A/N: Happy *6/3 * day! D: ….yesterday. Damn I'm always late. ARGH.
Thanks for the reviews and comments! :D We still got a few more years to go D: (oh my)
Chapter Eleven:
Call Alice
Nami looked at Sanji as he crouched to tie his shoe. There was something different about the guy, lately, and she wasn't sure what it was. He was quick to jump to the sound of her voice, his wallet out before she could even decide what she wanted for lunch, but there was definitely something amiss about his behavior when he looked at her. There was an awful lot of uncomfortable squirming and expression and he wasn't meeting her in the eye when they spoke. And when they sat together, she found it difficult to reach out and hold his hand the way she used to.
She tucked her hair behind her ear, wondering who it was he was seeing. When he straightened from the task, he flicked his hair from his face with an impatient puff, and Nami frowned up at him as their PE teacher hollered at everyone to consider the timed mile run as a headstart in life. When was the last time Nami had really looked at the guy she grew up with? Had really considered his physical appearance, looked beyond his goofy adoration of her and the other attractive girls in their school?
She examined his facial features – his usual light smile was in place, visible eye happy (even if it were slightly dark underneath, suggesting too many late nights), and he walked with his usual confident strut with his string-bean body, long limbs taking up too much space around them. But he zoned out with a somewhat strange expression from time to time, clearly not in the game with everyone else – she wondered if he'd recovered from the soccer ball to the head earlier.
"Sanji, do you have something you need to tell me?" she asked, smoothing her hair from her face and giving him an impatient look. "You're clearly somewhere else in the world."
Snapping back to reality, he looked at her with a start. One of their classmates ran past him, nearly tripping because he was staring at Sanji too hard to notice where he was going. Sanji glared after him with warning because he nearly bumped into Nami in his stumble.
"Well, yes," he said slowly, looking uncomfortable. "First off, I apologize for everything. I realize I was behaving rudely to you. I didn't mean to. There's just so much happening, I'm lost."
"This thing about your family must've been difficult," Nami agreed, nodding.
"Zoro told you?"
"Ussop. So, I suppose I can forgive you this once. I mean, that's a lot to take in. How do you feel about it?"
"Well, to be honest, I can't feel sad or angry about it. Zeff is all I knew, and this entire world is still so new. I don't have any memory of my other family. But everything makes sense, now. There's just so much I'm learning that it's a little confusing. But I have to admit, now that I'm aware of it, I'm surprised that I'd never seen it, before."
"I think we all are," Nami admitted. But she frowned at him. "But I still ask to know who you're seeing. It's really messed up that after I gave you a huge part of me, you were suddenly…gone. "
"After that, Nami, you made me feel like shit, too," Sanji said, looking at his feet, turning red as he did so.
"But you couldn't possibly think we'd be any different after that! You'll always be my friend. I think if I tried harder, then maybe I can fall in love with you – "
"Nami, if you have to 'try harder', then maybe you don't at all," he said gently.
"Well, not long after we got busy, you got busy with someone else! How do you think that made me feel?"
"I can't help that I fell for someone else – I'm still trying to accept that I did. That's why I feel rotten about it – "
"You don't feel that way at all! Because you're obviously somewhere else with her than you are with me!"
"I'm very sorry. I'm sorry that I did what I did. I'm sorry that I made you feel this way. I never wanted to hurt you like that. But I did. And I'm sorry."
"Who is it, then?"
"I can't say at this point in time – "
"Bullshit! Is she prettier than me?" she asked, starting to get angry. "Is she nicer?"
"No," Sanji admitted, still not looking at her. "She's not prettier."
"I feel like you got what you wanted and left."
"When you approached me that night, I thought things would change between us. I thought you'd finally see me the way that I see you. But you told me the next day that was only 'thanks' for what I'd done for you, and that we'd committed 'incest'."
"If that's how you want to see it," she muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear. She felt frustrated and she didn't know how to sort it all out. She knew she was saying terrible things, but she couldn't stop herself. "If that's what makes you feel better."
"I thought you cared for me, too."
"It wasn't the stuff of dreams, but we both shared parts of ourselves with each other that should have been kept private. Who is it, Sanji?"
"Um, well, maybe now's not the time to talk about it, if you're feeling a little testy."
"Of course I'm 'testy'!" she yelled at him, finally raising her voice. Their classmates looked at them with startled action, and she frowned at him. 'Of course I'm testy. I lost my virginity, too. I just wanted you to know how hurt I felt that you apparently found someone else not long after we did it."
"I understand. I just hope that one day you'll forgive me for it, and we can be friends, again."
"I …it's so weird hearing you call me that. After all these years. When did I just become one of the guys, to you?"
"I'm sorry. I really am."
"Dogs. You're all dogs, it was my virginity, too," she then muttered, stalking away from him. He watched her leave with a frustrated expression, but knew he couldn't do anything else about it. He hoped that one day they could be as close to each other as they were before that.
"Heh, women, huh?" his classmate said to him, and Sanji scowled in his direction. It was that same kid from their math class, and Sanji had caught him staring blatantly in his direction a few times. He couldn't resist kicking out and sending the kid stumbling away from him.
"Nobody butts into my damn business!"
"Chill out, idiot. Why do you hate men so much?"
"Because they think they can talk to me so familiarly!"
"I don't know who's worse, you or freaking Roronoa. You guys suck."
Sanji just huffed, turning away to walk off, not seeing the kid appreciating the view from behind.
Later on that evening, when the night had fallen over the city, he worked the restaurant floors with a heavy expression. Zeff threatened to beat him for 'moping' on the customers, but he felt really bad about the conversation he had with Nami.
He didn't know how to talk about it, so he kept it to himself, figured he'd call Zoro later for advice. But during break, once he had his phone, he saw that Law had sent him happy face emoji that made him smile bigger than anything at the moment, because even if they couldn't see each other, the other man was thinking of him at that time. Which brightened his mood, because being thought of was a wonderful thing.
He sent a similar reply, being careful before he knew Zeff was peeking at his phone. Then he erased their messages, and looked at his Instagram account, seeing that Doffy was currently stationed at the west side of the city. The casino, it looked like. He wondered where Corazon was, but then put his phone down to return to work because Zeff was bitching about him slacking off. Sanji gave him a snapping response back, but he didn't push because it looked like Zeff was really stressed about something, and he noticed that he, as well as the other cooks, were very agitated. They kept looking at the doors, waiting for someone to come in.
