A/N: Relationships are hard. Especially when you have nothing in common. D:

Thank you for all your reviews! :D There's still more to figure out. Someone's heart is a little more fragile than he thought.

Chapter Twelve:

When She Was Just Small

The next morning, Law woke up before Sanji. He could hear Penguin talking in his sleep, holding a conversation with an unseen person about the current state of affairs in a European country, and it sounded like Shachi had fallen asleep in the living room again, his snores constant. Bepo's was in tandem with his, the bear stretched out on the kitchen floor, where it was coldest. Accustomed to all the noises, he blinked sleep from his eyes and sluggishly put his thoughts in order. He reached for his phone to check the time, finding it near five am. He then ignored the near one hundred voice and text messages Corazon had sent him, and the Jared Fogle memes that Doflamingo had sent.

He tossed it aside and looked over, seeing that Sanji had fallen asleep on his side facing him. Law had to smile because when the teen was asleep, he was unguarded and vulnerable with his mouth open and his lashes fluttering, his curled eyebrows lifted high with his hair out of his face. It wasn't the most attractive face he could make, but Law liked it because it was almost similar to the 'o' face he had the pleasure of seeing. He reached over with a fingertip and lightly traced over the eyebrows, then down the straight nose to the curved top lip and down the pointy chin, where he could feel the straggly ends of stubble.

Sanji's face twitched in reaction and he pulled his head back, hands coming up between them just to curl slightly. Then he relaxed and was breathing softly again, and Law was unsure why his own heart gave a light thump just from watching the teen sleep. Maybe he was sick, or something. He then reached out and pushed a fingertip up against one nostril, and Sanji snorted in his sleep and slapped his hand away with a grumpy curse. When he resettled, Law did it again. Sanji growled and pushed his hand away, then rolled over. Law lathered his ring finger with as much spit as possible, then slipped it into the teen's ear, and Sanji sat up with an enraged curse.

"What's wrong?" Law asked with concern.

"Get your goddamn fingers out of my body!" Sanji snarled, rubbing his ear.

"That's not what you said last night."

"You will not lie about such things at this point in time!" Sanji snapped at him.

"It's time for you to get up and get home."

"Why can't you have woken me up all nice and romantic-like? With kisses and cuddling and nice, cheerful 'Good morning!' words, instead of behaving like a goddamn child?" Sanji grumbled, swinging away from the bed. He used one of the blankets to rub angrily at his ear. "Ugh, I'm all sticky."

"Oh? Did you have a wet dream?"

"NO! Oh my god, you're such a jerk. I'm taking a shower before I go. There better be some form of soap in there, or I will hate you even worse than before," Sanji muttered, striding to the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

Law chuckled, then stopped in mid-sound, wondering if he truly did act as childish as Sanji claimed. He then shrugged, rolled over, and went back to sleep. When Sanji kicked him in the ribs to wake him up, he cursed and sat up as the teen finished pulling on the shirt he'd been wearing and pulled on sweats he'd found in the closet. Law appreciated the view for a few moments, finding it oddly alluring for the teen to wear his clothes. He pulled himself out of bed, grabbed his phone, slipped on his house slippers, and pulled on his hoodie. Bepo walked in to sleepily say goodbye, to which Sanji gave his thanks.

Not waiting any longer, Law bent and tossed the teen over his shoulder, much to his mortification.

"I'll be back later," he told Bepo as Sanji struggled to get loose, getting enraged by the second. He adjusted the teen over his shoulders into a fireman's carry so he could hold both his thighs down and his arms, causing Sanji much undignified distress. "I need to pick up a few things at the store. Text me if those guys get up and want anything before I come back."

"McDonald's," Bepo said eagerly. "No ham on Penguin's egg mcmuffin, extra sausage for Shachi, and five hashbrowns. I just want one of those parfaits, please."

"Sure."

"Don't you dare take me home like this - !" Sanji snarled before they both disappeared from view, and Bepo hoped they made it there okay, because it looked like Sanji was moments from bursting into flame with the position he was in. Bepo had to shake his large head with exasperation because for all his serious appearance, his master was still such a childish man.

Sanji made it to school just in time for the first bell to ring, and he was huffing and puffing as he did so. As soon as he found his seat in homeroom, Zoro leaned over his shoulder to say, "So you're not dead."

"Nope. I still feel all banged up, though," Sanji confessed.

"By the way, Luffy has detention after school, but we need to go to the aquarium with him after that. That ass Fullbody started a fight with him yesterday, so he needs to finish a project."

"I can't wait! I love the aquarium!" Sanji said cheerfully.

"Nami's still mad. Nothing unusual."

"I, uh, I have something to tell all you guys," Sanji then said nervously, turning around in his chair to look at him. "She's here, right?"

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Zoro asked skeptically.

"NO! Goddammit, no! No!"

"Well, with you, who can tell what you're up to, nowadays?"

"Blackleg, Roronoa, shut up!" the male teacher in front called out impatiently.

Sanji waved him off, returning his attention to Zoro. "I want to tell you all as a group. How would you feel if I told you that Law and I – "

"No."

" 'No' what? I didn't even say it, yet."

"Sorry, I'm just used to that bullshit you bring up, so it was automatic."

"Moron! Just listen!"

"You don't come back to school after being gone for a day and expect to call me names right off the bat!"

"Algae head, Mossman, moss head, ape-face, ass – "

"Shut up, dumbass! I had a great morning so far, and you coming in to fuck it up with your stupid little temper tantrum is starting to piss me off!"

