Teenage Fatherhood

Title: Teenage Fatherhood
Rating: T
Fandom: One Piece
Summary: High schooler Donquixote Rocinante returns to his apartment one afternoon and discovers a baby abandoned in front of his door. The note accompanying the child says that he's the biological father! [Modern AU]

As soon as the last school bell rang for the day, students began filing out. Rocinante headed for the door and slipped on an invisible banana peel, landing on his back. The books and papers he was holding flew into the air and landed on the floor beside him. The other students and teacher ignored him, not making a scene over something that happened multiple times a day.

Bellemere, a student from the class next door, entered the classroom as she always did at the end of the school day. The maroon haired seventeen year old assisted in picking up Rocinante's papers and placing them into his backpack, securing the zipper so that the backpack didn't accidentally send the papers falling when Rocinante tripped again.

"Thanks Belle," Rocinante said as they exited the classroom.

"I'm still surprised that you haven't broken a bone yet," Bellemere commented.

"Actually I broke each of my arms and legs at least once when I was younger," Rocinante chuckled with a faint blush on his cheeks. "I guess my body adapted and became more durable?"

As they reached the front of the school, they both parted ways. It took Rocinante a short walk to reach his apartment complex. As he was about to enter the elevator, a woman bumped into him, knocking both of them down. Before Rocinante could apologize, the woman ran off. Shrugging the behavior off as someone in a hurry for an appointment or work, he headed to the third floor. Once he arrived at his floor, he tripped on his way out of the elevator. Quickly getting up, he started towards his suite. Once he arrived, however, he froze and did a double take.

Sitting in front of his apartment door was an infant. The boy had black hair and grey eyes and was sucking on a pacifier. He wore a plain blue onesie. Next to him was a plastic bag filled with baby supplies.

Rocinante looked around, searching for the boy's parents. But except for him and the boy, no one else was present. Concerned for the child, Rocinante knelt down beside him. "Hey there little guy, where's your parents?"

Of course the baby couldn't answer, but just a look at the boy's eyes told Rocinante that he had been abandoned. The child was lonely, confused, and scared. His mother had left him in front of Rocinante's apartment with no intention of ever returning. The boy made a grabbing motion for Rocinante, wanting to be held despite not even knowing who the teenager was.

Rocinante complied, taking extra precaution to not let the boy fall. "Let's get you inside, okay?" With his other arm, he grabbed the plastic bag and opened his apartment door. Entering, he quietly shut the door to avoid startling the baby with the loud sound. Rocinante placed the infant onto the couch gently. Reaching into the plastic bag, he pulled out a note.

To Donquixote Rocinante,

This brat is yours. His name's Law. His birth certificate is inside the bag. Don't bother trying to find me. Be grateful that I left some supplies for you. Figure the rest out yourself.

Rocinante was shocked. This boy was his son. He snatched the birth certificate from the bag and his name was typed neatly on the line for the father. The name of the mother had been blacked out with a marker, making it unreadable. In fact, anything relating to the mother had been covered in permanent black ink. Rocinante let out a string of curses before immediately shutting his mouth, remember that a child—his child—was in the room.

"Don't say those words," Rocinante quickly told the boy.

He received a blank stare in response.

"Right, you can't speak yet since you're only…" He glanced at Law's birthday. "It's February so you're about four months old," A few awkward minutes of silence passed. "You must be hungry!"

He grabbed the baby bottle and formula powder and rushed to the kitchen, only to end up tripping and sending the two objects flying. Quickly, he caught them and proceeded to follow the directions. Once a bottle of formula was ready, he gently held it for Law to drink. His son drank hungrily and soon it was emptied.

His son.

Those two words felt foreign to him. He had never thought that he would ever have a child, his own flesh and blood. It was so sudden when he had been thrust into the role of a father. For four months, he hadn't known about the boy. Nine months before that, he hadn't known that he had gotten some girl pregnant. In fact, he didn't even know the mother's identity and she seemed to have wanted to leave it that way.

