"It doesn't look like much, but the food is good, and the atmosphere is too," Bellemère said, pushing the door open. Law looked up at the sign. It was wood, and worn, but read in green: Nucifera. 'It sounds evil,' Law thought, walking in behind Corazon.

A portly man, who had a long, handlebar mustache, greeted the group.

"How are ya, Bellemère?" he asked her, waving them towards a booth. Law looked around the restaurant. It was quaint and small. Only half of the tables were occupied, which was bizarre considering it was dinnertime. 'People here must not have enough money to go out so often,' Law remarked, glancing over the space.

"I'm good! Thanks Sococ!" Bellemère responded. Nami and Nojiko shuffled towards the inside of the booth, near the wall. Law sat on the other side of the table, opposing the girls, and Corazon took a seat beside him.

"And who might these two be?" Sococ asked, giving Law a little wave. Law shot a glare at him, and the man hastily shoved his hand in the pocket of his apron.

"Well, this is Rocinante, an old war friend of mine, and his adopted son, Law," Bellemère replied cheerily, completely unaware of the heavy exchange that had just gone down.

"I wouldn't say war," Corazon muttered, smiling all the same.

"Fine then," Bellemère smirked, "we went through basic training together. Doesn't sound as dramatic, does it, Roci?"

"No, but it's the truth at least," Corazon grinned, and Bellemère shoved him lightly.

Law frowned. This felt oddly nostalgic. Though, he could not place a finger on why.

"Nice to meet you!" Sococ adressed Corazon nervously. Corazon smiled at the man, who instantly appeared relieved. "Here you go," Sococ said, handing the two adults their menus.

"Kid's meals are on the back," he smiled, walking back to the kitchen.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Nami yelped, tugging at her mother's menu "Can I have shrimp?!"

"Sure!" Bellemère said enthusiastically, "What about you, Nojiko?"

"I want coconut soup if that's alright," Nojiko said, wide-eyed with excitement.

"Shall I order a big bowl for us to share?" Bellemère asked Corazon, "It's Nucifera's specialty after all!"

"Sounds good," Corazon said, eager to be agreeable."Doesn't that sound good, Law?"

"Yeah," Law said shifting in his seat.

"I think I'll have the satay chicken," Corazon said, scanning the menu. Law snorted.

"That's cannibalism, you big bird," he laughed, poking Corazon's feather coat.

"Yeah!" Nami shouted, "Why do you have so many feathers anyways, Rocinante?!"

"I didn't really want to comment on it, but your fashion choices are certainly questionable, Roci," Bellemère smirked.

"What?! You too!?" Corazon whined, "Can't a guy wear a black feather without judgement?!"

"No," Law said stoicly.

"But doesn't it make me look cool?" Corazon said, smiling suavely and positioning his thumb and index finger in the shape of a seven, lifting it to his chin.

"No, you just look like you might faint of heat-stroke," Nojiko interjected. Corazon's hand fell back to his knee dejectedly. "Seriously, it's 35 degrees Celsius in Cocoyashi!"

"That's 95 Farenheit!" Nami exclaimed proudly.

"And that's some quick math!" Corazon said, stunned.

"She's my little prodigy," Bellemère said affectionately. "But you're avoiding the question, Roci."

Corazon groaned. This was always so humiliating.

"My brother likes them, ok? He has a pink one, so I have to wear the black one. Besides, it's cold back where we're from! It came very handy when we were sailing around." He said, trying to maintain what was left of his dignity.

"Let's go get you some proper clothes after this," Bellemère said gently.

"Thanks," said Roci, scratching the back of his head.

"Why do you wear so much makeup?" Nami asked, determined to understand every reasoning behind Corazon's odd appearance.

"Nami, enough already!" Bellemère scolded her.

"No, it's fine, Bell," Roci said, "I tried on my mother's makeup one day for fun, and I just liked how it looked. There's really nothing more to it."

"You kinda look like a clown," Nojiko remarked. Bellemère shot her a withering glance.

"He acts like one too, so don't worry, it fits," Law said, sipping from his glass of water.

"Hey! My clumsiness is all an act!" Corazon protested, "I can be normal if I wanted to!"

Corazon exaggeratedly sipped from his water too, to show how normal he could be, but only succeeded in spilling it all over himself and making his eyeliner drip slowly down his face.

"Ah, shit," Rocinante swore, hastily looking up at Bellemère. "Sorry!"

"Nah, s'alright," Bellemère smirked. "These ones are practically sailors at home. As long as they don't swear in public, I'm good."

"You're a sailor when you're at home and in public," Nojiko giggled at Bellemère.

"Huh? What did you say, you shitty little brat?!" Bellemère laughed, miming grabbing Nojiko by the collar and hefting her out the window. Nojiko screamed in delight, wiggling away from Bellemère's hands.

"I'm gonna run to the washroom," Rocinante said, sliding out of the booth. However, he slid too hard and ended up slipping on the wet floor, collapsing on the ground.

