Law laid on the cold cement floor of his basement lab. The rough texture was like sandpaper against his cheek. Hard, painful, and ever present. It was the only thing he could feel. He stared into the pitch black room, not certain how much time had passed since that night.

His heart was shattered to pieces, his will to live was gone, and he was left empty. Numb. Dark circles underlined his eyes. Even the starvation that had once pierced his stomach had subsided to a painless void.

It was late. At least, he thought it was. Doflamingo ordered a slight make over to the basement at some point. Every crack, window, and stone were crudely sealed shut. Even the small sidewalk window Law had once watched the outside world from was covered, almost like it was never there. The teen shifted his weight, coming to rest on his stomach more. A dull metallic scrapping followed. The cuff around his ankle had dragged across the textured floor. That noise was the only thing that kept his mind grounded in the present. The only thing that convinced him he wasn't floating in limbo.

His eyelids were heavy. The teen tired his hardest to keep them at bay. Law was tired. He was lost. Most of all, he was conflicted. Sleep clawed at his immobile body, whispering sweet nothings of unconsciousness. He desperately wanted to give in and sleep forever knowing that his dreams were haunted by the past. The fear of waking up his what really got to him. It was always a painful experience. No mater how many times he had woken up the pain never softened.

Trafalgar's mind buzzed with low frequency thoughts. It was an endless cycle as he went through his depression alone in the cold room. That night was the only thing he could think of when left alone. Corazon's bruised face hid in every shadow and corner. Law felt sleep overtake him in the dark abyss. He yearned for it, since he was only ever happy in his dreams.

A soft breeze tickled Law's exposed skin. The soft sent of lavender rested on the air. A gentle squeeze to his arm brought him out of his trance. Golden eyes fluttered open and took in the lovely spring afternoon. Leaves high up in the trees shuttered and sang out as the wind blew through. The blue sky was a never ending expanse over his head and soft grass brushed against his legs. Law's attention was caught by the man sitting next to him. That familiar smile looked back at him. Corazon had his hand still on the kid's arm, giving another squeeze. "I'm okay." Law said as he tried to sign back to him. "Just... taking in the moment."

The kid leaned over and started to shuffle through a plastic bag that sat between the two of them. Amber hands produced two long sandwiches, a couple bags of chips, and some drinks that they had picked up. Corazon had led them to a quiet hillside where they could have a quiet picnic. It was one of the first times the two of them had slipped the people tailing them.

Corazon had started to eat the food before Law could even unwrap his. This was one of the most peaceful moments in his life while in the gang. He had slowly gotten used to being himself around the large man. Aside from having to do the dirty work for Doffy, Cora had been a great man. Clumsy, but great none the less. The two of them opened up to one another and had long conversations. Trafalgar had been picking up sign language from books, monet, and when Cora excitedly taught him new phrases.

The kid chuckled to himself as he thought about the first few months together. Corazon had often signed the same response to his older brother whenever given a new assignment. Law had figured the gesture meant okay or something to that effect since it looked a lot like the regular okay symbol everyone knew. At some point the kid had signed it to the large man and quickly received a swift punch. Only then did Law find out his overseer used it to call Doflamingo an asshole. It was then that Law started pursuing sign language with more vigorously.

"This place is really nice." Law talked as he signed. His eyes wandered back up to the soft blue sky above the trees. "How'd you find this place?"

The large man tried to sloppily respond while still holding a sandwich in his hand and ended up with mustard on his pants. He then bent over trying in vain to lick it off. Guess he didn't really bend that way.

"You already knew about this place?" Law responded as he finally processed the sentence. "Doffy must give you a lot more freedom to explore and be on your own then."

Corazon's look turned solemn before taking another bite of his food. The large man turned his head to look over at the kid before grabbing the other sandwich and shoving it in Law's face. "Okay!" the kid yelled around the food. "not time to talk. Got it."