Sanji rattled his desk with impatience, and Zoro grabbed his chair and jerked it back and forth, the pair of them causing a lot of stares.

"Black Leg! Roronoa! Do you two need to be separated again?" the teacher shouted from the front, their classmates giving them impatient looks for interrupting the morning announcement.

"Why? Just so we have to yell over everybody's heads to talk? Separate us, then!" Zoro challenged him. "Then everyone can know our goddamn business!"

"Goddamn it, Roronoa, one more challenge like that, and you'll hit the principal's office again, this week!"

"Already?" Sanji asked Zoro curiously, digging a sucker out of his bag. "What'd you do?"

"Used my swords to open my locker. I couldn't get the combination right, and I was late for class. I knew I shouldn't have relied on Luffy to wake me up in time."

"I'm here, now. You can rely on me, babe."

"Awesome. Because I am pretty tired, honey."

"You guys are such fags," one of their classmates muttered. "Arranging a napdate."

"Whatever. I'm secure with my masculinity," Zoro said, giving him a dangerous stare. "Why don't you and I step outside and you show me how awesome you are with yours?"

"Whatever, Roronoa. Sheesh. No one's going to fight you from our class."

"Now, what was your damn question?" Zoro asked Sanji with an impatient look, the teen already crunching on his sucker as he watched the exchange with amusement. It always made him laugh how many times guys backed down whenever Zoro decided to take offenses as challenges – his friend was just much too intimidating for any of their classmates to take on face to face.

"Nothing. I'll wait until lunch to tell you all equally."

So when the time came, Sanji nervously sat on the table so he could face the expectant faces of his friends equally. Well, most of them; Zoro laid his head down on the table and took a nap, not at all concerned with what he already expected.

"Um, so, remember, I was supposed to be honest and truthful about the things that I'd been hiding from all of you? I didn't want to talk about it until I had it all figured out on my own, and, well, some of it had to be revealed before I could even accept it myself, but there's, um, another thing. Another thing that happened, that I, uh, should share. It's…it's going to be…different."

"Sanji, did you fight Crocodile the other night?" Luffy asked with interest. "What was that like?"

"It was terrifying," Sanji admitted. "They rolled right up to the restaurant, forced out all the customers, then began shooting and fighting the cooks. The guy himself waited until the floor was clear before he approached us. He's way stronger than Arlong. I, uh…I ended up using the White Rabbit to help."

"I thought we weren't supposed to take that."

"I did it because I felt that if I didn't, we would lose. Crocodile had already taken down the old man, and he was going to do the same to me, so I had to do it. I didn't defeat him – there's no chance of me doing that."

"But I thought we all got rid of Arlong's stuff?" Luffy said.

"I…I stole this one elsewhere. Which brings me to my original spiel – I, uh…so, um, wow this is harder to say than I thought…"

"Are you and your boyfriend exclusive, now?" Ussop asked curiously. "Because you didn't come to school, and Luffy said that Zeff said you were with him – "

"Boyfriend?" Nami repeated sharply, eyes widening.

"Yes, um, yes," Sanji confirmed, reddening.

"You're with another boy? Is that why you - ? You - ! Oh my god!"

"Nami didn't know?" Luffy asked curiously. "Nami, we knew a few days ago. He told Zoro in the bathroom."

"You told Zoro?" Nami repeated on a shriek. "You told Zoro but you couldn't tell me that you're seeing some guy?"

The other kids at the tables around them looked at them curiously, Nami lowering her voice with an embarrassed air.

Sanji didn't care about their opinion. "I tried, the other day, during PE, but…you were already angry, I felt that I shouldn't."

"Nami, his boyfriend is the guy from the coffee shop," Luffy relayed on a whisper. "We haven't met him, yet."

Nami turned wide eyes to Sanji. "Which one?"

"The hot one." Luffy laughed merrily. "Well, those are your words! I wouldn't know! I haven't met the guy, yet! Sanji, we need to meet him."

After a concerned look in Nami's direction, Sanji shrugged. "I guess. I would rather you not, though. He's a little embarrassing."

"Then why are you with him?" Luffy asked, puzzled. "You're admitting that you're with someone, so you obviously like him. Why is that embarrassing?"

"He's not the best people-person there is. He can be…sort of a jerk."

Luffy was obviously confused, staring at him blankly, Ussop's eyes rolling to the ceiling as he tried to figure it out as well. "Well…okay…so…why the big fuss, then?"

"Because… see, with the way the situation is, because of this thing with Crocodile, um…well, okay. Law has been chasing after the White Rabbit for some time, now. He destroys the labs. He's the one that destroyed Arlong's lab, and the alliance Arlong had with Crocodile. He's not affiliated with any of the syndicates, despite the fact that Cora's his father, and Doffy is his uncle. Now, Crocodile is pissed because he lost an ally and his labs, and he's mad at Zeff for letting Law do this. Unfortunately, because Law isn't in a recognized group and is only causing terror on other groups, he can't control him. Crocodile figured out who Law is. That's why he was fighting with Doffy and Cora yesterday. Now, after our battle the other night, he knows that we…know each other. So…so you see how it can't be that big of a secret, anymore? And my old man knows, too, and…I guess he just made it clear that it shouldn't be hidden. So…so it's out there. So I needed to tell you guys so you know these recent developments rather than finding out unexpectedly."

Ussop stared at him with disbelief. "Zeff told you it was okay to have a relationship with a guy? With a guy like him? Even if you aren't of age?"

"He's not happy about it, but he realizes that it's my life, I should be able to do things without having to sneak around about it. I guess. He doesn't approve, but he knows I'll just continue to sneak around to see him, anyway."

