🎙️Tell Me More. (Podcast!AU Trafalgar Law x Eustass Kid)

Fire News.

🎙️

It had just started to rain when Law reached the front porch. He fumbled with the keys as they slipped through his fingers. Cursing, he balanced his binder full of notes and exam questions on his thigh, his bag on one shoulder, and bent to pick them up.

A loud meow could be heard through the door.

"I know, Bepo," Law said. "Give me a second."

The all-white cat bolted towards his legs and started to rub his head against them, leaving a trail of fur. Law had to watch his step so that he wouldn't stumble on him.

"It's good to see you too," he mumbled with a tired smile and set his clutter down on the table.

The small Cape Cod house was just off the main road, protected from the hustle and dust by the other hugging houses in the neighborhood. Everything about the house itself was perfect in Law's eye - the symmetry of the roof, the simplicity of the brick and stone, the white trimmings adorning the windows and the porch, and the fireplace in the living room that had kept him staring into the flames for the last twenty years of his life.

It was dark now, the rooms hushed and muted. The only sources of light were the many windows, letting in the slight patting of the rain outside and the yellow light of the lamposts. Law didn't flick on the light switch. The dimness was easing his headache.

And Bepo wasn't complaining, either. As Law settled himself on the couch with a huff, Bepo jumped on his lap and started to make himself comfortable, purring loudly. The cat had put on healthy weight since it stumbled into Law's porch two years ago. He had been unrecognizable back then - all bones and matted fur.

Law brushed his hand slowly on the shiny white fur now and tried to calm his mind. The LED clock on the microwave showed 09:21 P.M. In theory, he was supposed to write the outline for tomorrow's filler episode where he and Kid would talk over some celebrity gossip, but the extra classes had drained the last bits of his energy. His brain refused to cooperate.

He took out his phone and reflexively checked the calendar - an ominous red lit up the date of Friday two weeks from now. Law hated thinking about the exam. All the late nights, countless test papers and written notes, all the money he spent on the preparatory course - if he wouldn't get enough points yet again... He knew it would crush him.

But he had to pursue this path. He had already started on it when Rosinante was still with him. Somehow, it was easier to cope with the stress back then, knowing his guardian was waiting for him in the small house with the white trimmings and asking all kinds of annoying questions about Law's day as soon as Law made a step through the threshold.

Law tossed his phone away onto the couch.

His eyes landed on the fireplace, and he contemplated whether he had enough drive in himself to get up and light a fire. Then, his gaze got stuck on the mantelpiece.

A framed photo faced the living room there. A blonde man was grinning into the camera, taking up half of the picture as he embraced younger Law with one arm. Behind them was a rollercoaster ride and a Ferris Wheel.

Law's eyes stung. His eyes couldn't move on from the blonde; everything about him radiated happiness - from the carefree laugh to the sparkling eyes and the loud makeup. He would have gotten along with Eustass-ya alright, Law thought and huffed.

"Meow," Bepo said.

"It's alright, Bepo." Law scratched the cat's head. "I'm okay."

After Rosinante's death, everything in Law's life became empty - the house grew quiet from day to day, hushed and darkened, and so did Law. In spite of what he told Kid, the lack of friends never bothered Law much, as long as he had his guardian who always came up with some sort of 'bonding activity', as he called them, and forced Law to spend time making memories. Now, those memories were his most prized possessions.