"Let's see the supplies that we were given," Rocinante carefully placed Law on the couch and started to place everything in the plastic bag onto the coffee table. "This isn't much. There are a few diapers, a container of formula powder, an extra baby bottle, a pack of baby wipes, two extra onesies, and a pacifier. She didn't even get you any toys!" Rocinante scooped his son into his arms. "Don't worry, I'll be the one to take care of you from now—"

Law began crying as a putrid scent came from his diaper.

Rocinante gulped, dreading the task ahead of him. "This is going to be harder than I thought…"

XXX

After a few minutes, Rocinante had finished changing Law's diaper and had tossed it into a trash can. He sprayed the trash can with air freshener to get rid of the stench. Law was tired, rubbing his eyes. After disinfecting his hands, he picked his son up once more. "Let's go to my room so you can take a nap, okay Law?"

At his bedroom, Rocinante gently laid Law down onto the bed. Law was quick to doze off. Rocinante sat down at his desk only to end up falling backwards. The loud noise immediately woke Law up, causing the infant to wail. "UWAH!"

Rocinante rushed to the boy's side and rocked him back and forth. "Sorry for waking you up, Law," Rocinante tried desperately to calm him down. "I didn't mean to wake you up," He headed to the living room, careful to not trip and drop Law. He held the pacifier to the baby who took it and ceased his sobs.

As Law slept in Rocinante's bed, Rocinante slowly sat down at his desk once more and began to work on his homework. After the first few problems, he couldn't focus and closed his math book. Looking at the child sleeping in his bed, he still found it hard to believe that the boy was his son, his own flesh and blood.

'How could his mother just abandon him like that?' Rocinante thought to himself. 'I know some people don't want to be parents, but she just abandoned him right in front of my apartment! What if I was away on a trip? What if she had gotten the wrong address? What if a kidnapper or murderer had taken him instead? What if he crawled around and got hurt or worse?'

Rocinante shook his head. 'No, I shouldn't think about those what ifs!' He looked towards the plastic bag of baby supplies. 'His mother didn't even bother with a single toy,' Taking out his phone, he searched up the cost of baby toys. 'I'm sure that a few toys won't impact my budget too much. I can buy some tomorrow. Missing one day of school is no big deal,'

XXX

He didn't know how long he was asleep at his desk. The only thing he knew was that he had woken up to his son's cries. "Law, what's wrong!?"

"UWAH! AH! WAH!"

"It doesn't smell like you pooped your diaper again," Rocinante gently cradled him as he searched up reasons why a baby might be crying. "A baby may be crying at night because their wet, hungry, cold, or sick," He gently touched Law's forehead. "You're not too hot nor too cold. Hopefully you're not sick since not everyone gets fevers when they're ill. Please only be hungry,"

He placed Law on the bed and hurried to the kitchen, falling as he reached the doorway. The loud impact of his fall caused Law to cry even louder. "UWAH!"

Quickly he got up and opened the can of formula powder. He scooped some formula into a clean baby bottle, spilling some onto the table and floor. Ignoring the mess, he filled the bottle with water, shook it, and placed it into the microwave to warm up. As he entered the bedroom once more, he saw that Law had rolled close to the edge. He rushed and caught the infant in time.

"I'm never going to leave you alone ever again!" Rocinante declared as he let Law drink from the bottle. "If you had fallen, you could've gotten seriously hurt!" Once Law had emptied the bottle, he patted the baby's back and he let out a small burp. "I gotta baby proof my apartment,"

XXX

Rocinante was awakened with a kick to his face. Yawning, he sat up. He stared at his son for a few seconds before falling back to his pillows, groaning. "It wasn't a dream. I actually do have a son,"

"Bah," Law kicked him once more.

'Okay, the baby wasn't a dream,' Rocinante thought to himself. 'So I need to stop lazing around and get out of bed. I have a lot of shopping to do,'

Law then began to cry, having soiled his diaper.