Nami stared at him as if he had two heads. Luffy shrugged a shoulder. "Whatever. I don't get this couple stuff. All I know is that two guys are kissing on each other and we need to be okay with it because some other guys don't like a guy."

"It's an association thing," Nami muttered darkly.

"I never planned on this ever happening. It just did," Sanji confessed, reaching over to pat Zoro's head as the teen snored loudly. "And I'm not going to apologize for falling for a man, I can only apologize for the feelings I'd hurt along the way."

"Are you guys going to get married?" Luffy asked suspiciously.

"No."

"Well, it's not that big of a surprise, really," Ussop said. "You're a pretty girly person, anyway."

"How is that even possible?" Sanji growled, kicking him, Luffy ducking automatically.

"So everyone has to know about this because…? "

"Because if Crocodile's desperate, he'll come after me for revenge."

"A fight?" Luffy asked, perking up immediately.

"Yeah. A fight."

"Awesome! Hey, Sanji, you should do this all the time! Find guys that are with strong guys and have them fight us over you!"

"Stupid."

"This is so not right," Nami muttered. "I don't like this. I don't like it at all. I wish you could've told me this sooner, and not in front of these nimrods."

"I thought it would be fair if all of you knew at the same time."

"Well, it didn't work, because they knew more about it than I did!" she snapped at him, her face red. "I turned you gay, didn't I?"

"No," Sanji confessed. "In hindsight, before that happened, we were still, um…in the process of things."

"So you thought sleeping with me would turn you straight?"

"No. I thought sleeping with you because you wanted to would make us closer together."

"I'm never going to go to sleep with anybody," Luffy told Ussop.

"Yeah, it looks like a lot of hassle," Ussop agreed as Nami and Sanji continued to exchange words over them.

Zoro sat up swiftly, giving a sharp curse as he stood and grabbed his swords. Their attention to him, they watched as he blinked sleepily, looked at them, then around them. "We're still at lunch?"

"Damn you!" Nami shouted at him. "You scared me!"

"I thought we were under attack!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Ha ha! Zoro's ready for action!" Luffy laughed merrily. "Okay, after school, then! We meet this guy! Maybe we'll run into Crocodile on the way!"

"No, that's not going to happen," Sanji said hastily. "We're going to the aquarium. Mosshead said, so that's what we're doing."

"Your favorite place to be, eh, Sanji?" Ussop asked cheerfully.

"Sanji, does that mean you'll be hanging out with him more than us?" Luffy then asked with concern, troubled with the potential loss of his friend. "Does that mean you won't fight, anymore?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Nothing's going to change. I'll be with you guys more than I'll be with him. He's got his own life, I got mine. It's not like where we'll be hanging all over each other, or anything like that," Sanji scoffed with an eye roll. He woke Zoro up with a shake of his shoulder once he saw the teen dozing off again. When Zoro didn't budge, he wet his finger and stuffed it into one ear, causing the other teen to shriek. "Both of us are a lot more mature than that."

But later on that afternoon, he was doing just that – hanging from the man's neck with a growl as Law walked awkwardly with both hands occupied with trash bags. Zeff had released him from his work load. With Luffy still serving detention, Zoro joining him after fighting with another kid over an insult, Nami mad at him and Ussop waiting for Luffy to get out, Sanji came over with some food from Whole Foods and was making the guys snack and dinner boxes for later. All he did was walk into the shop with his bags, fended off Shachi's broom with a foot, and told Penguin he would have food ready for them in a few minutes. Law himself had been delivering drinks to various tables, and Sanji had said nothing to him because he was busy. So when the older man approached him, by first hugging his waist from behind and leaning in to kiss his neck, causing a rather frantic makeout session, Sanji went along with it because it was expected. Then Law pulled away from him when it was getting intense by telling him he was being overly clingy, so Sanji snapped.

"You bastard! I've had a rough day at school, and you say this?" Sanji asked, wrapping a leg around his waist and biting his shoulder as he attempted to toss a full bag into the dumpster. Then he tried choking him, Law stumbling a bit before hauling the other bag in along with the other.

"Please calm down. You're making a scene in front of everyone."

"There's no one here! And you know my temper's short, and you just cross it all the time! I seriously blow my top every time you say dumbass things to me!" Sanji went on, frustrated with the mess that he was. "After I'm finished making you dinner boxes, I'm leaving to meet with the others. We're going to check out the aquarium, something about Luffy's assignment for tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to it. Have you been there?"

"Kinda not interested. Listen, you do that. We're –"

"You don't like fish?" Sanji asked, leaning over to look at him from the side, wrapping both legs around his waist and hanging on as he walked back to the entrance door. "The aquarium is an amazing place to go. They have an entire section of the building with glass walls with fish and other sea creatures from this side of the world in there. It's really neat. It's one of my favorite places. And you get to play with manta rays and pick up starfish in a pool, and pose with sea lions, and there's also a special pool where sharks, fish and turtles swim together – "

"It's that nice, huh?"

"We should go. Just you and I, one day. I bet we'd have a lot of fun!" Sanji then said cheerfully, humping his back with enthusasim.

Law tried to dump him, but Sanji held on tight with all limbs. "I told you, we're not doing that sort of thing. I don't do 'dates'."

"I know you said that, but one day, you'll do it. I'll get you to change your mind, you stubborn ass," Sanji said, kissing his ear, licking the shell moments later as Law re-entered the building. He felt the man cringe, then shift, grabbing him by the waist. Moments later, Sanji was tossed into a nearby pile of trash bags near the side of the door. "Jerk!"