: :
"Shachi, finally, we have a chance to talk," Law said, startling the man as he was clearing off a table recently abandoned. The evening was coming to an end, and he'd been watching videos with Bepo before trailing after Shachi. A lot of things had been on his mind, and he was just counting down the hours to when he'd see the teen, again. He was getting annoyed with how restless and eager he was getting just to have those few hours to himself. "I have a pressing question that I've been meaning to ask, but you're never around. As your opinion is equally as valuable to me, I need to ask only you while Penguin's occupied."
"I can hear you perfectly from here!" Penguin snapped at him from across the shop.
"I am always, like, five feet away from you," Shachi said impatiently to Law, looking at the other man with a tray full of empty inside dining mugs. He was wearing another one of those small smiles, again, looking tired behind his glasses, hair all over the place – but the women and Table 17 liked that sort of thing. He'd never seen the man smile so much, unless he was causing trouble to others or satisfied with some plan he'd had that went successfully. To know that the guy was smiling because of this thing with someone younger than him was just…well, weird. Especially in the midst of this thing.
"I have a situation which has been troubling me for a few days. Currently, I demanded that, my, ahem, friend, not share himself with anyone else. I wanted his company exclusively, because I can't stand when other people try and play with my things. Clearly, I'm a possessive jerk – I grew up an only child, so I like to keep my things close and not share them."
"I'm glad you know that, and accept that about yourself," Shachi said flatly, making a face.
"But now that I think upon it, I am wondering if that is an unreasonable demand."
"Nope," several people closest to them said, obviously not thinking about the question.
"It is!" Shachi snapped. "What the hell? You can't just go tell your friend to not talk to other people! Why would you want to be the only person in his life that he can talk to?"
"Well, in my opinion, I fear with how easily I won him over, anybody else could," Law said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "And he's so young and cute, faithful to a fault, and sometimes I feel bad when I impose my will upon him. Bullying him has become a favorite pastime of mine. At the same time, I can't stand it when I see him being happy with other people. What should I do?"
"Learn to play nice," Shachi growled. "You have to. You can't just box this person up and think that it's okay. You're not around twenty-four seven, so why should you expect someone else to be?"
"So should I let him talk to other people? Be happy with other people? In front of me?"
"Yes! Who the hell are you to be his only source of happiness? Plus, I can't see how he could even be happy with you, you're a sadistic, twisted pervert. Why should it only be your way?"
"I guess I should learn to let things go. After all, he's willing to forsake others' company to make me happy, so I should just trust in his loyalty. All right. That settles it, then," Law decided, reaching out and patting his shoulder. "Thank you, Shachi. You've been very helpful."
Following him back to the counter, Shachi asked skeptically, "So you're cool with it if he brings his other friends around?"
"I will learn to accept it. It'll be difficult. But I'm willing to make this sacrifice, because I do enjoy seeing him happy. It makes me happy."
"Then S –"
"Bepo. You can talk to other people, now," Law told the polar bear, who gave a happy yell, rising up from his stool with a delighted laugh.
"Hi! Hi everyone!" he cried, startling the nearest people. "My name is Bepo! I'm so glad to finally meet every one of you!"
Penguin looked at Shachi's red face, a weird sound emerging from behind his clenched teeth. He shook his head. "Why do you fall for his shit all the time? You're so gullible."
"You bastard! I thought we were talking about somebody else!" Shachi snapped, tossing the full tray near the sink, breaking a few mugs as Bepo went from table to table, greeting everyone.
"Like who?" Law asked, giving him a skeptical look. "Bepo is my only trusted possession around here. As dictator over other events and people in my life, I refuse to give up my control over their freedoms and allow them to slack off from my rule."
Shachi was on him in seconds, trying to strangle him. Penguin used a foot to push them away, customers watching with amusement.
"Shachi, you try too hard, man. You need to be chill about things," Penguin said, elbow to counter as he watched them wrestle.
When the door opened, he frowned. "Corazon's here," he said.
Corazon stumbled in, a few of the customers closest to him hastily gathering their things. What made the situation worse was that the man was putting away a smoking gun, tucking it back into his black jacket with a sigh. He opened his mouth to greet him as he stood at the counter, then remembered he'd placed himself on 'silent'.
He touched his chest, clearing his throat and peering over at Law and Shachi, the latter of whom was being held in a headlock. "Is this how you keep your friends, nowadays?"
"Are you really up in my place of employment with a gun?"
"I just left a particularly nasty mission," Corazon said, resting his hands on the counter. "But I just wanted to drop by and see if Sanji were here with his delicious snacks."
"No. You're obsessed with him. It's gross."
Shachi snorted, lurching away from him, straightening his glasses and hat. Law extended a foot and tripped him, Penguin looking at them impatiently.
"I've honestly thought about employing him as my personal chef, but I fear Zeff will be angry about it," Corazon sighed, flicking his blond hair from his forehead. "So I will wait. I can be patient."
"You can't take my slave away. I already claimed him a long time ago. He's working for me."
"You're a sick bastard," Shachi told him.
"It did start early," Law admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I made it very clear to him when we were children that he was to work for me. I will even allow him to bring his wife along."
"You're a true dictator."
"Sanji's little girlfriend?" Corazon asked him skeptically. "Please. You've always hated sharing your toys. You won't even allow him to have the attention of someone else if you decide to make him work for you."
Law glared at him.
"Anywho, there is this," Corazon then said, reaching into his jacket pocket, and withdrawing a thick brick of money that he then set down on the counter. The three of them looked at it suspiciously. "I found it. I don't need it. I think you should have it. Take you and your little friends on a world wide cruise. Wouldn't you want to visit Hawaii? The summer is beautiful in New Zealand. Are you aware of what a 'haka' is, Law?"
"You 'found' it?" Penguin asked skeptically.
"Just lying in the parking lot nearby."
"I'm not going anywhere," Law told him firmly. "Not until I've completed my mission."
Corazon pushed it closer to him. "Unmarked bills. Go back to college and finish your classes. How about Rio? Learn to samba."
"I've always hated dancing."
"Maybe Canada? See the moose? How about Nova Scotia? Watch the northern lights with a pretty lady from a log house with a large fireplace?"
"No."
