Thank you for the review, Guest! You're absolutely right, of course. Law is out of line, sure, but the shut-out is really harsh. Everyone is having a hard time; morale is low with the battle looming ahead and tensions running high with the other crews gathered around, the alliance Law made with the Straw Hats without Kid's consent being an especially sore subject and causing tension between the two captains. Kid hasn't forgotten that Law sent him ahead with the crew without telling him what he was up to. The Warlord deal Kid was furious about but grudgingly accepted in the end after a lot of fighting (Law hoping it might protect him if it came to another Marineford being the main reason for the acceptance) being in shambles when Kid might actually need said protection also causing tension between them. The Punk Hazard incident being one of the causes of the ambush and the Marines' very final decision of ridding themselves of the problem makes things even worse.

The tension between the captains causes more tension for the crew, Killer especially; both as first mate (Bepo should also be first mate, of course, but I mostly forgot about him and Jean Bart while writing the story and thus they're absent for many of the chapters (*author groans and bangs her head on the desk*). He rises up to the correct position in the next installment, I promise) and as Kid's older brother (not to mention that Kid is the only Omega in the family and his inner Alpha is extremely protective of him (Omegas being less common than the other genders)). Killer is having problems with his instincts just like Law and Kid, feeling very protective of Kid at the same time as he feels he can't do anything for him. He's also having problems accepting that his independent, bloodthirsty, fearsome little brother who's always hated being an Omega is pregnant (something neither of them ever thought would happen). Knowing that Kid has some problems with accepting the pregnancy makes him feel more protective and his inner Alpha acts on it without him being fully aware of it. Law in turn senses it and, feeling Killer doesn't accept him as Kid's mate, becomes more Alpha as a challenge (the recent runt still filtering out of his system adding to it) and it escalates with Kid, who isn't sure how to react and alternates between trying to ignore it and soothing them both (which makes matters worse), stuck in the middle.

Law loses control of his temper and Kid returns to the ship, extremely upset and locking himself up after telling him to take over his duties for him, Killer unable to get him to tell him what's wrong or let him in until a couple of hours later. Kid has calmed down at that point, but he's dishevelled, eyes red and puffy, tear tracks on his face, and he's nesting (something he only does when very upset and Killer hasn't seen in years) and Killer's been worried sick. Kid tells him it's Law's fault, and that's all he needs to hear. He doesn't listen to the rest of the story and when Kid falls asleep he charges off to speak to the crew, who gets a completely wrong idea of what happened (Kid expected it to remain between the two of them; the crew wasn't supposed to hear about any of it), and they make the decision based on Killer's version of the truth. Killer doesn't tell Kid about it and Kid thus thinks Law didn't come back, which makes him upset all over again because he'd already forgiven his mate (knowing all about the constant stress he's been under lately) and it's as if Law just left him behind without an explanation. Kid keeps to himself in response and doesn't hear about the whole deal until later. It's a gigantic misunderstanding from all sides.

Law missed his lover fiercely. His scent, his smile, his warmth, his eyes. The barely there whimper among his pants when Law slid inside him, the bump they had to navigate around, the movements of their children he could feel through the stretched skin. His voice, his touch, his shy ways of showing him he wanted him, his crazy hairstyle. But what he missed the most was his company, his presence at his side.

"I need to see him, Bepo," Law pleaded. "I haven't seen him for a week."

He was so lonely without Kid he thought he'd die. He had tried to form a plan, but he was just too distressed to think rationally or focus on anything but the loss of his lover.

"I'm falling to pieces," Law muttered, knowing he could confide in his best friend. "I can't think about anything but Kid. I must see him. I need him. You know I'm no good on my own. Without Kid, I don't think I can live, and if I can, I don't want to."

Bepo frowned. He hadn't seen Law like this since they first met; rugged and rumpled with heavy shadows under his eyes.

"Take a shower and change," he sighed. "You can borrow some of Penguin's clothes and his shaving kit. You can't let Kid see you like this; you look like shit." Law chuckled wryly. "You can wait in my room until tonight, Killer is on watch so Kid should be alone."

Kid looked up when there was a knock on the door. He hadn't left the room since he arrived at the ship a week earlier, he just wanted to be alone – not that Killer willingly let him. The knock was repeated, and Kid sighed, fixing the pillow against his back as he attempted to sit up straighter in the nest.

"Come in," he called.

The door was opened and Penguin came in, hood pulled up over his cap and face bowed.

"Has something happened?" Kid asked.