"It's not that I don't want to spend any time with you, it's just that I see no appeal in watching fish through glass cages. Animals don't belong in cages, they belong in their own environments," Law said, walking back into the shop as Sanji picked himself up and ran after him. When Sanji made to kick him, he picked up a chair from the break table nearby and fended off his foot with it, saying, "What is the appeal of stealing an animal from their home and placing them in controlled environments for human entertainment?"

"It's so people like me, who have never traveled the world like some people have, can admire them and dream about visiting them in their natural homes!' Sanji exclaimed, trying to find an opening past that chair. He flipped up onto the counter, then lunged downward with an axe kick, splitting the chair in half. At that moment, Law stepped in, picked him up from the ground, and slammed him down onto the table. Sanji kicked out, catching him in the chin, twirled from his hands back to his feet and launched another series of kicks at him. Law absorbed a kick to his thigh, grabbed that foot, twisted and slammed him into the fridge.

"Animals don't belong in cages!"

"They don't belong in overalls, either!"

"Bepo's a free bear!"

"Then return him back to his home! Take him back to Zou!"

"No. Now he's my property."

"You're such a damn hypocrite!" Sanji snarled, launching up at him, but Law caught him with a low punch to the mid-section, grabbed him around the waist and slammed him up against the fridge again.

"You're so cute when you're trying to be all fierce and shit," Law told him with a look of amusement before leaning in and biting his collarbone, and Sanji yelled out before trying to headbutt him.

Steadying himself, Sanji then said, "I told my friends about you. So they all know. The last two want to meet you."

"I told you I don't want to meet anybody. I told you this isn't a relationship of any kind. It's starting to make me think I made the wrong choice."

"I told them that it wasn't that sort of thing – to be honest, I think it'd be hard to have something constant like that," Sanji confessed, reaching out to fiddle with the open collar of his work uniform. "The more I think about it, the weirder it gets. After all, the longest time we've been present in each other's company was that one half year. Like, what if it turns out this was only a physical thing? What if we aren't compatible for any long term things, anyway? What if we never have anything in common to talk about? I was thinking about that in class, when I had everything to say to my friends, and I was trying to think about what we could talk about besides shit to each other."

"Well, of course you wouldn't," Law said with exasperation. "You're a kid still dealing with high school dramatics, and I'm this cool guy running around with other cool guys in the streets trying to eliminate this stupid syndicate drug. We have nothing in common to share with each other but a physical attraction."

"But we got along fine as kids – "

"You keep saying that, but we're not kids anymore, Sanji," Law said, dropping him to the floor, Sanji landing with a grunt. "Of course we wouldn't have the same subjects to discuss!"

"Then let's try for new ones! I told you about the aquarium – what about you, what do you like to do?"

Law thought about it for a minute, then admitted, "I like to read. Mostly non-fiction. Not so much manga, but I will pick up a new trade paperback if it looks interesting."

Sanji beamed at him, reaching out to wrap his arms around his waist and look up at him from this angle. "What's your favorite subject?"

"Well, the medical field, obviously. My abilities count on knowing an extensive amount of – anyway, I need to get back to work."

"We're getting somewhere, and they're not here to ask for help!"

"This is getting too weird, for me. If I tell you this stuff about me, what are you going to think?"

To Sanji, the guy was obviously terrified of revealing too much of his real self to him. The obvious reluctance with answering his questions, combined with the sudden look of insecurity on those intense features of his said everything to Sanji. Despite his outward appearance, Law was obviously a man that guarded himself carefully against anybody coming in too close to him. So it made Sanji happy in that he was slowly revealing what he allowed so far.

"That's for me to know. And I think that it's cute that you still read like crazy, because you always had a book in hand. So I'm assuming you like visiting Barnes and Noble, then?"

"No, that's way too active, for me. There's a bookstore on the corner of Weston and Point that I like going to. The old lady there doesn't care what people look like as long as they like books and are more interested reading than talking or drinking coffee."

Sanji made a mental note of that address. "What type of music do you like?"

"Not your type, that's for sure."

"Shut up. What type?"

"Uh, well…I don't really know. I don't…like, music wasn't that big of a deal to me. to be honest, I've no idea what's out there, anymore, other than what they play on Dancing with the Stars."

"Penguin was right. You're a fucking pretentious hipster."

Law huffed, pushing him away. "That's enough of the twenty questions thing. If you're going to have an opinion like that, then, why even bother asking - ?"

"You're such a brat! I was only teasing!" Sanji laughed, jumping on him once more, causing him to stumble and slam them both into the fridge.

"Stop hanging on me! I'm not a goddamn tree!"

"Could you guys stop your freaking public display of foreplay?" Shachi asked impatiently from the open doorway. "Goddammit, we need help out here!"

Law pushed Sanji into the fridge, and leaned against the door to lock him in. Then he walked away from it to go back out front, and Shachi impatiently opened the fridge to let Sanji out.

"C'mon kid, toughen up! Just because he's stronger than you doesn't mean he's better," Shachi said as Sanji huffed, straightening his clothes as he walked back to the counter to finish their meals. Shachi fixed the shelves before shutting the fridge.

"Hey, Shachi, where are you guys going, tonight?"

"I don't know, we've got a new mission he has yet to tell us about."

"Shachi, I have some single girl friends that are looking for older guys," Sanji said helpfully.

"Unlike some people, I don't do jailbait. But if Robin's interested - !"

"Eh, you're not her type. She's into really tall dudes with blue hair."

"It's always the tall ones," Shachi muttered, walking off with a dejected hang of his head.

