@ryathenaughtykitsune // Continued From Ask Prompt.

@ryathenaughtykitsune // continued from ask prompt.

　　　❝ sorry, i... can't. ❞

　rosinante shook his head for added emphasis. though, he wasn't exactly sure what he could & couldn't have, exactly. his brother's rules for him seemed to change by the day. whether it was his whims, or his mood, or something rosinante himself had done, he wasn't sure. but accepting things without prior approval (especially food) wasn't generally allowed. were he more paranoid, he probably would have assumed this was some sort of test. a test he wasn't going to fail, no matter how appetizing the candy looked.

　❝ i'm allergic, ❞ he lied.

　❝ i see! ❞

　rosinante hung to her words, reddish-brown eyes receptive & alert, a smile that shifted from warm joy, to something a bit more pensive and perhaps.... embarrassed as the conversation turned to the marines.

　❝ we haven't really talked about it muchーmy connection to the marines, i mean. i lied to him about not being involved for months, and the night i finally admitted it was the night we got... separated. ❞

　separated. that was certainly a more docile way of phrasing what had happened than 'i was hospitalized on a marine base after almost being murdered by my brother & law ran for his life in the opposite direction', though rosinante imagined nami had already heard an abridged version of from law. plus, there was a time & place to delve into deeper topics with people, but a first time meeting between you & your son's partner didn't seem like it fit the bill.

　❝ i'm sure he's told you everything, about how much he hates them. for what the world government did to his home country. part of my lying was i couldn't risk him not trusting me & running off while we were on the road, so i just kept lying. but that brat is too smart for his own good sometimes, so of course he figured out i was a marine before i told him, but i... doubt he's that happy about it, y'know? i don't really bring it up. ❞

Oh. Not a question after all, but a statement that had her cheeks burning brighter than they had been moments before. Of course she was special- Law realized that or he wouldn't have been so open with his attention and affections towards her. Of course she knew he didn't give that to everyone, considering he was still insistent he didn't like her captain half the time.

"I guess you can say we're a lot more alike than you'd think," she muses out loud, twining a ringlet around her finger in thought. Law was special too, or she wouldn't have been so open to accepting that their feelings for one another went further than mutual attraction. To find that they had much more in common than stubborn natures and quick tempers wasn't really much of a surprise. "We both wear our hearts on our sleeves, after all."

A hand reached across her own chest to touch the swirl of ink that sat over her visible healed scar, not sure if Rosinante would pick up on the meaning otherwise. "Mine's a reminder of my ex-marine savior too."

Talking about Bellemere was never easy, but with Law it had felt just as every part of other step of their relationship- completely natural. She had cried a little just at the mention of her, just like now her eyes misted over at the thought of her now.

he’s still the same brat with the same smirk

❝ none taken! ❞

evil as doflamingo was, rosinante wasn't one to revel in his brother's misfortune (at least no more than a sibling usually would) but he understood what needed to be done. he still had trouble wrapping his brain around the whole ordeal. he still had trouble coming to terms that his brother's reign of terror was stopped by a teenager. it was a shock to him but, at the same time, it wasn't. he supposed that was the power of the d. at work.

　❝ and, right? he's so... grouchy. and independent. like a... housecat. ❞ or, a feral stray taken off the street and forced to be a housecat, more accurately. ❝ but tough as nails, too. did he tell you the story about the week we met? about how he tried to murder me? ❞

The idea of a very small Law scowling from under his hat is very easy to conjure and has the man laughing. It’s cute, he’s always been like this, always deadly serious and Luffy knows for a fact they would have gotten along worse as children. “He’s a doctor, should know that’s not good for him.” Luffy’s smile relaxes as he shakes his head. “ ‘M surprised he hasn’t exploded yet.”

“Nope, I don’t think so?”  Luffy had been distracted in the colosseum for the better half of Dressrossa. “Tora-o got kidnapped at some point then I was running all over the city with him.” He sighs, eyes glancing down and away. “He could have told me, already said I’d help him.” Knows he can’t take it personally if Rosinate says Law’s always been that way but Luffy knows he’s reliable, trusts that his crew can and will handle anything thrown their way. “Dunno what he would’a done if we didn’t land on Punk Hazard, he didn’t even have his crew with him.” Did they know their captain was on a suicide mission? What did he tell them he was doing? 

“He’s so stubborn! Just let me care about you idiot.” Hand smacks against his chest, fingers curling into the rough skin of his scar. “I didn’t ask for his help but he did anyway. Dying that day would’a been fine.” Maybe Law didn’t see it with the same weight he did or it was just another day, another surgery. There is no obligation to help Law, no debt to be repaid, no thanks needed.  “Kept my dream alive ya know? I’d kick ten Mingo asses if he asked.”