Penguin closed the door behind him and stepped further into the room.

"Penguin?" Kid queried, frowning.

The man came closer, and Kid's eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip on his knitting needles, ready to use them as a weapon if the need arose.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded as the older man leant in, moving away.

"Kid," Law whispered as he adjusted the angle and pressed their lips together.

Kid was highly tempted to stab him, but when one of the quadruplets kicked him fiercely he groaned and dropped his would-be weapons. Law used the opportunity to slip his tongue into his mouth, climbing onto the bed. Kid growled as his lover leant over the nest, scrambling up his carefully made boundaries.

"I was three hours defining that, damn you!" he said, shoving him away. "If you think you can just come crawling back-"

"Kid, will you hear me out?" Law pleaded as he climbed over the edge of the nest, lying down on his side facing the younger man, careful to keep some distance between them. Kid glared at him, folding his arms across his chest, but since he hadn't already punched him Law decided he was going to let him speak. "I was pissed off because of Straw Hat's idiocy; you know I can't stand him. You were there and I took my anger out on you. I shouldn't have. I promised you I wouldn't try to control you, and I won't do it again. I'm sorry. I've been in Hell for the last week; I'm furious at myself, and I've missed you like crazy. I know saying sorry is useless, you're still angry at me, but I'm angry at myself too and I don't blame you. I just- I want you back. I need you back. I love you like crazy, and I can't be without you. I just want to hug you really tight and snog you senseless right now."

Kid bit at his lip for a moment before throwing his knitting over the edge of the nest and shifted until he was lying down, cursing under his breath as he rolled onto his side.

"I can't sleep without you, damn you," he grumbled.

Law grinned as he shifted closer, wrapping his arms around the Omega and tangling their legs together. Kid looked down at him, seeming surprisingly young and vulnerable, and Law could suddenly see him just as he had been ten years ago. He cursed, burying his head in the muscular shoulder as he remembered what Kid had told him about his mother's mate, arms tightening like vices around his lover.

"Law?" Kid asked.

"Give me a moment; I suddenly had a mental image of you ten years younger and I just want to kill something."

"It was a long time ago," Kid murmured, wrapping his arms tightly around him.

"It's not something you can forget. You remember it, and it affects you to this day."

"I've always been … unwavering. Convinced I am absolutely correct in every aspect of my life. But- I'm starting to see that I was wrong. Maybe … maybe he- my father is right. It wasn't- what happened- it wasn't his fault. He- he would really have stopped it, I mean. He's not such a bad guy, you know? I've shut him out, excluded him – I haven't treated him well. He's tried like he can, and been pretty nice about my … my stubbornness. He's always accepted me, and I've been rejecting him and acting like a- a brat. I'm too old to act like I'm three, right? Because that's what I've been doing, haven't I? I shut my sister out for following her heart when that's all I've done since we set out and she's accepted me completely. She always has. She- she's always known. About J-Jacques. And she never told anyone ... not until she told our father. She carried that burden for fifteen years without ever saying anything because I asked her not to. I've been such an ungrateful, unfair bastard. After everything she's done for me I've treated her like shit. My best friend. My own fucking twin.

"It's not like I'm some sort of a prize. Like people are lining up to tolerate me around them. I don't know how Killer has been able to stand me for all this time; why he hasn't left already. Or you, for that matter. You could have anyone you wanted. And you're dallying here with me. I'm infuriating and self-absorbed and just- unbearable, really. I don't get how people stand me. I've had a lot of time to think the past week. I've been such a prat. Killer has been concerned about me and I've been snarling at him and treating him badly and- I would have thrown him overboard if he treated me like that, so … I shouldn't treat him like that. It's not right. I don't get how all of you stand me."

"You're forgetting some really important points, love," Law said.

"Like what?"

"You're very endearing, for one. When you smile you really light up the room, and I can't help but smile back. You're so gorgeous you make me want to chain you to the bed and keep you there forever because I'm never going to run out of ideas for things to do to you.

"Even if you're infuriating – which you can be – 'dealing with you', as you put it, is more than worth it just to see you happy. You're absolutely sincere in everything you do, and that's an admirable quality. You have an awful temper, and even though I wish you wouldn't blow up and kill a dozen people over nothing I can't help but fall in love with you all over again when you grin at me and pull me into a hug, all covered in blood but acting as if you'd gone out and picked me flowers. You're insane, sure, but that must make me insane too. And if we're both insane we must be a perfect match, right?"