Law doesn't care when the hand comes down the first time, leaving a stinging pain on his cheek and a light ringing in his ear. He doesn't care when he looks in the mirror and sees, scattered all over his torso, different colored bruises all in separate stages of healing. He doesn't care when he absentmindedly scratches at the cast on his leg and arm. He doesn't care when someone is screaming in his face and their spit lands on his skin. He doesn't care that he's ignored most of the time, nor does he care that he's never praised at bringing home a report card that has nothing but A+'s on it. He doesn't care that he has no friends, or that everyone in the classroom, including the teacher, finds him creepy and keeps their distance from him.

Some may say he's in denial, but he's not. He simply doesn't care about the abuse, about the screaming, about the isolation and lack of friends. He honestly doesn't care.

Then he tells himself he doesn't care when someone enters his room in the middle of the night and locks the door behind them. He tells himself he doesn't care when that person pulls back the blankets and yanks down his pants. He tells himself he doesn't care when the person is leaning over him, panting and thrusting and moaning.

He tells himself he does not care.

And he hates himself for that.

Because, in all truth, he does care when someone enters his room in the middle of the night. He does care when that person pulls down his pants and begins the thrusting and panting and moaning. He does care…and it kills him. He doesn't care about anything else, but this…he cannot get past it.

The ghostly touches and the seductive whispers keep him up at night as they haunt his mind. The phantom pain and the fear keeps him on edge. Soon he gets less than two hours of sleep a day, and the skin under his eyes grows darker every month. And soon, the fear is mixed with silent anger and desperation. He wants out.

He wants to get away.

He sees two young boys sitting in a dark alley and is curious to know what was going on. He gets a little closer so he can hear them talk. The older one, named Ace, is leaning against the alley wall as he tightly hugs his knees. The littler one, Luffy, is crouching in front of him with a concerned face. Ace looks as if he's on the verge of either breaking down or killing something.

"Ace, it's okay to cry," the younger coaxes, holding Ace's hand. The older shakes his head and gives a weak smile.

"I told you, I'm fine, Luffy. I'm fine." It was obvious that it was not fine, and the younger seems to know this. Law can see tears form in Luffy's eyes.

"Y-You always tell me men don't cry, that I'm a weak crybaby," Luffy quietly said. "That may be true, b-but you're wrong about crying. Crying doesn't mean you're weak, i-it means that you've been strong for too long." The words caught both Ace and Law's attention, and it spoke directly to their hearts. Luffy gives a shaky smile. "S-So it's okay to cry, Ace. I'm right here, and I won't let anyone see your tears."

It's enough to make the older child break down. There is something about the scene before him that makes Law snap. A younger brother is forced to comfort the strong, older brother. Something like that shouldn't have to happen, and he silently seethes as he knows exactly why Ace is crying.

He approaches the two children and they look up to see who it is. Ace looks like he's about to get to his feet when he notices tears pooled in Law's eyes. They stare into each other's gray eyes, and they silently share their pain. This only makes Ace tear up more, and he buries his face into his knees as sobs escape him. Law falls to his knees and lets a few tears loose himself. It's the first time he lets himself cry.

Luffy doesn't seem to understand what is going on, but he comforts the two older boys in front of him; pulling them into gentle hugs as he repeats the sentence, "It'll be okay" over and over. Law's silent tears become hard sobs that mix together with Ace's, and both are gripping the back of Luffy's shirt like their lives depended on it. The youngest child continues to hug them, and he glares at a few passerbys who glance at the commotion; making sure that no one can see the tears the other two children were crying.

It's in that moment that Luffy decides to smile. He carefully pulls away from the two older children as their sobs die down, and looks at their tear-stained faces. With a gentle touch, he wipes away their tears. "I'm going to smile enough for the both of you," he suddenly says. Law looks a little lost at the statement but Ace gives a weak chuckle before he can say anything.

"Thanks, Lu. But with you around, I think I can smile everyday." Luffy's smile brightens more before he turns to the other child.

"Oh, what's your name? Do you want to be friends?" And it's in that moment that Law realizes he's found his escape. That these two children would become the family he never had.

"Law," he answers. And for the first time in his life, he gives a real smile.

A/N: Someone on another website messaged me to write a challenge: It had to be under 1,000 words (this stopped at 996), had to have the sentence "I'm going to smile enough for the both of you". It needed to include Law abuse and rape (nothing too detailed for the latter) and an equally damaged Ace. And, finally, it needed to end as the three of them either as brothers or becoming friends, and Law smiling. So I hope this pretty much covers it all. I'm almost tempted to continue this, but eh. XD As for age, I imagined Luffy at 8, Ace at 11, and Law at 13.

Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«