'Yep, we're gonna need a lot more diapers and air freshener,'

XXX

Law sat comfortably in the shopping cart as Rocinante slowly pushed it forward. He took carefully calculated steps as to not fall and send Law rolling away. He stared at the shelves filled with diapers, not knowing which one to get. He looked around for a worker to help him, but none were nearby. He decided to be safe and get one of each brand.

He then grabbed a bunch of boxes of baby wipes of the same brand that Law's mother had left with them. He grabbed a bunch of baby onesies that seemed about Law's size and a couple that were a bit bigger. He tossed in multiple containers of baby formula as well as some baby food. He added a few picture books for story time.

Then they were at the toy aisle. Rocinante had no idea which ones to pick. At first, he decided to buy a few of the cheapest ones. As he was going to grab them, Law made a grabbing motion. "Wa! Wa!"

"What is it, Law?" Rocinante asked. Rocinante looked at what Law was trying to grab and saw the giant polar bear plushy. "You want that toy?"

"Wa!"

"I-It's five thousand berries!" Rocinante exclaimed, looking at the price tag. "I'm sorry Law, but I can't—"

Law began to tear up, his eyes wide and glossy.

"Okay! Okay!" Rocinante grabbed the bear and placed it into the cart. "I'm getting you the polar bear!"

"Ah!" Law giggled, clapping his hands together.

The total cost was fifteen thousand berries. Rocinante thought about putting the polar bear back and getting the cheaper toys, but he couldn't bear to see his son upset.

XXX

Bellemere had arrived at school and waited in front of the entrance. After a few minutes, she grew confused. 'Usually Roci is tripping his way here,'

She headed to her first class that she shared with Roci. "Hey Aokiji, have you seen Roci?" She asked the teacher.

"He isn't with you?" Kuzan questioned. "Maybe he's being later than usual from tending to an injury or something,"

"Aokiji, I'm gonna skip class for today to make sure nothing happened to Roci," Bellemere told the teacher.

"He could just be sick," Kuzan pointed out.

"Roci would've call me if he were sick," Bellemere pointed out. "See you later Aokiji," She then ran out the room.

Kuzan waved lazily and slid his sleeping mask on. The bell rang but he ignored it.

"Uh, Aokiji-sensei? Class is about to begin,"

"Today's lesson is about the importance of sleep,"

"This is a math—"

"Zzz,"

XXX

Bellemere caught up with Rocinante at the apartment lobby. "Roci! Where have you been?" She then noticed that he had a ton of bags with him. "You were out shopping—is that a giant teddy bear!?"

"Belle!?" Rocinante exclaimed. "Shouldn't you be at school!?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Bellemere folded her arms. She then noticed the third person in the group. "Donquixote Rocinante, please explain to me why the hell do you have a baby with you!"

"I would loveto explain the situation to you but can we head to my apartment first?" Rocinante asked. "My arms are kinda full,"

Bellemere took the baby from Rocinante. Law smiled and clapped his hands, not afraid of the new person. "You better not have dropped him!"

"I didn't!" Rocinante claimed. "I walked extra slowly to avoid that!"

After a few minutes of directing Rocinante to the elevator, they finally reached Rocinante's floor. Rocinante exited first and tripped, face-planting into the hallway. Law giggled at his father's clumsiness. "Ah!"

"It's a good thing I'm holding the baby, not you," Bellemere said, taking the keys from Rocinante and unlocking the apartment door. "Your apartment's a mess!"

"I kinda had a bit trouble making the baby formula," Rocinante chuckled as he dragged everything inside. He took a seat on the couch beside Bellemere, taking Law from her. He then held the giant polar bear plushy in his other hand. "Look Law, Bepo!"

"Bepo?" Bellemere questioned.

"Best polar bear," Rocinante informed.

"So how did you end up with this little guy?" Bellemere gently patted Law's head.

