Law replied, as he mourned his salary. “I’m going to earn much less than before.”
Doflamingo frowned. “Why did they fire you only after a few months?”
“Well, my boss said that the position was experimental,” Law sighed. “I guess I was lucky to get that job in the first place. But it sucks that I’ll be earning less.”
“If you need any help financially, I’m here,” Doflamingo offered.
Law tilted his head. He was worried about paying rent and making enough for his daily expenses. “I could use some help with rent and utilities...”
Doflamingo nodded. “So, about three thousand a month?”
Law gasped at that amount. He did not expect Doflamingo to offer that much money. A mental image of Doflamingo being thin due to starvation popped into his head. He pictured Doflamingo sitting on the streets, meowing desperately at passerbys for some change. “Please, spare some change… I’m hungry...” The poor cat man would be destitute if he did not save his money. He shook his head vehemently. “I can’t be the cause of your impoverishment, Doffy! You need to save up your money for the future! Cat men can’t work, if you decide to quit crime, you would end up starving on the streets.”
Doflamingo nodded. He had always taken Law’s advice to heart. “Don’t worry, Law. I will save my money for the future. Just let me know how much you need to cover everything. It won’t do if you’re homeless, too. I mean, we could move into my mansion, but then we would have less privacy.”
Law thought about it, and suggested a modest sum. That way, he could keep afloat.
“Okay.” Doflamingo beamed at him. “That’s nothing to me, Law. I’ll gladly help you. Speaking of which, when are you going to get your braces done?”
Law looked at Doflamingo awkwardly. “Actually, I went to see the dentist, and she told me that I needed to get three of my teeth extracted for the braces. And I’ve been looking up information about braces online – it will have to stay on for about three years, and I won’t be able to eat hard food during that time. Not only that, the braces can cause ulcers in my mouth, and still leave space between my teeth. I want to get braces, but I can’t stand the thought of losing more teeth...”
Doflamingo nodded sympathetically. “It sounds like you’ve really done your homework, Law. I guess it’s not something you can do on a whim.”
Law sighed. “I even bought orthodontic wax and a water flosser to prepare for it. But when I think about it, I’m still not sure if I want to go through the process. I need more time to decide.”
“It’s okay, Law. Take your time. I don’t need the money. You can keep it if you decide not to go through with it.”
“Thank you, Doffy.” Law smiled at his lover, and pulled him close for a hug.
When they parted, Doflamingo sat by the window and Law remained on the couch. A strange sound caught his attention, and he looked up to see that it was coming from Doflamingo.
The cat man was chattering – Law heard birds’ chirps coming from outside the window, and he chuckled to himself. He had heard that cat people chattered when the instinct to hunt took over. He reached for his phone to film it – it was adorable. He was not making much money from ad revenues, but it did not matter as long as he got to share his beloved cat man with everyone else.
***
When Law came back home, he shuffled in so that he only showed one side of his face in the direction of the light source. Doflamingo stood at the door, purring and meowing at him. Law awkwardly hugged him with one arm, keeping the other side of his face from view.
Doflamingo meowed. “Why are you acting so strangely?”
Law mumbled, “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t you trust me?” Doflamingo seemed hurt.
Law sighed. He finally looked at Doflamingo directly, showing him his black eye on the other side of his face.
“What?!” Doflamingo gasped. “Who hurt you?”
“It’s nothing,” Law replied. Doflamingo would hunt down whoever did it and make him pay. Law was sure that it would get the cat man arrested. Since he was a human, getting into a fight with another human was inconsequential. However, if a cat man got into a fight with a human, he would definitely get reamed in the court of law. Law would not be able to live with himself if Doflamingo went to jail because of him.
“It’s not nothing!” Doflamingo meowed, licking his face gently. “Tell me, Law. Who did it?”
“I can’t tell you who did it.”
“Then at least tell me what happened?” Doflamingo pleaded.
“Well…” Law lowered his head, pushing Doflamingo away gently. He looked at Doflamingo, touching his face lightly. “I got into a fight.”
“Did you win?” Doflamingo asked.
“I guess I lost, but it wasn’t that bad. I just have a black eye, that’s all.”
“You don’t seem like the type to get into a fight,” Doflamingo frowned. “The other guy must have started it.”
Law nodded. Doflamingo was right.
“If I ever find out who hurt you, he won’t get to rest in peace!” Doflamingo vowed.
“That’s why I didn’t want to let you know,” Law sighed. “You’ll get yourself arrested, all because of me. I’m fine, Doffy. And how do you know it was a guy?”
“Well, you’re almost two meters tall. Most women would just give you a black nose,” Doflamingo chuckled.
Law huffed. It was true. He sobered up as he thought about what would happen next. “Doffy, don’t go and avenge me. It’s alright. I’m fine.”
“I’ll just investigate it. It won’t get me in jail, would it?”
“Don’t go, Doffy.”
“Why? Why are you protecting the person who hurt you? Who knows, he might hurt you again.” Doflamingo meowed protectively.
“Because you’ll definitely get into a fight with him, and you’ll get arrested while he gets off scot-free.”
Doflamingo chuckled. He rubbed his body against Law’s, scenting him affectionately. “You care about me so much, Law! Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”
“No, Doffy… I don’t want you to go to jail.” Law pleaded.
Doflamingo nodded. He finally gave in, and patted Law on the head. “It’s fine. I’ll tell my men to investigate. I won’t get arrested that way.”
“What are you planning to do after that, though?” Law frowned. He was still worried.
“We’ll see.” Doflamingo replied grimly.