Sanji met the others at the aquarium nearly an hour later, rumpled and disheveled because Law couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. Nami hadn't shown up, and while he felt bad for it, there was nothing more he could do about it.

The four of them wandered through the building, taking photos and causing their usual loud chaos – Sanji posted all the photos to a collage on his Instagram. He took selfies with each of the guys, ending in a group photo at the exit. Because it had grown late, and Luffy still had to finish writing up his project, Sanji and Zoro walked the two younger guys home. After, Sanji found the bookshop Law was talking about, and walked in, Zoro trailing after him with a yawn. He was immediately overwhelmed with the sight of books stacked everywhere in rows, on shelves, piled in corners, and laid spine down on the floor. It smelled musty and dank, and the older woman at the counter, behind more stacks of books, was sipping vodka straight out from the bottle.

"You're lost!" she said, looking at them with a frown. "Turn around and head straight back out."

"Gah! Mummy!" Zoro cried, drawing back with a startled air. Sanji saw that this was so, practically jumping onto his back so they could make a quick getaway.

Both of them ducked the bottle that was flung in their direction, smashing against a nearby support beam. "I'm no mummy! I'm a young woman in her prime! How dare you? What the hell are you two puppies doing in my shop? This place is a thousand years too old for your kind!"

"If it's able to communicate with us, then it's not a mummy," Sanji assured Zoro on a whisper before rising up, looking at her. "Good evening! I was referred here by a friend."

"As you can see, this isn't a place where one can browse by category. If you find what you're looking for, you may take it for a penny less than it's listed price," she said, emerging out from the counter, revealing a tight crop top over braless breasts, low slung pants, and surprisingly unwrinkled knees in a short skirt with ankle boots. Her face was lined and tanned with immense age, her grey-blond hair flowing down to her thighs, sunglasses proper atop of her brow while another pair sat over her nose.

Both teens hugged each other out of horror.

"Why are we even here?" Zoro asked Sanji, shoving him towards the woman. "This place freaks me out."

"It would, wouldn't it, Roronoa? How's your father, nowadays? I bet he's still as fine as the day he left the government desk job that brought him here, heeheehee," she chuckled, looking a tad lecherous as Zoro looked at her with bewilderment. She then looked at Sanji. "And you! Zeff's grandson! I was wondering when you'd show up. I have a book for you. It's very interesting. Come take a gander."

"You know us?" Sanji asked her curiously, having to step over a small wall of paperback books to do so. Zoro did the same, carefully trailing behind him as stacks of books around them threatened to topple with his swords positionined as they were.

"I know everybody in this town! Especially those with high profile parents, and I'm not talking about the celebrities," she said, walking behind the counter and looking up at the books that were shelved, spine first along the wall behind the register. She pulled out a very thin novella, and gave it to Sanji. Looking over his shoulder, Zoro watched as he opened it, revealing a family history. "I figure Zeff only told you a little about yourself, but here is your history, kiddo. Dating all the way back from the late 1700's. I thought it might be interesting for you."

"That's a lot of incest," Zoro said, Sanji elbowing him away.

"Shut up, lame ass! What a thing to say. Shut up."

"So, is he really that important, old lady?" Zoro asked her.

She slapped him, and he wasn't expecting it, head whipping to the side with action. "I told you, I'm not old! But, yes, his family was important back then. Not now, of course, considering he's the only one left. And it'll die with him. Sorry, boo."

Sanji closed the book. "Well…considering I just found out about it, it's really not that big of a deal, anymore. I can't feel anything for something I don't remember having."

"You wouldn't, you were very young when your family was killed. Zeff was their head chef at the time – now that's one old motherfucker," she said. "He did a good job of raising you – you don't have the kind of eyes your family did."

"You knew them?"

"I told you, I know everybody! Now, what are you here, for? This place is nothing for you, kids. You look like the type that don't read at all."

"Um, my friend comes here a lot. I came here looking for something I could buy for him, as a gift."

"My customers are only people that know what I sell. It's surprising to see you here, but if you're here, you're already mixed up in it. Come with me."

Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, then followed her as she opened a door nearby. They descended a very narrow staircase to the basement. When she opened a heavy metal door, the lights snapped on, and they were in awe of a massive library, with shelves upon shelves of books that were nothing that they were familiar with. Along the walls were wanted posters, photographs with family trees, skeletons propped up in manners of death, and multiple safes with post-its taped to the doors with numbers.

From the book emerged a small reindeer with a serious face, holding an armful of books. He gave then a stern frown before shelving them, using a stepstool to do so.

"Chopper! We've visitors. This is Roronoa Zoro, Mihawk's son. This is Sanji BlackLeg, Zeff's charge," she said. "Sanji is looking for a gift for a friend."

"How may I help you two?" Chopper asked politely.

"Er, I have a friend. His name is Law – "

"Trafalgar? Heeheehee! What made you want to kill yourself so slowly associating yourself with him?" the woman laughed. "What a pain in the ass! From the time he was a kid to today, he's not afraid to ask about something if he doesn't understand it."

"I actually have his shipment prepared, here, along with some books of interest in the subject he last requested," Chopper said, leaving the cart full of books and making his way towards the very back of the basement. "Dr. Kureha here keeps a detailed record of all her customers here at the shop, so you don't have to go looking for anything else. All that we have on file for him is easily found upon request."

"So, Zoro, you look like a manly kid. Can you help me out over here?" Kureha asked him, pointing to the side.

"Sure. I wouldn't want you to break into a thousand pieces and get your dry mummy dust on anything."