"What I could do with that," Shachi murmured, gazing at the thick brick of hundred dollar bills. Until he blinked curiously. "Is that Crocodile's seal on the side?"
"No!" Corazon said, swiping it back up and tucking it back into his jacket pocket with a flustered expression. "He won't miss it, anyway. It's his fault I got lost looking for the restaurant, there. I didn't mean to find my way into his bank vault. Who keeps vaults in the basement on the north side of his stupid casino, anyway? You'd think it'd be more secure, but he relies on his men too much. It's better to have an offshore account, like all the other crooks. Anyway, it's his fault he doesn't guard his money very well. Or his marketing secrets. Or his mistress' number. Two of them. Local. Floozies. They're the sort to flock to Cabo over the weekend to pick on older men. Cad. Enemy of women. You have to be rich to find a good woman, nowadays. I'm Team Single for life. I'm okay about it. I'm fine. It's fine. We're all fine."
Corazon sank lower and lower into a depressed pose, Shachi and Penguin looking at him with sorrowful expressions. Even Bepo patted Corazon's back with a sad face, the energy of the place coming down by notches. Law rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, used to Corazon's moments.
With a slight sniffle, he straightened away from the counter. "Fine. If you don't want it, I'm going to Costco, again. Want anything?"
"No."
"I'll bring you your favorite ice cream. Those little rocket pops you always had to have, with the Mountain Dew flavor. You still like ice cream?"
"No."
Shachi and Penguin crowded up against Law, smirking with knowing expressions.
"So, that's why he's so comfortable playing for his own team," Shachi murmured to Penguin behind his hand.
"He's had practice," Penguin muttered back, hand covering his own mouth as they then snickered.
"He must've been real popular with the boys."
"Oh, real popular, indeed…"
Corazon looked at them curiously, then looked at Law. When both of them were replaced with an elderly woman walking outside and a policeman that had two hotdogs in his hand, Corazon hastily turned and left the shop, Penguin and Shachi barging their way back in with indignant faces.
The elderly woman blinked a few times, then calmly left the shop, the policeman standing there for some time before making his way out with a confused expression. Shachi and Penguin hid their faces from him as he maneuvered his way out the door with his hotdogs, and both men growled as they lunged for the counter.
"You're such an ass!"
"Why do we put up with this?"
"Corazon just let us know something very important," Law said, rubbing his chin. "Let's close up shop. I have a mission to undergo."
"What? Besides the fact that he has sticky fingers?" Shachi snapped, huffing as he went to lock the doors.
Penguin gave a jolt. "Did he just…did he just set you up?"
"Yes. Yes he did. I need to take advantage of it before Crocodile realizes what had happened. Let's go."
But there was a reason why Corazon had given him directions, Law realized later on, Penguin and Shachi hauling trash bags to a storage unit on the north side of the city. He scrolled through his phone, watching the security cameras at the shop reveal a three minute lapse of events that happened shortly after they left. Crocodile's men had stormed the shop looking for them. When they couldn't find them, they left the area hastily, the police rolling in moments later, missing the getaway car.
He then felt a twinge of apprehension as he pulled up Sanji's phone number. But the phone just rang and rang, and while he anticipated Zeff himself answering, that didn't happen, either. He looked at the others, debating on whether or not to make an appearance. He found the number to the restaurant, gesturing at Bepo.
Once Bepo took the phone, and cheerfully asked for Sanji once they heard the voice on the other end, Law leaned over to listen as the man cleared his throat. "The kid can't come to the phone right now. If you'd like to leave a message, why don't you come over here and leave one personally?"
Bepo hastily hung up, and looked at Law with dismay.
"Well, shit," he said.
Meanwhile, Crocodile's men paced the restaurant with agitated action. The tables had been destroyed, the windows shot out, food lying everywhere in a colorful mess. Chairs were overturned, the walls decorated with holes, the entire area smelling heavily of gunpowder and smoke. Crocodile hung up the phone, then looked at the two kneeling in front of him. They had their hands tied together with plastic ties, and someone had broken Zeff's peg leg, reducing it to a mere stump. Crocodile had worked the old man over, but Zeff only allowed it because they were holding Sanji at bay with guns to his head.
"Stupid kid," Crocodile muttered around his cigar. "Kids, nowadays, eh, Zeff? Too stupid for their own good. Too reliant on exposing themselves on social media, relying on their elderly parents to take care of them, and too stupid to realize what goddamn Yellow Pages, are. Do you know that app, kid? Yellow Pages? It's an internet phone book. And if the internet phone book can't give me the information I'm looking for, maybe it's the goddamn Google image engine. I looked up that damn calling card this brat left behind, found what I was looking for, and used a woman trying to pay off her student loans to go and spy on this stupid idiot that thinks he's smarter than me. Kids, these days. With more access to spyware than the goddamn government."
He grumbled, shaking his head. "And that idiot Doflamingo thinks I'm behind on the times? I'll deal with him later, for hiding this from me. I'll box his stupid head through this entire city, and deal with his idiot brother later. Both of them. Trash."
Zeff looked at him, teeth visible. "Let him go. Let Sanji go. He knows nothing about this. It was because of Arlong that he ended up finding out about this business."
Crocodile dashed the ashes of his cigar to the side. "Then it ends tonight. You'll have no heirs to carry on the family business. If I let him go, he'll desire revenge. We all know how 'The Professional' ended, right? Only this time, he won't walk away with a house plant."
"I never heard of that movie," Sanji admitted.
"Shut up. You didn't want to take my concerns seriously, Zeff. I negotiated to the very best of my ability with you. I'm tired of living under your damn rules. We've followed the rules for too long, and look where we ended up. I've had the police at my mansion every day of the week, since Arlong was taken in. That makes me nervous. You know why? Because I don't appreciate being spied on. I don't appreciate being watched. I didn't have to be watched. That's why we work together, so we are not watched, unless we make a mistake that needs to be corrected. Have I made any mistakes in my line of work that needed a correction, Zeff?"
"No," Zeff admitted tightly. "But you've never been so paranoid, before, either. You usually did not care if anybody was paying attention to you. Now that they are, what are you really up to, huh?"
