Fight Or Flight

Fight Or Flight- 15 -END

Kid woke with a gasp. In a panic, he began kicking and pulling at the sheets pinning him to the bed until he heard a loud riiiiip, and suddenly found that he could sit up.

The man was hyperventilating, propped up on his one arm, the mattress and ripped sheets drenched in his own sweat.

He tried to push back his sweat-slicked hair with his prosthetic, only to find his nub of a left arm wiggling instead. Kid looked down at it in shock before remembering he had taken it off to sleep.

Something moved on the bed next to him and he jumped.

"Kid...?" A groggy voice called out, more yawn than word. Trafalgar Law slowly propped himself up on his elbows to look at his boyfriend. "What's wrong?"

Kid swallowed dryly and shook his head. "Just a... a dream. Don't worry babe, just go back to sleep."

Not one for taking orders, Law sat up further and wrapped his arms around Kid. He didn't seem to care about all the sweat.

"Was it the crash again?"

Kid flinched—so Law knew his assumptions were correct—but said nothing. Instead, the redhead gestured vaguely to the sheets. "Sorry I ripped em'. I'll go out and buy new ones."

Law glanced at the time and let out a little snort. "Not now you won't. It's nearly four in the morning, and we have a big day tomorrow."

Kid pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah, ok."

Law gave a little hum and kissed him, gently settling them back down onto the mattress, then curling himself into Kid's side. "Just try to get some sleep..."

~

"Are you sure about this?" Kid asked, a serious look on his sleep-deprived face as he held out a ream of papers in front of both of them.

Law took a deep breath and nodded, gripping a  legal pen tightly in his dark first. "Yes. I'm sure."

"All I'm saying is that this is a big step."

"I understand that—"

"And this is a lot—a lot—of money you're putting towards this."

"Kid—"

"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing—"

"KID! I know what I'm doing!"

Kid looked hesitant for a moment longer, but the iron-hard look of resolve Law gave him had the redhead sighing in defeat.

Clenching his eyes shut, he held out the papers and felt them get taken by his fiancé of three years now.

"A-Are you sure you don't want a... different island?" Law's attorney stuttered, dabbing the sweat from his brow. "I-I know this one is fairly inexpensive compared to others, b-but haven't you heard of it's... history? There's a reason it's priced so low, after all!"

Kid scowled as Law ignored the man in favor of signing the paperwork.

"Fairly inexpensive?" Kid snorted. "You call over half a million dollars fairly inexpensive?!"

The attorney balanced. "Y-yes...?"

"It's fine, Kid." Law sighed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm probably the only plastic surgeon in Miami that doesn't have his own island." At that, the doctor put down his final signature and smiled up at his fiancé. "And now I've joined the ranks."

With a grin, Kid took the love of his life into his arms and spun with him in a kiss.

~

The first thing the couple built upon their island was a memorial to all the lives lost on the dreaded flight that brought them their paradise. Though all the bodies had long since been exhumed by the proper authorities and each brought to their respective homes and final places of rest, neither Kid nor Law wished to forget the tragedies that befell the other 80+ souls that day.

In the months that followed, and with only the help of their friends and families, the couple tore down their once-precious shelter and built themselves a home; and, much like Kid had once wanted, it was indeed as tall as the trees.

When asked about this later, Law would say that his fear of heights was not nearly so bad when their home was made of legitimate materials, and not just some ramshackle amalgamation of branches and airplane parts.

And so eventually, nearly four years after their initial stranding upon that very same island, the couple returned to it and remained there.

Their water came from that fresh water lagoon, their energy came from solar panels, their food and other such necessities came in bulk deliveries via Heat, Killer, or Penguin—the later two deciding to move into an apartment together as well on Andros Island in an effort to be closer to their friends. Kid liked to place bets on whether or not they would start dating in the near future.

Despite their now remote location, the two remained working. Kid managed to find work with a construction group in the Bahamas (that had sadly lost one of their own to the crash), and Law began to work as an online consultant for his previous medical practice. The video calls from Corazon sometimes outnumbered the calls from actual patients.

The island was their home: the one they had built between themselves both physically and emotionally.

And when he looked out on the water to what remained of the plane that brought him to his paradise, Law contented himself with knowing that there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.