"Stop calling me a mummy!"

Chopper showed Sanji a milk crate full of medical textbooks that were up to date, in great condition, along with vintage titles of a horror series. "This is all that he'd requested the last time. These textbooks, and volume four of this series, here. These last three I only pulled upon possible interest."

Sanji was glad Zoro had left to go help Kureha. But he struggled to hold in embarrassed laughter as he looked at the titles. He couldn't help but blush and feel thought of – the man was obviously very interested in making sure his future sex partner was satisfied. The How-To manuals were a great indication of planning, and he looked through each one with some mirth.

"He was very interested in the subject the last time he was here, so Kureha thought he'd like these books, as well," Chopper said seriously. "Also, these two were hard to find. These are the history books he requested, and the polar bear fact book at sixth grade reading level."

"Don't let him know I saw these ones," Sanji said, handing him the manuals. "He might get embarrassed if he knew that I saw them. I'll take these history books, and the polar bear one."

"That's fine. He's usually very picky about the shipment and always haggles the price with Kureha. I will go ring these up and wrap them for you."

When the tiny reindeer went to do that, Sanji turned and went in search of the others, smiling widely. Zoro was hauling books from one crate to a cart, Kureha harassing him the entire time.

"It's a shame you're here," she said. "Zeff worked very hard to keep you out of it."

"Unfortunately, it was only by association that I fell into things," he said.

"I heard. Well, too late to turn back time, now. All I ask is that you do not participate in any of their matters. It's getting sticky out there, and you'll find yourself having to choose when it comes down to it. The only advice I can give you at this time is – don't let yourself think they're all your friends. Because it'll bite you in the end. Anyone associated with this world is here for themselves, for their own gains. There's nothing redeeming about it. Trafalgar might think he's doing a huge favor by eliminating the labs around here, but it'll explode in his face when it hits too close to home, for him. He'll hit that rock bottom soon, when he finds the original source of the problem."

"Is he getting close to it?"

"Not yet, because the syndicates are still there. Once he finds it, the syndicates will fall, and he'll know he succeeded. How are you two friends, again?"

"We used to live in the same apartment complex. We reconnected."

"I'll bet," she murmured, looking him over. "In what way?"

"As friends."

She looked him in the eyes, and he looked away because her face was really old up close, and he feared she would sense his inner disgust. "Tell me, Blackleg, tell me personally – what do you think of your life, so far?"

"It's…it's been pretty normal. I've had no complaints. Zeff gives me too much material things, I have good friends, I have good grades, I enjoy my social life – this stuff here, it's brand new, but I haven't been bored," he replied honestly, Zoro reappearing at his side with a swipe of his brow.

"Where do you see yourselves in three years?" she asked.

"Culinary college!"

"Traveling the world, looking for competition," Zoro answered.

"You know, you can find all that you've ever wanted and needed here in your own city? Yours is easy, Roronoa. As long as there are syndicates, you'll always have someone to fight. As for you, Sanji, I can give you the name of a place you can go to that will teach you everything you'd ever wanted to know regarding your culinary interest. But I'd rather you waited for awhile. It can be…pretty intense."

"Who are you, anyway, old lady?" Zoro asked her. "Obviously not just a bookshop owner."

"I'm Kureha! A beautiful flower barely in bloom!"

"Shit."

"I have your package ready!" Chopper called down. Kureha ushered them to start walking, slapping their asses as they turned to do so.

Once they left the shop, Zoro tucked his hands into his pockets. "Something tells me that's not all she sells, there. I was joking about the mummy dust, but her shirt had powder residue on it."

"How could you be looking at her damn shirt? Was that all you were looking at?"

"Shut up! I'm not perverted like you! Also, there was another doorway inside the shop on the left wall. It had water stains on it. It was also very warm."

"She's old enough, she probably grows stuff in the other room."

"Maybe. I'll ask Mihawk about her. I'm going this way. Later."

"Thanks for coming with me. see you at school tomorrow."

By the time he made it home, it was nearly his bed time. Zeff wasn't home yet, and Sanji was embarrassed about seeing him, anyway.

Earlier that morning, Zeff had been drinking coffee in the dining room, so seeing them appear so suddenly in front of him had him kicking out with such force that one of the walls cracked. Then he grew flustered at seeing Law holding onto Sanji in that way, and went on cursing and threatening the man in his first language, much to Law's indifference and Sanji's horror. Law made it worse by kissing him goodbye in front of Zeff, and the old man nearly had a heart attack.

"You said in front of you!" Law had told him impatiently, before leaving.

Zeff had purpled at that point, and ended up smashing the kitchen table with his rage, but since he was technically right, he couldn't do anymore than that. He had looked at Sanji with such fury in his face that Sanji was, for once, without anything to say. But all Zeff did was look him over and tell him that he was glad he was okay. After that, the entire thing was dropped, and Zeff cooked him breakfast while he changed into his school uniform. There was some awkwardness to the entire situation, but Zeff didn't lecture him or bawl him out and Sanji allowed himself to tentatively wonder if things were actually okay.

It seemed weird that Zeff would be 'okay' with the situation after all the effort he put in trying to kill the man.

But he guessed it made a lot more sense keeping an enemy close. He took a shower, posted to his Facebook about today's adventure, then went to bed. He woke up later on as Law curled up next to him, and Sanji had to smile because who was being 'clingy' in this supposed non-relationship? But he wasn't complaining – the man was too sleepy to annoy him with his earlier antics – he just laid his head down on Sanji's chest and went to sleep with Sanji playing with his hair. When it was time for him to get ready for school, Zeff sleeping in because it was his day off, Sanji presented him with the books he got from the store. They were wrapped with the bookstore cover label and twine so he couldn't see the content of them until he removed both. Law looked at him with a careful expression.