"Not anything unusual, of course. I love my life. I enjoy what I make, how I make it, and where I've made it. I didn't come this far in life just to have it taken down because of a goddamn construction worker. You let this get out of hand, Zeff. Now I'm pissed. Now I'm angry. Now I'm frustrated. Now, I have to get my hand dirty, and you know how much I hate getting my hand dirty," Crocodile snapped, holding up his good hand, flashing all his rings. "It's been too long, Zeff! Your retirement hasn't come fast enough. You should've left it years earlier. You let your own judgment weaken because of this child, here. And why are you letting him go to waste, living this life? Aren't you aware of what his family was capable of? Kid, you should've worked for me. you would've gone places, traveled to exotic locations. Met very beautiful women. But instead, you chose to listen to your old man, and fell prey to a life of nothing. What a waste."
"Save your little villainous speech for someone who cares, ass. You want to do away with someone, you do away with them. But the longer we sit here, the closer your time comes," Zeff told Crocodile impatiently. "You want to shoot the boy? Fine. Shoot him. If you can."
Crocodile snorted, dashing ashes onto a nearby table. He signaled to a man standing near them, but Zeff was already in motion. He leaned to the side, whipping his large body into a roll that allowed him to kick Sanji's ready form at the man. Crocodile's men couldn't shoot, in fear of hitting the man himself, but Crocodile only allowed Sanji to blast right through him. Once Sanji landed on a table behind him, through, he crouched, and kicked the pitcher of water sitting there, right at the scarred man's face.
Losing his cigar, Crocodile whirled around furiously with his hands shooting out to form massive fists, but Sanji landed a foot against his mud soaked forehead, causing his head to ring. Then he landed a flurry of strikes from that position that ended with him kicking the man hard enough to send flying across the room, splattering against the far wall with an intense crash of noise. Crocodile's men looked after him with dismay, unsure if they'd seen what they'd seen – in that moment, Sanji quickly rolled to Zeff, intending on helping him, and the man stood up on his good leg, and whipped about with such force that the resulting wind velocity of his kick sent a few of the men around them flying.
He connected with his knee into Sanji's midsection, and blasted him through the back wall, getting him well away from the scene as Crocodile reformed himself slowly at the other end of the restaurant.
By the time Sanji managed to get up, staggering slightly, there was more gunfire lighting up the windows of the restaurant. He wasn't going to give up, through. He looked at his hands, realizing that the force of the kick and the resulting action of being blown right through the building had allowed him some freedom. The plastic ties had been shredded, and he pulled his wrists apart before making his way back to the office. He could hear Crocodile rambling on and on about being treated unfairly, with Zeff's replies moments later, and felt thankful that the old man was still kicking. Literally.
But he found his jacket, and inside his jacket was the pill he'd taken from Law's apartment. The sound of something massive shattering under tremendous force caused everything in the office to rattle and fall to the floor. But he unwrapped the pill and considered it for a few short seconds before taking it. Once he started to feel the effects of the drug take over, he pushed away from Zeff's office and ran back out into the fray, feeling every one of his limbs energized by seemingly tremendous power.
By the time Law arrived at the restaurant, most of the building was missing. The cars in the parking lot were either crushed under immense force from above, or smashed into accordion rows to the side. It looked like a bomb had been dropped onto the center of the area, and there was sand everywhere. Cautiously, Room already expanded within the area just in case he needed to move, he ventured through the parking lot, looking at everything around him. He found several of Crocodile's men lying unconscious, with obvious shoe prints on them. There was food scattered beyond one of the broken windows. Someone had left their jacket on the pavement in their haste to escape. Water dripped from somewhere in the building, spraying the waters in a continuous gush. Eyebrows lifted, feeling a strange combination of unease and wonder, Law wandered up to the restaurant, noting that one of the walls had a blast hole that expanded outward towards the parking lot. So he followed the trajectory path and froze for a moment.
Then he turned away from the building and hurried over, sword at his side for a second until the sound of crunching glass caught his attention. He looked over and watched as Crocodile himself staggered away from the building, missing large parts of him. He was grumbling and stumbling without direction, struggling to stay upright. He wasn't looking around himself. He just gathered what was left of him through the parking lot and continued walking away. Bewildered, Law watched him go. Then he looked back at the car that caught his attention and gaped at the teen that was lying over the windshield, parts of the car hood folded up around him. With one last look in Crocodile's direction, the man walking farther and farther away, he set the sword down and reached in to pry the hood away from Sanji. Then reached in through the broken glass and crushed metal and pulled the teen out from the car.
Sanji just cursed and groaned, looking around him without focus, and Law had to laugh because he'd never seen anybody take a hit so hard that they could crush a car with their own body. He really had nothing to worry about – it was obvious the teen was more capable than he thought of holding his own in battle against powerful foes. He didn't think anything of the affectionate kiss he placed on his bloodied forehead – it was just a reaction. Then he picked him up in one arm, using the teen's current size to fit him comfortably against that side of his body, Sanji curling over him with a garbled mutter. It was almost as if he were carrying an oversized child in one arm. Law then grabbed his sword and intended on teleporting him away to safety when the sound of movement caught his attention.
It was Zeff, and he looked pissed. Which kind of made him regret the slight PDA he'd exposed earlier.
"Drop him," he snapped, almost on a wheeze. His battle wounds made him droop slightly, holding onto an exposed metal beam for support. Law knew he was safe because the man could not walk at all. "Get your damn hands off that boy."
"I'm only here to help."
"Your version of 'helping' is exacerbating the situation. Did you give him that pill? Did you give it to him?"
Law froze for a moment, wondering what he was talking about, then recognized an ugly feeling because of it. He shook his head.
"No."
Zeff looked at him for quite some time, then suddenly whitened. His eyes widened, his mouth fell open slightly, and then he took to a knee. Alarmed at his reaction, Law looked at him with some concern but it looked like Zeff was battling something inside of him at that moment.
"What….what are your intentions?" Zeff asked him, his voice slightly garbled. "Your intentions for that kid?"
"Keeping him out of your family squabbles."
"Is that so?"
"For someone like you who tried so hard to keep him out of it, you're failing your efforts."
"What's in it for you?"
For a few moments, Law didn't answer. But he gripped the sword tightly in his other hand, saying, "He's my friend."
"Still? After all these years? What possibly could someone his age give to someone yours? There's nothing either of you have in common. You're useless trash, and he's a good kid. There is nothing someone like you can give to someone like him. Only trouble. And not only the sort of trouble that comes around in the form of warring syndicates, either. But the sort of trouble that men your age shouldn't be giving to impressionable boys Sanji's age."