"Down the hall, to your right," Bellemère laughed, as Roci got up hastily and brushed himself off.

"Thanks," he said, before trudging off to the washroom.

"Law, is there anything in particular you want to eat?" Bellemère asked.

"I'm fine," he replied, " just anything but bread. I hate bread."

"Huh," Bellemère noted, raising her eyebrows, "No bread, got it."

Sococ returned out of the kitchen holding a notepad.

"So what'll you be having tonight, Ms. Mikans?" he asked cheekily.

"For me, I think I'll have a small bowl of sesame noodles," Bellemère read, allowing Sococ to jot down the order, "Nami wants shrimp, so lets get a medium of that. You'll share, right Nami?" she asked the girl.

"We'll see," Nami said vaguely.

"You better," Bellemère threatened her. Nami smiled and nodded robotically. Bellemère sighed. "We'll have a big bowl of coconut soup as well, so bring us 5 extra bowls?"

"Sure thing!" Sococ grinned, penning down the requests.

"A medium platter of satay chicken, and Law?"

Law looked up at Bellemère. "Yeah?"

"I think you'll really like their coconut rice," Bellemère smiled at him softly. Sanji, the chivalrous brat, had informed her of Law's partialness towards plain foods.

"Yeah," Law mumbled, "I would like that. Thanks."

"No problem," Bellemère said, closing the menu. "So we'll have a small bowl of that, then."

"Sounds good!" Sococ said, gathering the two menus. "It'll be a 30 minute wait for the noodles, but the shrimp should be done in 5 minutes or so."

"Alright, thanks!"said Bellemère.

Sococ walked back to the kitchen just as Corazon returned.

"You ordered everything?" he asked Bellemère.

"Yep, is a medium sized platter of chicken alright with you?"

"Yes, that's fine."

Just as Sococ had said, the shrimp arrived promptly, sending Nami into a fit when Bellemère informed her that no, she couldn't have it all to herself, and yes, she can have her own bowl at least.

"Honestly, I wonder what you'll do when you grow up," Bellemére sighed, exasperated.

"I'm going to make a map of the world," Nami said petulantly, "duh."

"You know wha—Anyways, what about you, Law?"

"Huh?"

"What are you going to do when you grow up?"

Law looked Bellemère in the eye.

"I'm not going to live past 13, so I hardly see a point in speculating," he said, sitting back and crossing his arms. The giggling between Nami and Nojiko ceased, and Corazon felt a tight squeeze in his chest. Bellemère raised her eyebrow menacingly.

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Bell…" Corazon muttered, cautioning her.

"Then what the hell are you doing dragging Roci around the entire world?" she said quietly, tapping her fingernails on the varnish of the table.

"This expedition was his idea, not mine," Law said, staring blankly ahead.

An awkward silence fell around the table.

"Are you saying that you want to die?" Nojiko asked suddenly. Law looked at her. She had a fierce fire in her eyes, and was biting her lip.

"I'm saying I don't care if I die," Law informed her.

"Law, please—"

"I've been through the same thing as you, y'know," Nojiko interupted Corazon, her eyes hard.

"What do you know about—"

"Flevance survivor," Nojiko said, ending Law's sentence abruptly. "Am I right?"

Law flinched.

"I went through the same thing," Nojiko continued, "Nami might not remember, but I do."

Nami shifted guiltily. She knew it couldn't be helped; she was only a baby back then for Kami's sake. But Nojiko held that burdening memory alone. Nami could only comfort her sister when she woke up screaming and in tears because of her nightmares. Bellemère had seen but a glimpse of the terrors in that country. Nojiko had faced it alone. And at a much younger age than Law.

"Don't you dare feel sorry for yourself," Nojiko said, curling her lip.

"Nojiko, that's enough," Bellemère snapped.

"No, she's right." Law said, his eyes widening with craze. "What the hell do I know about strife?"

Law's beginning monologue was cut off short by the arrival of Bellemère's sesame noodles.

"Here you," Sococ began happily, before sensing the tense mood, "go." He finished awkwardly, setting the dish in front of Bellemère.

"Thank you, Sococ!" Bellemère exclaimed, attempting to rescue the situation by injecting a shot of false joy into her tone.

"No problem!" Sococ said, sensing her efforts and pitching in. "Enjoy!"


The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, and the group walked home, the brief discord forgotten.

"I am so sorry," Corazon apologized profusely. He had sent Law to bed, covering him in his coat.

"No, I'm sorry," said Bellemère clutching her left arm. "Nojiko was out of line."

"But Law was so harsh…"

"Argh!" Bellemère cried suddenly, flopping into a dining room chair. "Being a parent is so hard!"

"You did a good job, though," Rocinante remarked, sitting in the opposite chair.

Bellemère sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder if that's true…"


A.N.: So… That happened. Hope you liked it~? Reviews, Favourites, and Subscriptions are welcomed and much appreciated! I'll see you September 11th for the next chapter!

*Sococ's name is pronounced SO-kotch.