The two of them sat on that hill, watching the birds and trees as they ate in silence. It wasn't long before Law had finished and went running around. The small kid wandered through the sparsely wooded area observing the bugs and climbing trees. At some point, Cora had even joined in on the fun only to find himself falling out of a tree he climbed.

Trafalgar ran up the hill side to stand at the peak. Corazon followed behind, slowing down as he too reached the top. "Cora, is this...?" The question was left unfinished as the two of them looked at what lay on the other side. Golden eyes skimmed over the large burnt field that lay between them and an ashen mansion. A small shed like structure stood all but dilapidated near the large building. Law could feel a heavy hand rest on his hat.

"Home" Corazon signed. The motion was slow and numb as if he wasn't sure whether to tell Law or not.

"That's the house we found that woman in, isn't it?" Law's voice was barely above a whisper. He was too caught up in the scene to actually sign anything. "Do you think her body is still... you know?" Only then could the child rip his eyes away from the sight and turned towards the giant man.

Cora shook his head as he signed the word 'No'. His own gaze fell away from the familiar landscape and onto the young child. "Doffy would never leave a body in that house." He continued on. "It's burned down, but he still..." Corazon's hands stilled for a second, twitching as he tried to pick out the right word. "...still cares." He settled on that one but had a slightly quizzical look questioning the real reason.

"Wait." Law finally started signing back again. "You said home. Did you mean your home?" Law's voice raised as he asked the question. Somehow, the thought of the two men having a real house was, well, unthinkable. "You lived there?"

Corazon nodded as his attention was pulled back to the blackened structure. "Long time ago." His hands slowly motioned.

"What happened?"

Cora wiggled his fingers to sign "fire". His eyes still locked on the building, or on the ghosts of the past.

"No shit. HOW did it happen?" Law tried again.

The large man knelled down, as close to Law's size as possible, and looked into his eyes. His painted face was uncharacteristically serious. His brow furrowed as his hands worked. "Doffy is dangerous. He did that."

"Why?" Law's voice caught in his throat while he signed the word.

"He holds hatred in his heart. He killed our parents and burned our house down when we were young."

"How could he do that?" Law asked in disbelief.

"I don't know." Corazon admitted. "He's done a lot of bad things." The man's lips twitched as if reliving a painful memory. One hand unconsciously touched the scar on his cheek hidden behind the thick red lipstick. "He don't know how to love. Only how to scare and torture."

The kid took a short step forward, compelled to comfort the man who always comforted him. His hands held the other's face. "No parents and a bad brother. I can't even imagine." Law spoke. "I'm so sad without the love of my family. I bet you were too." Corazon nodded his head slightly, not wanting to break the contact they shared.

Law had lost any affinity for words in that moment. His heart hurt for the large man who guided his life. The man who did for Law what no one could do for him. Trafalgar leaned in and encased the man in a hug. Small hands tangled themselves in the black feathered coat he wore. Tears threatened to spill over as he buried his face in Corazon's chest. "You have someone to love you now, Cora!" Warm tears dripped onto Law's shoulder as the mar returned his hug. Large arms held the kid tight.

"You too." Corazon wanted to say, but didn't want to end the hug yet. Instead, he gave two quick squeezes. They both melted into the warm embrace as they let their hearts connect. The touch of the other was all the comfort they knew anymore. Law leaned into that feeling.

Law's hands balled into fists. His knuckles turned white as he tried so desperately to hold onto the feeling of feathers. The scratch of them against his face and palms, the warmth of a living person, and the grip of the hug he had been surrounded by. All these sensations were gone and the teen was left cold and alone on the cement floor. A loud sob shook his body as he regained consciousness.

Waking up was the most painful part of his day anymore. Trafalgar could feel his heart shatter anew every time he had to come back to the reality that Cora was laying cold and lifeless in a hole somewhere. For the second time in his life, the love and warmth from his life was suddenly and violently stripped away. Somehow, a tear fell down his cheek leaving a wet streak behind. He didn't even know he had tears left to shed.