At the stressed insinuation in that Zeff knew exactly what was going on between them, Law felt as if his hand had been caught in the cookie jar. For a moment, words failed for him.
"Your father told me to stay out of it. But how can I, now? Knowing that you're up to no good with a boy like Sanji? As if his experimenting with his girlfriend wasn't good enough, knowing that he's playing around with a man like you only makes things worse. I realize I can't control him, or force him to see that what he's doing is wrong, but maybe you should. Because after you're done doing what you're doing, what are you going to do next? Replace him? Break his heart? Is that what you were aiming for? Kids his age needs to stay with kids his age. Men like you don't have a heart or a conscious."
"His choice. Not yours."
"So you'll blame the younger for a choice you made? After you're done?"
"Maybe it's not like that."
"I should've did away with all of you when I had the chance, back then. He would've never remembered you, the way he does his own family. Then he wouldn't be in this mess."
"Well, no time for regrets. Time to move forward. You done lecturing me, old man?"
"I obviously cannot stop him, anymore. He does his own thing. But I can ask this of you. You'll not treat him like a goddamn play thing. if you want to court him, you'll do it openly. Not sneak around about it, like he's a shameful secret. I can't control him, but I can contain the situation. If you continue to hide it, then you need to question yourself what your intentions are. But if you can be open about it, then prepare for the consequences of making a responsible choice in a world like this one. Maybe after some time spent with each other, you'll realize the age gap. You'll smarten up, and he'll toughen up knowing what kind of man you truly are."
Zeff stood slowly, using the metal frame to do so. "However, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but you can bet that I'm telling your father about this."
For a few moments, Law continued to stand there awkwardly, wondering when was the last time he was lectured for fooling around with someone's daughter. It had to be that time in high school when the girl he was with chased after him with a shotgun. He'd been amused back then, walking off without any regrets to the man's proposal – similar to Zeff's - but maybe he had something to think about, now. He wasn't committing – no, he was only caught, and he had to examine the angles of the situation because this one was completely different from a normal setting.
He had to chuckle. "Whatever works for you."
Then he was gone, and Zeff growled low, blood filling his face for a few moments. Then he looked off to the side, in the direction Crocodile had taken. The man was long gone.
With his fists clenched, Zeff sat slowly on the steps of the building and exhaled heavily, surveying the damage to his restaurant. Sanji had been under the influence of the White Rabbit when he battled Crocodile; his moves had been faster, stronger, and Crocodile's attacks had done nothing to stop him. Once Sanji had figured out how to hit him, the man had been near powerless. All Zeff could do was sit there and watch as both the blood of Sanji's family's abilities and the effects of the White Rabbit took over his sweet grandson's demeanor and rendered him a powerhouse against a man more experienced, stronger and more powerful than he. Then watched as a man that Zeff despised on the principle of the situation picked him up from the wreckage and left with him, laughing.
He exhaled heavily, closing his eyes. He had to let go. He'd seen enough. Sanji was no longer a child, and he was clearly making his own choices to get through the world on his own two feet.
The next morning, Sanji woke up with a massive headache, a sore body that refused to bend, and was dehydrated enough to feel cramps in every muscle group. He tried to utter a sound, but his mouth tasted like sand. His eyes were gritty, and even his skin felt disgusting. He blinked heavily and realized he wasn't home. After the events of last night, he wasn't sure where he was. He figured Zeff took them to a safe house, somewhere, until Crocodile calmed down enough for them to talk, again.
But that man didn't want to talk. Crocodile hated the feeling of being insulted and passed over, feeling as if his opinion meant nothing. He didn't want to reason with Zeff. He was through.
Sanji was grateful for that pill he'd taken. He would have to give it five stars. His reaction time was amazing. He'd never felt strength like that, before. He had to wonder if this was the high that Luffy sought whenever Luffy found a battle and wanted stronger opponents. He might have beaten Crocodile last night, but only with a synthetic aid. He imagined that the teen would be much more successful.
Smacking his mouth, he lifted his head, realizing that he knew the room. It was Law's, and Bepo was sitting there with his laptop. From the feel of things, Sanji realized that all his wounds had been tended to, looking at bandages on his hands and feeling them catch on the material of the sheets. He felt sore and achy throughout his legs and feet, as if he'd ran a long distance in bad shoes.
"Good morning, Sanji," Bepo greeted cheerfully. "How are we feeling, today?"
"Like shit," he croaked. "I'm so thirsty."
"You would be! You'd taken one of Dr. Hogback's supply. His is the only one of the White Rabbit that produces positive effects. Unfortunately, it's only available to serious syndicate fighters, like Dr Hogback himself. I'll go and get you something to drink. Please stay here, and watch this video. It's hilarious."
Once Bepo left him with the laptop, Sanji watched thrill seekers crash into various obstacles on their quest to becoming parkour master. The bear returned minutes later, Shachi in tow, looking down at him with a cautious examination. It was the first time Sanji had ever seen the man without his hat and glasses. It was also scary to see that the man was nearly as attractive as Law with his blue eyes, Asian features, and obviously dyed red hair that needed a touch up over black roots. He wore the top half of his hair in a tiny ponytail, to keep out of his face. Without his overalls, he was wearing a green oversized sweater, skinny jeans and fashionably bright basketball sneakers. Sanji would've never known this man was the same guy in the coffeeshop in his hat and glasses. He had to stare up at him with awe.
"You little shit, how dare you take things from me?" Shachi growled, kicking the bed. "You expect friendly treatment from me? Hell no! You're dead wrong! You should've just died out there!"
"Calm down, Shachi, it wasn't Sanji's fault. In his defense, he needed to protect his grandfather," Bepo said, paws out in a calming gesture.
"Is that little shit alive?" Penguin hollered, stomping into the room with a loaded rapid fire machine gun. Just like Shachi, he was without his hat. He was of obvious Asian descent as well, with slanted blue eyes, highly arched eyebrows, and black hair cut long on top, short on the sides. It was insane how ridiculously attractive the group was. Sanji feared females would drop dead with their awed reactions. "Let's make him not alive!"
"Let's roll him up and throw him in the dumpster!"
"Make him take a nap in the harbor!"
"Let's get rid of the evidence!" they cried, causing Bepo to fret.
