Bedside Manner (Law x Reader)

16. Victoria Punk

"You drive this tuna can on wheels?" Kid scoffed as he grabbed onto your door and stuck his head in the vehicle. "How long have those lights been on?"

You followed his arm down to see him pointing out the warning symbols lit up on your dash. You looked back at him with a cheeky smile and shrugged. You honestly couldn't remember when you first noticed any of them come on-- you didn't even notice them anymore. You had completely forgotten.

Kid frowned as he backed out of your car with a frustrated rumble. He jerked a thumb towards his shop. "Pull this heap of junk into the garage and let me take a look."

"You're the best!" You nearly sang as you did just that.

The garage doors were painted with bold blue and white stripes-- reminiscent of a mask that used to always hang in Killer's room. Letting your eyes rove over the rest of the building, you caught sight of the tapestry that hung in the shop window.

A skull and cross bones with wild red hair and goggles. Engulfed in red and purple flames. Now that was a blast from the past. You remember when the design was nothing but a series of sketches on the blank spaces on his homework pages.

Pulling into the garage, you were met with the sight of a monster truck. It's front end made out to look like the skull of some sort of fish, that look being carried out along the sides with what looked to be rib bones jutting out from the under carriage.

You could barely make out the green paint job.

"Is that Victoria?" You asked, jumping out from your own little pick-up.

You craned your neck to get a good look at her. You would probably need a ladder just to get into the damn thing.

"Victoria Punk." Kid corrected with a proud grin. "Although, we did take some of the original Victoria's parts to put her together."

"Can I take her for a spin?"

Your brute of a brother barks out a laugh. It's the kind of laughter that has him clutching at his abdomen and tossing his head back. The noise luring Heat and Wire from whatever dark corners they were hiding in.

"A simple no would have sufficed."

"You showed." Heat nodded in your direction. "It's good to have you back."

With their leather vests and pants, they all looked more like bikers than some local city mechanics. Their sense of style really hadn't changed much from your younger days. Your eyes narrowed on the leather straps criss-crossing Wire's chest. In fact, you were pretty sure these guys were wearing the exact same outfits you swore they wore daily in high school.

"You never really lo- hey!" You snapped at Kid as he swiped your keys from your hand, ducking into your truck to pop the hood.

He poked around under the hood, never even sparing you a glance. "You got any plans later? I think this is going to be an overnight job, at least."

"You kidding me?" You groaned. "It can't be that bad. When could you have it done?"

"This time tomorrow if you're lucky."

Annnd you were anything but. You pulled out your cell phone-- why, you really weren't sure. You didn't need to stare at the date on your lock screen nor the time to know that you would be needing to call a transportation service to take you to your date that night.

"What's up with your phone?" Wire asked, the man suddenly looming over and sending your soul straight out of your body.

"You need a damn cowbell!" You smacked his upper arm while the hand with your phone was pressed tight to your chest.

All three men were snickering as you tried to catch your breath. "It was cracked during that storm."

"And you haven't gotten the screen replaced yet? That was a while back now."

"No, I haven't." You grumbled. "I'm still paying the damn thing off. Same with the truck and don't even get me started on my student loans."

"You never answered the question, short stack." Kid crossed back over to you and Wire. "You got any plans? We can see about getting you set up with a loaner."

"Just a date, but I can just use one of those apps to get a lift." You answered dismissively, thinking nothing of it beyond the fact that it would be annoying to rely on someone else to get anywhere.

"The guy's not picking you up?" Heat inquired. There was an unspoken edition of "Killer always made a point to pick you up". Even before anyone had a license or vehicle, he would show up at your door to walk with you.

Granted, he spent most of his time at your foster home with you and Kid anyway.

"Well... I just sort of assumed." You admitted. "I thought... with him, I thought that's just how he was and not how most people expect it to be."

"You're a dumbass."

You shot a glare to the redhead, ready to get a little snarky when Heat spoke again. "Did you guys say you would drive separately?"

You thought for a moment. "He said he would contact me."

Which he still hadn't and you thought he would have by now. It was starting to worry you, but you were trying to ignore that feeling. This would be your first proper date in a long time-- you were feeling more like a teenager than a woman nearing her thirties and a few short years from becoming a full fledged surgeon.

"Then he probably plans to pick you up." Wire decided.

You tossed your hands up in exasperation.

-

"So who's this punk taking you out tonight?" Kid asked, his gaze seemingly fixed on the asphalt.

It was just the two of you now. You had moved outside, leaning up against the brick wall. The sun was starting to dip behind the buildings and the road was busy with vehicles. It had to be a few hours off from your impending date. "It's not that creep Trafalgar, is it?"

"And if it is?" You snipped. "How do you two know each other anyway?"

The redhead rubbed at the back of his neck, a string of disgruntled sounds leaving his throat. He took his time giving you an answer before his frown deepened. Your brow raised as you watched the tips of his ears turn pink.

"Doesn't matter. The guy's got a punchable face and I don't like him."

You leaned forward and cocked your head to catch his eye. He matched your grin with a scowl.

"Oh, no no no. I think it very much matters." You bumped into him with your shoulder, encouraging him just to spill the beans.

You were fully expecting it to be something silly in the end. Silly and insignificant to you anyway. You really weren't far off when he went on to rave about an actor named Gol D Roger or Gold Roger. Your date and brother had evidently crossed paths some years ago when his final movie was released after his untimely death. Rumors were still circulating that he was murdered-- a hit ordered by the marines.

The film was a limited run meaning only so many copies were produced. Of course there was one left by the time the two men showed up to purchase a copy for themselves and a fight broke out. 

"Then this kid shows up, grabs it first and calls me Jaggy." Kid complains. "Jaggy!"

"I kinda like it."

Kid reached over to wrap his arm around your shoulder and pull you against his chest. His free hand came up to ruffle your hair while you laughed. "What was that, short stack? I don't think I heard you."

"Lighten up, Jaggy, it's funny!" You shouted through fits of giggles, anchoring your feet against the concrete and trying to pull yourself free.

There was a break in the traffic and while brief, you thought you saw someone with a camera aimed towards the shop from across the street. Their face hidden behind a hat and dark shades. But just as quick, the traffic picked back up and hid the parked cars from view.