Law had a bad feeling about it, but he saw that there was no talking Doflamingo out of it.
***
A few days passed by. Law had all but forgotten about the fight. He was not the sort of person who would let that get to him. Doflamingo had been affectionate as always, and that was enough for him. He loved Doflamingo, and Doflamingo loved him. They spent as much time together as they could whenever they could. That got him through his arduous work days.
He returned home that evening, ready to settle down into his usual routine. Doflamingo greeted him at the door as usual, and excitedly told him that he had something to show him.
“What is it?” Law wondered.
Doflamingo chuckled. “It’s a secret.”
Since Doflamingo seemed to be in such high spirits, Law found himself looking forward to the mystery, as well. Trebol was in a car outside of his apartment, apparently waiting for him to return from work. Law got into Doflamingo’s car, and watched as the scenery passed by while they drove on.
“Wait, why are we going to the industrial area?” Law wondered. There were factories around, and it was getting secluded. If he did not know better, he would think that Doflamingo was trying to kidnap him.
“Trust me, Law. You’ll see when we get there.” Doflamingo hummed happily.
Law kept quiet. He decided to trust Doflamingo, since the cat man had no reason to hurt him.
Eventually, Trebol stopped the car at a warehouse. It looked dilapidated. Law was getting a bad feeling from the entire setup. Before they entered, Doflamingo warned Law to not say a word when they got in. Law nodded. The bad feeling only got worse.
There were no lights in the warehouse. Doflamingo shone a flashlight at the insides. It illuminated two cat men who were wearing masks.
Law kept his mouth shut. He finally understood why when the circle of light fell on the figure of a man tied up, masked, and lying helplessly on the floor. If he spoke, the other man would recognize who he was, and would be able to identify who his kidnappers were linked to. He instantly recognized who that man was. It was the man who had given him his black eye.
Doflamingo reached into his pockets and took out a device. It made his voice sound unrecognizable – deeper and distorted. “Say you’re worthless scum.”
“What? No!” The man protested.
Doflamingo kicked him in the side, making him reel in pain. The man was helpless while Doflamingo continued to brutalize him. “You’re worthless scum. Say it!”
“I… I’m worthless scum,” The man wheezed.
Law swallowed nervously. As much as the man deserved to get beaten up for being a violent lowlife, it was another thing completely to have to watch it happen. He did not like to feel empathetic, yet he did. The man’s pain made him wince.
“Say you’re sorry,” Doflamingo commanded again. “And tell us how much of a worthless scum you are, or I’ll beat you up again.”
“I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me anymore.” The man cried. “I’m worthless scum. Just the other day, I found a wimp and gave him a black eye. I even beat my wife when I’m drunk. I’m a horrible man. Please stop hitting me, I really am sorry.”
Law knew, from deep within his guts, that the man deserved the treatment that he was getting, now that he admitted to worse things than giving him a black eye.
Doflamingo looked at Law. He said, “You can nod or shake your head. Just don’t speak. Should I let him go now?”
Law thought that the man deserved whatever retribution Doflamingo was inflicting upon him, but it made him sick to witness it. Since he was not allowed to speak, he could not ask Doflamingo to beat him up more when he was away. So, he decided to nod. That way, he could soothe his own frazzled nerves. The man would get off the hook, but whatever he had been through was probably already traumatizing enough, anyway.
“Be grateful, scum. You know you’re a horrible man who deserves even worse. Be glad we’re not killing you.” Doflamingo growled. “Men, drive him somewhere and ditch him there. Make him wait, first.”
“What? No… Please, untie me first!”
“You don’t deserve to be untied,” Doflamingo replied. Law noted that he did not hiss, as it would betray the fact that he was a cat man. For all the other man knew, it could have been humans who kidnapped him. Doflamingo and his men clearly knew what they were doing.
Doflamingo took Law’s hand and led him out of the warehouse. Law felt odd; on one hand, he should have been satisfied that the pathetic evil man got what he deserved. On the other hand, he was not comfortable witnessing such violence.
“How was it, Law?” Doflamingo asked, when they were both comfortably seated in the car, and they were on their way back home. “I found out that he hit you because he hated cat men and he knew you were in a relationship with me. He truly deserves this, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does.” Many thoughts were running through Law’s mind, but he decided to focus on the most important one. “But what if the police arrest you, Doffy? He’ll know that you kidnapped him because you made him apologize to me.”
Doflamingo chuckled. “Technically, I wasn’t the one who kidnapped him. He did not know where he was going and who his captors were. We all hide the fact that we’re cat men to widen the list of suspects. Moreover, he doesn’t know that he apologized to you. For all he knows, his wife could have hired the mafia to get back at him.”
“But… He’s our neighbour. He still knows I’m in a relationship with you. And he could narrow it down to two people, his wife and us.” Law sighed. “What will I do if you go to jail, Doffy?”
“Well, if he goes to the police, he will have to tell them that it all started because he hit you. That’ll get him into trouble as well. Is he going to take that risk?” Doflamingo grinned, looking sinister in the dim light.
“But he’ll get into less trouble than you’ll do because you’re a cat man, Doffy! You know that courts don’t judge cat men favourably.”
Doflamingo shrugged. “There’s always some risk involved with these type of things. Don’t worry. My men will gladly take the fall for me. Even if they snitch – as long as he pays for what he did to you, I’m willing to take that risk.”
“Thank you, Doffy. I love you.”
“I love you too, Law.”
Law took Doflamingo’s hand and squeezed it tightly. He loved the cat man even more than words could ever express. Doflamingo, it seemed, loved him, too. They were truly perfect for each other.