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

Razzle Dazzle 'Em.

🎙️

It was only four-thirty in the afternoon, and Law was already getting a headache.

The mall was bustling with life - cliques of teenagers traveling from shop to shop, burdened with shopping bags and Starbucks, couples chatting in the cafes and children splashing in the indoor fountain with the sunlight dropping in from above the glassed roof.

Law had hoped that mid-afternoon on a Monday was a reasonable time to go shopping and avoid hordes of noisy people - but he had been wrong. So then he started to hope that he at least wouldn't meet anyone familiar. He was in no mood for silly chitchat.

The strap of his tote bag was digging into his shoulder. He had stocked up on cat food, semi-dry white wine, and coffee, and even got a new wand toy for Bepo since pieces of his last one were still scattered around the house.

He checked in to the mental shopping list. That was it, he couldn't pretend to avoid the last item on the list anymore - an outfit for Robin's party.

If she had consulted with Ace about the guest list, which she surely did, there were going to be some widely-known names and people who considered themselves big shots in showbusiness. At first, when he had got to know Ace, Law had thought he was simply born into a well-connected family and therefore had some useful links.

But Ace had done so much more than that. He was always at the right place and the right time to be introduced to someone, or introduce himself. He came to wild parties of rock band members, pop singer's cocktail meetings, and slept with half of the musicians on the Billboard chart.

Law was positive that if Kid had banged his head on a pavement one day and made up a wish to meet the KISS members, Ace would be able to set up the meeting in less than a week.

And so it was better to dress up for the Friday party since it was impossible to predict who Law might meet there; maybe his clothes would act as a charm instead of his words. Which was ironic, coming from a podcast host.

Of course, Law usually didn't have this problem - he simply wiggled out of the party, not even bothering to make up an excuse and straight-up saying he didn't want to attend. But he was genuinely happy for Robin, and he felt like he owed her for all the work she'd been putting in for their sake.

And there was also the matter of Marshall's talk show that he wasn't able to make an appearance at, even if he wanted to; which, to be frank, he really didn't. But it was still one bail too many.

The first shop he had entered was a failure. The second one had nothing remotely worth checking out. Law was in the middle of shuffling through a rack of suits in the third shop when he caught a glimpse of red in the corner of his vision.

He froze in place.

No, surely it couldn't be him. Wasn't he supposed to be at work?

There was a mannequin on display in the middle of the shop, and Law tried to position himself behind it. Maybe he had only imagined it.

He was in the middle of circling around the edges to reach the exit, when a voice called out, "Oi! Trafalgar!"

Law almost wailed under his breath. He couldn't deal with him right then. He couldn't look into his eyes without feeling the guilt and the realization that he would inevitably have to leave him hanging in what was most probably the turning point in his career. Why on Earth was he shopping on a Monday afternoon?

"Eustass-ya," he greeted calmly instead, but his heartbeat sped up.

Kid had the leather jacket on and the black button-up shirt with black pants, a narrow chain hanging from the side, and a fanny pack crossing over his chest. He had chosen the most crimson shade of lipstick Law had witnessed him wear yet - it contrasted with the all-black outfit and corresponded with the hair. Law's mind took guilty pleasure in Kid's perfect match of colors.