Sanji only scoffed, taking the water Bepo held out. He took a cautious sip, then didn't stop gulping until the cup was empty. He made short work of the ice, as well. As he crunched on the cubes, Shachi twitched with reaction, obviously not liking the sound.
"If you'd clean your shit up, curious kids wouldn't venture into places to satisfy their curiosity," Sanji said. "This place is a dump."
"You're a dump!"
"Ooh, maybe not say that," Penguin said with a cringe. "Maybe that's not the right term, right now."
Shachi reddened. "Oh yeah."
"What's that mean?" Sanji asked curiously. Then decided he didn't want to know. "Where's Law? I need to get back to Zeff."
"We can't let you do that, right now. Crocodile is still on the loose. Plus he's pissed because he found out what we did with his vault," Penguin said with a cringe. "Plus he's pissed at Doflamingo and Corazon. Last we heard, those three were fighting over on the west side of town. So that's where boss-man went. He told us you needed to be baby sat. Little does he know, he left you with the wrong people."
"Yeah, kid, you wanna die young? We can make you die young!"
"Please. I'm getting up," Sanji said, tossing aside the blankets and finding that he wasn't dressed in his work uniform. He was in one of Law's shirts, and not much else. He pulled the blankets back on with a horrified air while the two men reacted with dramatics.
"He's already crossed a line!"
"It's terrible! Such a bright future! All lost on this hussy!"
Bepo looked at Sanji with a friendly smile. "He said you're to take it easy. You've experienced massive surface injury, but it's the aftereffects of the White Rabbit that will make it difficult for you. You'll experience a very small percentage of lost motor function, as well as a high temperature and vertigo. It's best that you rest."
"Like that stuff matters," Sanji snapped, holding the blankets around him and rising up from the bed. It didn't take look for him to fall back, legs giving out while his head spun and he felt moments from throwing up.
Unceremoniously, Penguin picked his legs up and tossed them back onto the bed. "Like we said, don't move! The floor is lava."
"Despite it having a five star rating, it'll leave you with a hangover effect for at least twenty four hours," Shachi said impatiently. "Every limb you used to fight last night was overtaxed. You've got tears in every one of your leg muscles from overusing them. Your bones are near breaking point due to overexerting them. And receiving attacks from others didn't register then, but they'll register today. You're not going anywhere anytime soon."
"I need to talk to Zeff. I need to know if he's okay. I couldn't see – that stuff wore out, and that man threw me through the wall. I only remember that a car sitting in the handicapped parking spot near the ramp stopped me."
"I'm not going to be impressed," Shachi said with a huff. "You're still a stupid kid. Like, we're doing this White Rabbit thing for a reason. We're trying to keep it out of your hands! All you stupid kids!"
"Whatever senpai's motives truly are, one thing's for sure, he doesn't want anybody else taking them. When he came back last night, he wasn't very happy that you'd taken it. In fact, there will probably be a savage beating waiting for you if he makes it back, tonight."
"Very savage."
"Whatever," Sanji said on a sigh, lying back on the pillow. He tried not to be so happy about it. He could smell that man everywhere, and it made him feel good. "I'm tired."
"No running off. Or Bepo will savagely maul you to death with his ferocious fangs and claws."
"Savagely."
"There will be no savagery," Bepo assured Sanji on a whisper, as the other two left the room.
So Sanji rested because he wanted to, and not because he was told to. By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, he asked Bepo for the computer and logged onto his Facebook account so he can access his Messenger.
'Where've you been?' Zoro asked him. 'Zeff came to the school looking for you. After last night?'
'Safe. What's the word?'
'Nada. Oh, those guys are fighting down town. But it should be over, soon.'
'How do you think it'll end?'
'IDK.'
'He attacked us, last night.'
'That's what Mihawk said. I figured you were with that guy because Zeff was furious when he found out you weren't at school, today. Luffy was sitting in front of detention when he saw him. Said he was all beat up.'
'Crocodile is a tough guy. I ended up using something to beat him with.'
'You shouldn't do that. Don't rely on it.'
'it was an emergency.'
'I understand. But no more. You can be strong without it. Later. Lunch is over.'
Sanji signed out from Facebook and looked at his Instagram. Doffy had posted a video of himself laughing while Crocodile chased after him with a furious expression. It had received over a million hearts for a thirty second video of two syndicate heads trying to kill each other.
"Dork," he said with a light grin.
Later that evening, he and Penguin were playing a game of speed while Shachi made a run for takeout when Law appeared suddenly in the doorway to his room. He tossed Bepo his sword and looked at the pair sitting on his bed with a frown. Despite the events happening downtown, he looked in good health. Just tired.
"It's over," he said. "Crocodile just started fighting everybody. Eventually, he went into hiding to recover. He's down, just not out. Another group took his place to cover for the loss of him and Arlong."
"So, what happens now?" Penguin asked curiously, picking up all the cards.
"We rest, too. I'll talk with you three later on what we'll do, next. It's pretty important. It's one of the most important tasks we'll ever have to take on, and it does involve perilous risk to all our lives."
"As long as it allows me to escape my student loans!" Penguin said happily, rising up from the bed. "C'mon, kid, let's go watch tv."
"No, he has to stay. I have to talk to him about some things," Law said, kicking off his boots and removing his jacket.
"Fine. Shachi's coming back with Chinese, though."
"I'm not interested. I already ate."
"Sanji?"
"I don't feel like I can eat anything, right now," Sanji confessed with a wince. "I'm just thirsty."
"Bepo will bring in more water. Make it quick, though! I'm pretty sure Dancing with the Stars is on, tonight."
Once Penguin and Bepo left the room, Sanji looked over at Law as the man settled on the bed with a tired sigh. He reached out and touched his forehead, then leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose.
"What were you doing with one of those pills I'd told you not to take?" Law asked him sternly.
"If I didn't take it, I wouldn't've won that battle."
"I picked you up from someone's windshield. How is that winning?"
"We both landed a hit at the same time."
"I don't like that you did this. I don't like that you thought it was appropriate to take a pill like that from this place. I've been doing this for a reason, you know."
"We were outnumbered. I had to do something. Like I'm just going to stand there and let them kill Zeff, and myself," Sanji said with a frustrated huff, turning away from him. "Besides, who the hell are you to tell me how to live my goddamn life?"