"I asked that we not do this sort of thing."

"And I told you that I'm going to do what I want. If I want to buy you a gift, you bastard, I'm going to buy you a gift. Chopper had suggested these based off a request you'd made a previous trip there."

"I don't want to do something where you have unrealistic expectations of me."

"I didn't have any 'expectations' of you. I told you before, I'm the type of guy that will do what he wants, and I'll do whatever it takes to please you. On my expectation, of course."

"You're going to do to me the way you treated Nami? By throwing yourself into these stupid things just to express affection and lay down territorial stakes? I don't want gifts from you, Sanji. I told you, I don't want to get into this couple thing! This thing we're doing is fine, it doesn't need any weight to it with gifts, and expressions of any type of affection!"

"Stop freaking out. I just thought it'd be nice to get you something from your favorite place."

"Get it through your damn head! I don't want this type of thing! Take these back."

"I'm not taking back a gift I bought for you! Just take them! Don't think of them as a gift."

"They'll look nice on your goddamn shelf, then," Law snapped, tossing the books onto his desk as Sanji's face reddened and tightened. "Don't do this shit again."

"What the hell?"

For a moment, a look of frustration caused Law to scowl. "Look, maybe you need to redefine your expectations of what you want from this. So far, it's pretty much only physical. It should only stay that way."

"There's more than physical feeling here, you ass. And you know it. And you're scared of it. There's nothing to be scared of. Just let it happen."

"Then I'm pulling back, then. You need to know your place."

"I know where my place is! I'm not pushing for us to be together all the time, but the times that we do have together, that's fine by me! I have a life, too, you know, and it's not always about you! Yes, I do think about you a lot, but I want to do these things just to show it - !"

"I don't need those things! I don't want you wasting your time and effort on those stupid things because I don't want them!"

"Quit being so damn scared about someone caring about you! I obviously don't care about your flaws and your faults, I just care about you!"

"You don't even know me enough to know what my flaws and faults are!"

"Then let me learn about them on my own!"

"This is not the sort of thing that I wanted in the first fucking place!"

"Then what did you want when you first started coming around?" Sanji snapped back, rising away from the bed.

At first, Law didn't know what to say. But then he said tightly, "It was experimentation. I didn't think it'd go this far."

"Well, it has. And you can lie to yourself about not caring, or having feelings, or whatever, but you're here, and you have them for me, I'm not stupid."

"Then if it's my fault, then I'll stop it."

"Don't you dare go back when you're already this far ahead. What was the point of wasting your time if you're just going to give up on it before it really happens?"

"That's for me to decide. I decide how I'm going to waste my fucking time. I decide how I'm going to spend my fucking time. If I decide that I did waste my fucking time on something so fucking ridiculous, then that's for me to fix on my own! Don't get me anymore gifts! Don't waste your fucking time trying to make this more than what it is! You moron, I'm not one of your stupid girls that you waste all your time and effort on trying to woo, or whatever. I'm not a goddamn female!"

"I know you're not! I'm not trying to make you feel that way! I just bought you some goddamn books because you like books! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"There is everything wrong with that! You're going to expect reciprocation from me, or expect that I be a certain way towards you, and I can't be that! I mean, what the fuck? What's the first thing you hear about me when you mention my name?"

Sanji didn't want to say, but all those voices and expressions of people he'd met that knew Law had all expressed their feelings of the man in a similar manner. He made a face because it was easier to answer that way than physically say anything at all.

"See? What makes you think I'll be any different to you? I've made enemies with everyone my entire life, what makes you think that this personality will change just because I started fucking around with you? You think I won't disappoint you, too? Then you're fucking stupid. Quit putting these expectations on this thing we have, and restrain yourself from extending any efforts to express whatever emotion or need you have for me because I won't have it."

"Fine!" Sanji snapped. "Then what the fuck do you want me to do?"

"Just be there when I want you to."

"What about my choice?"

"You don't get one."

Sanji tried to resist strangling him, hands shaking as they reached for that neck, but the urge was so great. He turned away and sat at the edge of the bed with a huff, facing away from him.

"Whatever. Leave. I obviously have some things I need to think about with you."

"Whatever."

That was the only indication Law had given him of his leave, because when Sanji turned to look at him, he was already gone. Frustrated, he bit his finger, trying to sort through the tension and the argument and feeling confusion and rejection in the efforts.

The entire day, he kept looking at his phone. He kept himself from going to the coffee shop because he felt Law wouldn't be there. He ran the situation in his mind over and over, and the more he thought about it, the more he told himself Law felt the way he did because he was so used to thinking of himself as a disappointment to everyone. If he could keep everyone at bay, then he wouldn't feel hurt if what effort he put into someone turned into a painful situation. it was easier to maintain his reputation with his actions than doing something different and risk getting hurt.

Sanji had it all figured out. But it was hard to feel disappointment when he didn't hear from the man that day. When Friday came about, and he still hadn't heard from him, he debated whether or not to make the first move.

Zoro was sitting behind him, his back against Sanji's, both of them waiting for Luffy to finish his battle against a formidable foe just behind the school. Sanji scrolled through his apps and chewed on his sucker because his cigarettes had been taken away by Tashigi, and glanced up when Zoro made a scoffing sound. Luffy was currently being beaten into the street by the other guy's massive fists, the sound ringing out through the park like metal on rubber.