"His mother abandoned him in front of my apartment yesterday," Rocinante answered. "His birth certificate said that I was his father. All information leading to his mother was blacked out on the certificate,"

"So is he really your kid?" Bellemere queried.

"I guess so," Rocinante shrugged. "I'm not sure when I got his mother pregnant nor do I remember who she is,"

"You're only sixteen, Roci," Bellemere told him. "You can't take care of him,"

"I'm not going to give up custody," Rocinante replied. "You know how crappy the system is,"

"You're still in high school," Bellemere pointed out. "Besides, how much money do you have left?"

"I'll drop out and get a job," Rocinante claimed. "I know I'm really clumsy, but there's got to be someone willing to hire me,"

"Roci," Bellemere sighed. "Why don't you just go back to your family in Dressrosa?"

"No," Rocinante refused.

"I'm sure that they'll help you—"

"I said no!" Rocinante snapped.

Law was startled by his father's sudden yell and began to cry. "UWAH!"

Rocinante cradled Law and rocked him gently back and forth. "I'm sorry Law. I didn't mean to scare you. Look," He held up Bepo to him. "It's a very fluffy polar bear!"

Law sniffled and hugged Bepo tightly. "Bah,"

"Belle," Rocinante said softly. "You know why I don't want to go back,"

"I'm sure that your brother misses you," Bellemere told him.

"He called me an embarrassment to the family," Rocinante pointed out. "He told his friends that he'd rather have no younger brother than one that would ruin his reputation," His voice became softer and he started to tear up. Despite this, he turned to Bellemere with an obviously fake smile. "I bet he's been happier since I ran away. They all probably are,"

"Your brother's an asshole," Bellemere responded. "But your parents miss you greatly,"

"I know that they don't feel the same way as Doffy," Rocinante whispered. "But I'll only be a bother. I don't want to cause problems for them,"

"If things get out of hand, I'm calling your parents," Bellemere sighed. "Until then, I'll help you raise the boy,"

"Law," Rocinante corrected. "His name is Donquixote Law,"

"Well, I better head back to class," Bellemere patted Law's head and stood up. "Our classmates probably called Sengoku to get Aokiji to wake up and start teaching. Sometimes I wonder how Aokiji got the job,"

XXX

As Law played with Bepo, Rocinante was babyproofing his apartment. He used safety plugs on the outlets and hid cords behind furniture. He made sure his appliances were unplugged, even if the outlet was out of reach. He used rubber guards for the sharp edges of tables, shelves, and chairs. As he did this, he made sure to keep Law at the corner of his eye in case the baby was going to fall.

It was then time for lunch. Placing Law into a high chair, Rocinante took out a container of baby food and a soft spoon. Law turned his head away. Rocinante brought the puree to Law's lips but Law turned the other way again. "Come on Law," Rocinante said. "It's banana flavored. It's good,"

But Law continued to refuse. An idea popped into Rocinante's head. 'Law loves Bepo so if Bepo says it tastes good, Law will try it!' He picked Bepo up and pretended to feed the bear "Yummy, right Bepo?" He moved the bear's head to make as if the bear was nodding. "See Law, Bepo loves it. You should eat it too,"

Law was mesmerized at his bear's approval so he wanted to try the puree too. Law liked it and clapped his hands. "Ya! Ya!"

Although Law was willing to eat the baby food, Rocinante's clumsiness caused a mess. Banana puree ended up on the baby's clothes and hair. But that didn't annoy the infant. Instead, it amused him. Sighing to himself, he decided it was time for a bath.

There will be an additional chapter.

Roci ran away from home after overhearing his brother tell his friends how embarrassed of him he was. He took a bunch of cash he had saved up with him. Bellemere followed him to the city of Marineford and moved in with a friend. To enroll Roci, the two faked some papers with the help of Aokiji, a friend of Bellemere's father who constantly travels around with Bellemere's mother.