Corazon was lying on his side. The day had been rough to say the least. He was still in a lot of pain, but he had felt worse. This wasn't anything to get upset about. Even so, the wound was still bleeding underneath the bandages and the pain made sleeping impossible. The blade had went through him after all. He shifted a little to adjust his position, but the movement sent another wave of pain through his entire body. Even with his previous experiences with treating wounds, he still wasn't very good at it. With a soundless sigh, Corazon returned to lie on his side.

It was already over midnight, and the entire building was quiet. Everyone else had gone to sleep. Except, someone was still moving. There was the sound of someone walking. Corazon lifted his head a little to listen. It was the sound of a child's steps, and it was approaching his room. He frowned a little, but pretended to sleep. When the steps reached the doorway, they stopped. The man didn't have to look to know who it was. The new kid, Trafalgar Law was standing there.
Corazon tensed a little. Had he come to try again? Law had barely missed killing him earlier, but would he still want to try again, even after being promoted to the family?

Corazon understood what this child was going through. Oh, how he understood! It was him against the world, the cruel world that had taken everything from him. The child had lost everything, and was barely treated as a human anymore. His vengeful actions made perfect sense. But getting killed by this child certainly wasn't his plan. The man turned his head to look at the doorway, ready to dodge, if the boy would try to attack.
However, Law made nothing of the sort. He was just standing there in the dim light of a candle that he was carrying in his right hand. He was holding something in his left hand too, but it didn't look like a weapon. When the boy realized that the man was awake, his eyes widened momentarily, and he quickly turned to run away.

Corazon got up, and raised his hand to get the boy's attention. Law hesitated, but the man waved his hand soothingly, signaling for the boy to enter the room. The child obeyed, but avoided eye contact, keeping his distance from the man.

Corazon turned the lights on, and returned to sit down on the bed. All the sudden movements hurt, and he flinched a little.
This caught the boy's attention, and he finally looked at the man.

"Who told you to protect me? I didn't ask for your help!"

Law looked angry, but his expression softened quickly.

Corazon looked around for his notepad.
The boy saw he was about to stand up again, and stopped him, shaking his head.

"Nevermind…"

The man felt relieved. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to answer anyway. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it yet. And it was something extremely difficult to explain on paper to begin with.
Corazon wanted to explain though. That's why he had gone to the junk-yard earlier. After he had failed to scare the boy away by literally throwing him out, Corazon felt he owed the kid an explanation. That, and he had heard Law's story. But he had failed again, and got stabbed instead.
If he could just talk to him. But, he hadn't spoken for years. He just couldn't bring himself to say anything anymore, it felt impossible.

Corazon was brought back from his thoughts when a small hand touched his chest.

"Does it hurt?"

Law had moved to his side, and he was feeling the wound through the bandages, gently examining it. The item the boy had carried in his hand turned out to be a little bag full of medical equipment. For a moment the man just stared at the boy surprised.

"My father was a doctor…"

The boy whispered in a voice full of bitter sadness, but Corazon could hear a bit of pride in it as well.

"He taught me. Treating a wound like that is no problem for me."

There was definitely pride and confidence in his words, but Corazon was still looking at the child with an unreadable expression.
Law moved away from him and looked down ashamed.

"But I understand if you don't want me to do it. I was the one who caused…"

Law's words were interrupted, when a large hand landed on his back. It was a clumsy form of comfort, but it was more than Law had received for a long time. He looked up at the man's face surprised. Corazon was smiling at him. It was a genuine smile, and Law could only stare. Was this really the same man who threw him out of the window just a week ago?
He still wasn't talking, but he seemed so different now. Not like a mindless idiot at all, but someone who knew what he was thinking even without him explaining it all.
Law shook his head.

"I told you! I didn't ask for your help!"

Law pushed Corazon's hand away, but his voice was softer this time, and he moved back to examine the wounds of the man, and gently removing the bandages. He stopped after peeling off the last layer.

"This looks terrible! Have you ever done this before?"

The boy looked at all the scars around the man's body and sighed.

"I guess you have. But this is no good! It won't heal properly if you put it together like this!"

Corazon listened to the scolding patiently. He wasn't a doctor, and treating one's own wounds was never pleasant. Not to mention with his clumsiness.
He hadn't always been like that though. He probably had the injuries to thank for that as well, something had been broken permanently when he had been tortured. But compared to his brother, he felt lucky.
Really, this wound was also nothing!

However, just when he thought about that, Law pulled at the wound painfully, making him flinch. The disinfectant stung, and Corazon bit his lip when the boy started sewing the wound closed.

He did the same on his back as well. Corazon hadn't been able to do much about the wound on that side, but Law was done surprisingly fast. The man wished he could have stopped his body from trembling and sweating in pain. The boy had fallen silent after seeing his obvious pain.
Corazon tried to get up, but he was still breathing in painful rasps, and Law placed his hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving. It was quiet for a while, but then Corazon heard a barely audible whisper.

"I'm sorry."

When Corazon could breath normally again, Law wrapped him in fresh bandages.

"Thank you for protecting me."

The boy whispered as he stepped away from the bed. He hurried out of the room.
In the doorway he stopped to look back. Corazon nodded at him silently. He was smiling at him, but there was sadness in his smile. Law didn't bother to think about it much. Not yet, not until several years later.

As Corazon's wounds healed, and he was able to join the crew on their missions, everything seemed to return back to normal. The night when Law treated his wounds was never mentioned, just like the whole stabbing incident.
Occassionally Corazon would get mad at the children and their pranks, venting his frustration on them. Law often got his part of the punishment too, even though he was concentrating on the missions rather than picking on Corazon. But he was never thrown out of the window again.
The boy wondered if it was because he was part of the group now.

Law usually ended up on the missions together with Corazon. The man appeared as clumsy and useless as ever, and most of the time Law kept his distance from him and simply ignored the man.

But there were also times when that clumsy hand would land on his back, supporting the child. It only happened when the others weren't looking, usually when Law felt he was about to break.
He didn't like to admit it, but sometimes that was exactly what he needed.
Even though being busy with all the missions and combat training helped the boy to keep all the sad memories away from his mind, it also put him under a lot of stress. That combined with the gradually worsening disease brought him down once in a while.
Somehow the mute jerk could sense the change in his mood, and he never bullied Law at those times.

….

Now that Law is looking back at those times, he understands that Corazon was always there looking after him, even before he spoke to him, and told him those things that would change his life for good. He had already started changing him.

The surgeon sighs. He looks at his patient, who is lying unconscious on the bed. He would save this boy. He would save him, and look after him from afar. Words weren't needed.

If he could have also saved Cora-san at that time. Sure, he had tried, but it didn't matter. It all ended in a tragedy, because he wasn't strong enough. But he would make sure to fulfill that man's wish, and live his life for that goal, until the time was right. He would live his life for Cora-san, he had decided that a long time ago. But he wasn't strong enough yet.

Law looks at the unconscious boy again. A tear has escaped his eye. He lost someone important as well. Law can understand his pain. He places a hand on the boy's head. It feels awkward, the surgeon isn't used to comforting others, but he does it anyway.

He can hear his crew calling for him, so he places his valued sword by the boy's side. Just the way it was done to him a long time ago, a silent promise. He'd be back. His mission is still not over.