"Luffy! Stop fucking around!" Zoro said impatiently, crossing his arms. "You want hotpot, or not?"

"You know all the magical words," Sanji said, grinning as Luffy pulled himself out from the body sized crater in the pavement and landed a hard right on the kid's skull. "Hey, so…I have a problem."

"I literally can't help you with it."

"Shut up. So, we had a fight the other morning. Remember those books I got him?"

"Yeah. From the mummy?"

"So, like, he was insulted. That I bought him gifts. We had a talk and all, and there are rules, but…"

"So you're treating this guy like you would with Nami? Or any other chick? Sometimes guys don't want gifts."

"I do," Sanji muttered.

"You have unrealistic expectations of yourself. You think it's all only you, but you got to realize, those dreams of yours? Are really high. You think life is perfect if you're totally all giving and buying stuff for these idiots, and you'll get their adoration and devotion in return – "

"I do it because I like making people happy!"

"Sometimes, people feel pressured because you're always buying them stuff! Or making them stuff! They feel like they have to return it somehow, and they can't reach your goddamn standards!"

Sanji huffed. "I don't expect anything from them, just acceptance! Just take my damn gift! I made it from the kindness of my heart, without expecting anything back!"

"Well, that's not how people see you. I personally think you give way too much of yourself to people. That's why Nami took advantage of it. That's why those girls you used to chase after just used you to buy them stuff, or take them places. They don't want you. They only want the material things you give them."

Sanji sighed heavily. "Then what, then. What do I do?"

"I don't know! Just do what he tells you to do. Why are you even asking me? Like I even know that sort of thing."

"So, if it goes against everything that I am, just do what he wants me to do? Live the way he wants me to? That's not even fair to me."

"Well, obviously, your way isn't working, is it?"

Sanji huffed again, but his shoulders drooped. He lowered his phone to his side and frowned at the park, the city lights in the distance starting to rise up against the incoming cold. Zoro looked back at him because he didn't hear anything else, and shook his head impatiently.

"I'm tired," he said.

"Me, too," Sanji agreed, as Luffy finally sent his opponent flying, the kid slamming through some trees and the kids' playground with a roar of sound.

So when Law finally came to him one night, nearly a week after his birthday, Sanji didn't say anything. He didn't give an apology or a gift, he didn't pry into what Law had been doing all this time, he didn't even make the effort to be angry. He just went with the situation, but it didn't feel as good as it usually did. He didn't feel the same type of spark or intensity or effort that he used to, going only on physical reaction. He had all the feelings, but he was determined to go along with Zoro's advice. After, Law held him tightly from behind, and Sanji could feel that he wanted to say something, but he was holding himself back. Sanji let it go because his way didn't work, and he needed to see if this would.

"So, the others are wondering when you'll come back," Law said quietly.

Them? Or you? Sanji wanted to ask, hoping that it was really the latter.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They got this far in life without me," he said lightly. "Besides, I'll be busy. I promised Ussop I'd help him with his science project, and Zoro needs a sparring partner for an upcoming competition. And I get to go back to practice, so I'm pretty much busy."

"Cora has been looking for you."

"Cora knows where he can find me. I usually tag all the places I'm at on Instagram. What about you, though?" Sanji couldn't resist asking. "Have you been looking for me?"

"No. I know where I can find you."

Sanji didn't want to feel hurt, but he did. He just exhaled heavily. "I'm tired."

"Me, too."

But Sanji noticed that Law didn't sleep at all when he did. And in the morning, he woke him up with kisses to his face and a soft 'good morning', which confused Sanji immensely, but he was going to take whatever he could get from the situation.

That day at school, Sanji was hunched over his study packet for an upcoming math test when the guy next to him said, "So, I heard that you guys were hanging out over at the Snack Hut over on Rockhold."

"Yeah? So?" Sanji asked with a huff, looking at him with a scowl. "It's not our fault people find us intimidating."

"Shut up, Blackleg! Look, my uncle owns the place. That Luffy kid cleans him out all the time. He had to close up to redo inventory and restock the supply. But he has another place closeby on Sunset and Quinoa that's bigger. Why don't you guys hit that one up? I cook in the evenings, I'll give you a discount."

"We're not usually in that area. That's too far west."

"Fine. Whatever. Just trying to be helpful."

"If I wanted your damn help, I'd ask for it. Since I didn't, I don't want it!"

"You're such a angry shit!"

Sanji stretched a leg out and tried to kick him across the asiel, but he pulled himself back far enough to just avoid the extended foot. Zoro frowned at them both, steadying his desk when Sanji bumped into it. He punched him in the shoulder to make him calm down before their teacher looked up from the group of students around him.

"Settle down. Look, we'll go there, tonight. Luffy likes that sort of thing," he told the kid. "But you better hold good on your word."

"Cool! I'll let them know you guys are coming," the kid said, giving him a cheerful smile.

Sanji turned in his seat and glared at Zoro. "Did you just undermine me? That's the west side of the city."

"Are you scared? Is that why you don't want to go over there? Scared of Crocodile popping up from the shadows to eat you? Hah. Wuss."

"NO! Whatever. I can skip out on practice, since I won't make it in time. It's just one night."

"What kind of practice, Blackleg?"

"Shut up! I wasn't looking in your direction, so don't think you're part of the conversation!"

"You shut up! I was just asking!"

Zoro frowned down at his packet. That kid was way too interested in Sanji, he felt. He wondered if he should address it to shut them both up, but then he caught sight of a mistake he made on his packet and erased it, carefully marking over it with the correct answer. He forgot about it minutes later, short attention span the very bane of his existence.