"Quit trying to forget that I told you you're my slave."
"Shut up about that! I am not your damn slave!"
"Anyway, it doesn't matter. It worked out, in the end. But you'll never have access to that stuff from me."
"I don't want it."
"So," Law then sat up on the bed, looking the teen over. Sanji looked back at him cautiously, picking at the bandages on his hand. When the man reached out and dropped his hand between them, he gave a slow, steadying exhale. Sanji watched him, realizing that he was looked a little unsure of himself, and it was an odd thing to see after all this time. The last time he saw such an expression was when they were kids, and Law was looking at him like that because Sanji had been upset that Zoro didn't like his cookies.
"Zeff issued an ultimatum. Normally, I don't like when I'm issued an order or expected to follow a rule, or given the choice to either face up to a responsibility or walk away from it. I do what I want. But he knows of us. He made it very clear."
Sanji reddened. He found his hands more interesting to stare at with mortification on his features than meeting the other man's face, and he tried to breathe normally, wondering how Zeff knew. He wondered what had abeen said. He wondered what it meant, now, because how was he supposed to face the old man after this? Zoro was right – Zeff probably thought of him as a sexual deviant. Going from girls to an older man in a single day.
"But there are several things, here. One, he wants me to 'court' you out in the open, and not hide it. He understands that you'll just do whatever you want, as well, and accepts that of you. Telling you 'no' didn't work out on his end. If we are to continue doing what we're doing, he only suggested that I make it obvious. Two, because of our age differences, he's very sure that I'm only doing terrible things to you because you're at a disadvantage with your age. I'm obviously manipulating you and forcing you into this because you're not of sound mental capacity to make a decision."
"What."
"Third, Crocodile knows that we have a connection of some kind – he's already been prowling around my work. After last night, he'll really pour on the attention. After I called the restaurant looking for you, thanks to Cora, he was obviously expecting it. So until he's put away, he's going to use you in order to get close to me. Which is fine – "
"No, it's not."
" – because I'm sure you'll handle yourself accordingly. You're not some damsel in distress, I'm not worried about it. He can do whatever he wants. Fourth, Zeff made it clear that he was going to tell Cora what's happening. You know how I detest having to explain myself to that man. So instead of having Zeff beat me to the punch, I went and told him myself. Fifth, on that note, I'd already told the others in the other room that I was seeing somebody, but they don't know it's you. Unfortunately, I'll never hear the end of it once I reveal the truth to them."
"Lastly, I'm making it clear right now that this isn't a commitment of any sort. This isn't a relationship. This isn't something where I'm going to ask you about your day, and expect to go out with you whenever you feel like it. I will not buy you flowers, you will not tag me on any ridiculous memes, you will not, under any circumstances, refer to me as your boyfriend, friend with benefits, back up husband, etc., etc. I will not hang out with you and your friends. I will not hang out with you and Zeff like we're some happy family. You will not accept any of Cora's invitations or whims. You will absolutely not go anywhere Doflamingo asks you to go – you will not accept anything from either of them. And you will not, under any circumstances 'hold' anything that they give you. Do not accept gifts from them, do not run any errands for them, and absolutely do NOT fall for Cora's impulses to cry when he doesn't get his way. Is any of this unclear?"
Sanji stared at him for several long moments, just processing all the things that were said.
"To sum it up, if I want to continue doing this, then we shall do so only when I find it fitting to my mood. I also ask that since you're forcing me to abstain, you need to abstain as well from other relationships with other people. All your attention and focus should be on me."
"Then, what is this?"
"This is just us using each other until we find something better to occupy our time with."
Sanji grabbed the pillow and hit him with it. "I am not the type of person that 'uses' anybody! What the fuck? How could you even say that? Like I strolled into this fucking thing all on my own! You're the one that attacked me, first! Then you get pissed because suddenly it seems like a fucking commitment to you? You're fucked up in the head, you fucking jerk! Who the fuck are you to be setting rules on something that had made me happy?"
"I'm just being honest, here."
"I don't like them! I – I have feelings for you! I look forward to spending time with you, all the time! Yes, okay, I'll admit, fooling around is part of it, but everything else, I – "
"Like what, Sanji? What makes me 'fun' and exciting in that you'd leave your own friends just to come and see me? What possibly do we have in common enough in that not physical attention is needed?" Law asked him curiously, slightly nervous about it.
Sanji sat there for a few moments, staring blankly at him. When moments became longer than that, Law felt his face flush with unexpected humility.
"See? Nothing!"
"Well, we get along fine," Sanji admitted slowly, looking up at the ceiling. "But you're either giving me shit for being who I am and I'm usually giving it right back. Um…"
"What's my favorite color? What's my favorite subject? What's yours? Where do you see yourself in three years?"
"Uh, well…I'm pretty sure it was blue. Your clothes are usually dark navy, and, um, I'm pretty sure all the hard classes in your youth was your favorite, otherwise, why take advanced courses? My favorite color is blue. I see myself in culinary college in San Francisco."
"I hate San Francisco."
"You never talk about yourself, anyway, how am I supposed to know all that?" Sanji then asked impatiently.
"You never ask."
Sanji looked at him blankly, then growled, "You never give me a chance! Every time I try to talk, you're either molesting me or lecturing me on watching over myself around these people! We've never really held a conversation!"
"Then this is only a physical thing between us! And we haven't even figured that out, yet."
"Admittedly, there is nothing to figure out. We pretty much are agreed where it's going."
"…Admittedly."
"Then what are we doing? Because I'm not – like, I can't just…if I don't agree to your terms – why am I agreeing to them? Why do you get to make the rules?"
"Because I'm older."
"That's a stupid excuse!" Sanji snapped at him. "That's not good enough! I'm not agreeing to it! First off, shitty old man, if you're consenting to continue this thing that we have, it's not going to be by your old rules. I make my own goddamn judgment! I make my old goddamn choices! I follow my own goddamn rules! If I want to give you flowers for no reason at all, I'm going to give you flowers!"
"I hate flowers. I'm allergic. And don't you dare. That's so gay."
"We're pretty much agreed that we're gay for each other! Goddamn homo!"
"Besides, while I admit that I do find myself preoccupied with the thought of you, I know shit about your life. Well, all the little parts in between. And I can't identify with any of it! And you can't with mine!"
"We got along fine as kids - !"