“Not you, no offense.”

　　❝ eh... concussion-consmushun. though, i wouldn't know the square root of 64 under normal circumstances, sorry to say. ❞

rosinante waved off the concern as he always did, but one could never be sure if the dismissiveness was him not wanting to worry others, or the hallmark of a man so desensitized to the traumatic day-to-day happenings that it genuinely didn't register as an issue anymore.

　❝ whichever you want to use is fine. both is fine, honestlyーjust don't use rosinante around law. i guess for thirteen years, he thought of me as nothing but cora, so it throws him off whenever i use my real name around him. ❞

not that rosinante was complaining; there was a brief unease in the beginning simply because the name itself was rooted to his codename within the donquixote pirates. hearing it spoken aloud again upon his reunion with law was like he had gone back to a time & place that he'd rather not remember.

but there was also sweetness tied to it. particularly, the memory of the first time law had ever called him coraーover breakfast one morning, and rosinante felt like he was dreaming. the night before it had felt like the sky was crashing down on him, but just hearing that one little name filled his chest with a new determination.

　so, yeah. rosinante was nice. but cora was something he didn't think he'd ever be able to let go of.

@code01746

Ikkaku smiled at the tall blonde's response and shook her head. "If you had brain damage, I'm pretty sure Law would have scanned you for it long before now," she stated. "I'm more concerned about a concussion you might have gotten from that fall."

His clumsiness had certainly been cause for concern, the first time she'd seen it. Really, she had been worried about possible brain damage at the time, but Law had assured her that the man was "just like that." Of course, Ikkaku had still installed extra fire extinguishers throughout the submarine, though she'd demanded that the smoking inside be kept to a minimum, if not outright banned. The oil, gas, and other flammable things that her job involved had made her very conscious of fire safety and with how clumsy this man was, she feared a lit cigarette going flying and setting something ablaze. Her hair included.

She studied him carefully. Partially checking for injuries, but partially just observing this man who was apparently important to Law's past. Another piece to the puzzle that was Trafalgar Law. She adored her captain, but he could be a frustrating enigma.

However, this blonde, sunny idiot was helping her see things a little clearer. At least, she could better understand why Law put up with his Hearts' idiocy and shenanigans when he held such strong affection for this one. Perhaps they reminded Law of him these past thirteen years.

The thought stirred mixed feelings within her, but then again, she had a lot of conflicting feelings since Law returned from Dressrosa.

"Well, you don't look injured. Still, better to check." She held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up? What's the square root of 64? And...what's your name?" Ikkaku asked, slightly sheepish. "I know Law calls you 'Cora-san,' but I feel like that name's got some history. What would you rather I call you?" It was something she'd been wanting to know, but unsure how to ask. Sure, Law had introduced his savior to his crew, but it felt odd, calling him the title that Law did without permission. But the name Donquixote Rosinante had its own history attached to it. So she'd rather hear from him what he'd like to be called.

　❝ for a while, it was a lot of moving around. first protective custody with the marines, then sailing around just trying to find a place to... go, y'know? ❞

　rosinante latched onto the topic, something he felt the younger man would relate to. although information was scarce (even when he was still with the marines) he knew enough about the revolutionary army to know they were also somewhat nomadic. also being chased. perhaps that's why he felt comfortable enough to drop his guard and speak about his woes in the first place.

　❝ it's gotten a lot easier since he took over dressrosa. unfortunately. ❞ the ex-marine was deliberate with his wording, a glumness in his voice betraying, although things were 'easier' for him, he wasn't exactly happy about the tradeoff. ❝ as long as i stay far away from that place, i'll be okay. a bit miserable, but... hey, i'm alive. that's something, right? ❞

" I didn't exactly have the intention of dragging you somewhere. Or doing anything like that. " While he has taken more extreme methods for information in pressing matters but, he wouldn't for this. Sabo was WARY, yet still doesn't get the sense of hostility towards the other through the colors of observation. Hopefully, his presence would be the same. Not to mistake his trust as a WEAKNESS.

He doesn't have any current reports regarding the Warlord and underground crime boss, so his knowledge of the individual falls through the cracks of his memory. His focus returns to the Donquixote before him. Hiding from his own family ? Very few reasons for that, likely to stand opposed to something that Doflamingo was doing… or perhaps something else ? Only information could sort out the truth from the speculation && theories.

” That's a long time to be hiding from him. Never found a place you could settle ? “ Away from his reach ? Unlikely if his connections are as vast as he fears. " Sounds pretty tiring. "