I Think About, If He Lived, What Rosinante's Reaction To Law's Tattoos Would Be A Lot. Particularly How

　i think about, if he lived, what rosinante's reaction to law's tattoos would be a lot. particularly how symbolic he would think they were, and how emotional that might make him.

not just the hearts in a homage to his nickname and how that might have made him tear up, or the 'd e a t h' on his knuckles that might have unnerved him at first until law explained his thought process. but just.... the tattoos themselves.

law, against his will, spent his entire childhood watching his body slowly being consumed by white patches.

now, as an adult, his body was also marked ー but because he made a choice to mark it. because he wanted to. he used the freedom that rosinante fought and nearly died for to get those tattoos. those are marks of pride. his tattoos mean something to law. they make him happy.

          If Rosinante is wondering just how Kid found out about today being his birthday, then he'll have to stay curious, because he isn't revealing any of his secrets. He has his sources, and the less other people know about those sources, the better. The point is, he's here now, regardless of whether his presence is welcome or not.

     His hands are stuffed deep inside his pockets and his spine is curved into a lazy slouch. The sound of him sucking his teeth is audible before he speaks.

     ❝ Ya fed me before. ❞                The statement is announced irrespective of whether Rosinante has forgotten or not. ❝ Where I'm from, if someone feeds ya, that means ya owe them. I hate owin' people favors, so I'm not letting ya cash in on that in whatever way ya want, whenever ya want. I'm evenin' the score today, so ya can't come after me lookin' for handouts later, ya got that? We're square after this. ❞

While he speaks, he doesn't quite make eye contact. There's a stiff air about him — an uncomfortable disposition. Even if he's playing it cool, there's a sense of embarrassment radiating from him. Coming to visit Rosinante on his birthday with intentions of giving him a gift and nothing more is an act that could be considered far to innocuous for the likes of Eustass Kid.      This isn't him being nice. He'll be really pissed off if anyone even attempts to suggest that.

     ❝ Ya fed me, so I'll feed ya too, and that's that. So… Pick whatever venue ya want, I don't give a shit. I'll pay for it. ❞

Corazon Birthday Shenanigans

　　　　❝ oh - really? thanks! but... ❞

　rosinante resisted an instinctual 'it's not a big deal'. of course, it wasn't; not having to look after a terminally ill child, or devote years to undercover work anymore left the man with plenty free time. as it happened, he enjoyed using that free time to farm, garden & cook. but, he was aware enough to realize: it wasn't a big deal, to him. for kid, things were different.

that was rosinante's educated guess; the way kid was refusing to look directly at him, and how his words somehow sounded planned and unplanned simultaneously ー reminded him of law, and how he acted once the walls had started coming down.

he'd frame acts of kindness just like this: a favor, he "made extra on accident", "just because he wanted to", he "was going to do it anyway" ー all sorts of things. and, at the time, rosinante didn't get how difficult it was ー how embarrassing & vulnerable it was ー for someone so stoic to allow themselves to do something kind. almost as if he thought rosinante would laugh at him for offering to clean up their campsite, or left the last bit of soup in the pot for him.

any polite refusals on rosinante's end ー or worse: an acknowledgement, light teasing or not, of how nice he was being "for a change" ー and he would be met with swift defensiveness or anger. 'forget it!' law would say, and that would be the end of that.

so, over the years, rosinante had learned to spin the conversations into something else.

　❝ no use spending beri going out to eat when i have so much food growing here, right? would you want to stick around and help me make lunch instead? ❞

while it was true the odd duo had been getting along better ( at least law wasn't cursing death to corazón ), the boy was no doflamingo. he wasn't about to pop out champagne and call off the day's work to celebrate the birth of the blonde; partly because that was stupid and also because why the hell would he ? corazón had kidnapped him ! not only that, but the idiot would sit quietly during each party thrown for him, playing mute whilst his drunk family happily blabbered at him. it was the only time of the year it seemed like everyone actually liked the strange man, which was enough to cause the boy to snort — course, no one really enjoyed his presence. maybe baby five, despite how mean he was to her and doffy, but for how long would that last . . . really, wasn't it only a matter of time before the pirate captain came and hunted them down ? they'd been gone for five months, and the man was still a no-show . . .

scowling, the boy covered his mouth, golden hues glaring at the man who suddenly decided to light up a cigarette in the small room they shared. ❛❛ that smells like shit . . . ❜❜ the preteen grumbled, waving his hand around his face in an exaggerated fashion before a genuine cough wracks through him . . . yeah, fuck cora, this idiot isn't even getting a happy birthday wish from law !!

no HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORA !!!!! i seriously need to write with your bird man more ~ everything I’ve seen you write of him is beautiful so i hope this ask is alright ! law is salty, but in exactly a year he'll hate himself for not even saying a simple happy birthday . . .

Corazon (Incredibly Late) Birthday Shenanigans

　❝ i said i'd open the window in a second, but i could toss you out of it if that's what you prefer? ❞

　rosinante rolled his eyes, putting a bit of playful exasperation into his voice for good measure. from his position at the end of the bed, he lurched his free hand forward, fingers chomping down on law's shoulder as if he were about to make good on his promise ー before reeling back and chuckling. then he did as he promised, crossing to the other end of the room. ❝ you're lucky i even got us a room with a window this time, y'know? ❞

during their travels, rosinante didn't always have the money to shell out for lodgings along the way (and, really, they only had access to them for the first few days the pair were in a new town ー before word spread that there was a boy with a "deathly contagious" disease, and suddenly everyone was refusing them service) but the older man tried to get a place at least for a few days every two weeks or so.

and as much as rosinante joked that this particular trip was a 'birthday present to himself', both knew he was planning on doing it anyway.

it was necessary to do this as often as they could afford to; rosinante only got so much sleep while camping in the wilderness because, being the only adult, he was wholly responsible for both of their safety & needed to keep watch. on law's side, despite the fact he never admitted it aloud, rosinante knew that a cushy place to rest his joints ー as well as four, insulated walls to protect him from the colder nights ー would do his body a lot of good, so these little luxuries were important to keep up with.

plus, there was only so much cologne, cold river water, and a damp rag with no soap could do for hygiene, and both were due for a bath.

　❝ speaking of stuff that stinks ー i didn't fill up that bath for you to just sit & look at it, brat. go wash up already. ❞

Birthday boy

Happy birthday Corazón, the dad ever <3

How Adorable Are You?

　　　　　　　it's true!!! look at him.