"We were kids, kids find anything and everything to use to get along with."
"You were one of the hardest kids to please! You didn't grow up mentally, you just grew up physically! There's no difference between you at that age compared to this one!"
"Why can't you just be that way now as you were then? Saves us the time and trouble of this," Law said, indicated the heated tension.
"Because you will not control me, you bastard," Sanji growled, reaching out and snagging onto his collar, wanting to choke him. "I am not something you just pick up and play with and toss away because you're bored – and I don't do that to anybody. When I commit myself to somebody, I commit myself – "
"Oh, please, you were a hot little beast under my hands the night after you did the dirty with Nami."
"That's different!" Sanji practically screamed at him, red-faced. "I loved that girl since we were kids!"
"Then you can do the same for me."
"NO! Veto'd! Rejected!"
"Besides, what's in a relationship, anyway? Do we have to pretend that we like each other in front of everyone around us? What's the point in that?"
"I'm not pretending!"
"You can't say that when you know nothing about me, nor do you have any reason to even make me part of your life! We have nothing in common but our families, and even then, trying to stay away from them has been a major pain. What possibly could we talk about with just us?"
"Let's go and try it. There's nothing wrong with trying things. Besides, after everything you've laid out on the table, how in the hell do you possibly think that it's okay to disregard how I feel about the situation – "
"I will stop you right there. It was pretty embarrassing when you could find nothing to say when it came to us having anything in common. If we both sat down in a public setting, what would happen?"
"Things flow naturally. We just talk. We talk about things other than this! Quit overthinking things! You always do that!"
"I do not. I like to plan ahead and have a plan, and, to be honest, I never calculated this situation into my life at all. It just happened. I never looked at you as a kid and though, hm, that's it, this human will be mine for the rest of my life."
"You always called me your future slave in training, how is that not similar?"
"That's different!" Law said with a slight huff. "Look, this is getting awkward. Either agree with my terms, or leave and tell your old man that I said fuck you."
"I don't agree to anyone's terms!" Sanji declared. "First off, this is my proposal – "
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Shut up! I do too! I get to have a say in this! This is my life, too!"
"I'll admit it, Sanji, I do think about you a lot. But whether or not it's only physical is something I have to figure out on my own. So maybe you should go back home and wait for me to say something and then – "
Sanji hit him again with the pillow. "I will not! I will not do anything under your fucking terms! You're the one that kissed me first! You're the one that looked at me like that in the first place! You're the one sneaking in my room at night! You're the one that's been there to help me when I needed it! You might say all that shit to make yourself feel better, but who's the goddamn homo always putting himself into uncomfortable positions with me over a 'physical' thing?"
Law snatched the pillow away from him and threw it aside. "Stop hitting me with that! I'll bitch slap you again if you keep that shit up, you stupid brat!"
"Do it, and you'll be sorry!" Sanji growled back. "I was caught off guard the last time, but I'll make you regret laying a hand on me, you stupid asshole! You're such a fucking dick, you're always telling me what to do! You did it when we were kids, and you're doing it, now! I'm not anybody's goddamn slave or servant, and I'm definitely not yours! My terms to this situation is this – you go ahead and court me in front of everyone. I will tell everyone that I'm seeing you. I will trust my own judgment regarding Doffy and Cora, and - !"
"I don't agree with you at all. Those terms are stupid."
"You're stupid! AND, if it looks like we don't have a fucking thing in common, you leave this area."
"Why do I have to move?"
"Because you've no attachments here," Sanji growled at him. "You leave this area and never come back."
"But I have to. I have a mission."
"And what's that mission?"
"I'm not saying right now."
"JERK!"
"Stop yelling at me!"
"I swear to God, it's like having another child up here," Shachi mumbled to Penguin, the three of them eating their takeout as they listened to the pair argue and yell, totally forgetting that the door was wide open. Penguin looked pretty traumatized now that he knew who Law's 'special someone' was.
"All those terms are stupid and I'm not following any of them. If you're not going to abide to what I've laid out in front of you, then there's no point in continuing this," Law told Sanji firmly.
Sanji stared at him in silence for a few moments, looking shocked. "You'd just – quit me like that. After all this? Just because I don't agree with what you want of me?"
"It'll be real easy, too."
"You're a fucking asshole."
"And you're a fucking jerk for putting so much pressure on me. I have a sensitive medical condition that prevents me from committing to anyone."
"What the fuck does that even mean? You're just a goddamn commitment-phobe because you're afraid of being hurt!"
"What the hell does that mean? I don't care! Nothing hurts me! Why should it? Everything that I do is on my terms only, not on anyone else's!"
"Darcy Rue from middle school, apartment 3K. I remember her."
"I don't."
"You had such a crush on her back then. But you couldn't talk to her. She'd walk right by us and you look right after her, but one day, she called you out on it. Then made fun of you because you had just gotten your braces. You humiliated her for the rest of the school year because she made you feel bad!"
"He truly was an asshole even then," Penguin muttered.
"I remember that because that was the only time you let yourself admit that you liked someone, and I tried to help you – I made cookies for her on your behalf! But, now, as I think of it, that was a mistake, because I fell for her, too, and tried to woo her. But she wasn't into eight year olds," Sanji then said, rubbing his chin. "Which was a shame, because I could return feelings you refuse yourself to have! You truly are afraid of love!"
"Stupid. You're so stupid. And you come here and say all that stupid shit - ! I'll throw you out the window with you dressed like that! you'll walk home like that, and I don't give a shit what happens!"
"Do it!"
Amid the sounds of a scuffle, Shachi sighed heavily, dragging his hands down his face with exasperation. "I swear to god, that guy can't even be cool with doing things normally."
"Well, I guess it goes to show that senpai really is human," Penguin mumbled. "He's such a big child. How embarrassing. How can such a smart, powerful guy like him be so goddamn awkward about things like these?"
Once the sounds died away, they heard Law say, "You need to take responsibility for it."
"You're a fucking jerk, why do I even like you?"
"Then we're agreed?"
"Yeah, whatever. Come here. I'll make you change your mind, stupid ass. Is it my turn yet?"
"Pretty much. Your grandfather consented on it."
Shachi got up from the table, and took the few steps needed to slam the bedroom door shut. "Christ is watching you!" he howled, red-faced.
"This is going to be so weird," Penguin muttered, elbows on the table, hands over his face.