A/N: Welcome to the twenties~ : ) Thank you for 1K views on here!

20. Vanilla Bean

"Doffy, what the fuck happened last night?"

The blonde's lips curl upwards. He'd been looking forward to this conversation for a long time now.

The man's younger brother nearly broke down his front door first thing in the morning. Judging by the murderous expression the man wore, he didn't want to bother with any pleasantries. How sad. Doflamingo would've offered some tea had his brother only asked.

Corazon slams the door behind him as he fumes into his home. "I got this text from Law- someone passed out? What the hell?"

Doflamingo grins from his spot on the couch. "I had security take care of it. Someone just had a little too much to drink."

"Too much to drink?" Corazon shakes his head, annoyance building. He stomps over to him, gesturing animatedly with his arms. "What was the bartender doing? It's their job to look out for shit like that."

Doflamingo studies the tense shoulders of his younger brother. "She offered the money, so who are we to say no? Bringing customers the drinks they want is our job."

Corazon scowls deeply. "It is, but there's a line that shouldn't fucking be crossed. This shit better not happen again. This is for their safety. You know what else is for their safety, Doffy?"

The older brother sighs. "Here we go again."

"The closed bottle system!" Corazon starts pacing, voice coming out in bursts of angry air. "It's a perfectly reasonable measure to make sure the customers know exactly what's getting put in their glasses! Then they can have an idea of just how much they're drinking, they could stop themselves!"

Doflamingo leans back into his couch, letting the pink feathers around him halo his face. "I'm telling you, the system you propose has flaws. We don't have enough bar room for every customer who ordered a drink to sit at the counter and watch it get poured. Especially on busy nights- how are we supposed to serve hundreds at bars that seat twenty?"

Corazon groans because the objection made sense. He wasn't exactly wrong. "I understand where you're coming from, but-"

"Not to mention the workers we just hired- we would have to fire around half of them if we suddenly implemented this system. We simply wouldn't need so many. Their job would go from 'carrying food and drink' to just 'carrying food'."

Doflamingo leans forward on his knees, lacing his fingers as he concocts his excuses. "And if we fire them, it'd fall back onto our pockets. Each one of 'em signed a contract for at least three months of work. If they break it off before then, they owe us. But if we break it off..."

"We owe them," Corazon finishes, stopping. Doflamingo watches his brother's back wordlessly, waiting to see how the man would react to his lie. The black feathers shook with an unidentifiable emotion for a minute before they sag. Doflamingo revels in his small victory with a quirk of the lips.

The younger brother drops to the floor, nearly tripping, but manages to sit upright. He faces Doflamingo with hard determination. "...Despite all the repercussions, I still don't think this open bottle system is a good idea. There's much more at stake than some jobs lost."

The internal victory celebrations come to a rolling halt. "Care to elaborate?"

Corazon gives him a calculating once-over. "Have you not heard the news of the other clubs in this area? Many of them have started to have incidents with drugs. The last thing I need is for the Going Merry to be roped into that mess."

It takes every fiber of Doflamingo's being to reign in the roaring laugh that threatened to shake his body. Corazon was so blissfully ignorant. It was hilarious to watch, but Doflamingo needed to choose his next words carefully if he wished to keep it that way.

Kaido, that foolish man. He ended up getting impatient and sending Phase Two SMILEs to other clubs for testing despite his warnings. Now look at what it did- it put him in this situation with Corazon, still stubbornly resisting his objections. If only Kaido had just listened.

"We won't be," Doflamingo assures with a wide smile. Kaido may have fucked up yet again, but he was going to come out victorious. No rumors were going to fly around concerning his club.

"How can you be so sure?" The blonde watches him with suspicion. Doflamingo feels something in his jaw twitch at the expression. Suspicion was not the emotion he should be wearing right now. "You've been firmly against this idea for a while. Isn't it entirely possible that the plights affecting the other clubs could affect ours, too?"

The older blonde waves off his concern without so much as batting a lid. He needed to steer the conversation back onto better ground, because where they were talking now, it was pretty rocky. "Our club will be fine. I will reprimand the bartenders and make sure they are looking out for the wellbeing of our customers." The lies are bitter on his tongue, but he shoves them through his lips regardless.

Corazon looks at him like he was the crazy one. "The wellbeing of the customers? You should've said that before they started passing out, Doffy!" His eyebrows draw together, wrinkles forming in the middle. "Law told me the poor woman barely had a pulse! What the fuck kind of drink does that to you?"

Doflamingo tsks, letting the annoyance he felt at the barrage of questions flood his voice. "Did I serve the woman? I have no idea what she drank! I told you what I'll do to reform the current system." Lies. He wasn't gonna do shit.

"Isn't that enough? This was a one time incident. It's not as though customers have been dropping left and right." Oh but they have, only outside the younger's eyesight.

Doflamingo's been pretty careful up until now to stay under the radar with his tests. One of the first test subjects, who was later identified as Bellamy, passed out where others could see. He learned from that incident, to ensure it never happened again. Ever since, he's been able to get information on Phase Two SMILEs from countless clubgoers without a hitch.

The woman of the previous night was the last test subject. So he could afford to get a little cocky. Or so he thought.

The blonde was beginning to regret his decision as Corazon stared at him without speaking. His hooded brown eyes seemed to search deep within Doflamingo in a vain attempt to dig up something, anything that would help explain why he felt so strongly about the subject. The pink feathered man frowns at the expression. He knew nothing good came out of it.

Corazon may be an idiotic little shit that always got on his nerves with how headstrong he was, but he was his brother. They shared the same DNA. At times, the younger would surprise him with how cunning he could be, or by how brilliantly intuitive he would act. And then there were times when the fool would light himself on fire, or trip over oxygen. At those times, Doflamingo would wonder how they were possibly related.

But at this moment, with Corazon simply staring at him, he felt the more intelligent side of the younger working diligently to figure him out. It lit within Doflamingo a small sliver of worry.

Fucking worry. Worry. Him? Unfathomable.

But the sliver was there, craning its head to get used to its new environment. All because of Corazon. Doflamingo feels a vein throb on his forehead at his brother's insistent silence. Corazon, who always did shit for the 'greater good'. Who always went the extra mile when Doflamingo couldn't be bothered to take a single step.

Who always butted his nose into things he didn't have any business knowing.

"I guess you're right."

Doflamingo has to consciously hide his relief. Strange. He's never had to do that. Something about the way Corazon had studied him in the last few breathless minutes made something as foolish as worry bloom within him. That wasn't good. He squashed the emotion with a hefty dose of confidence.

That wasn't good at all.

Corazon stands, dusting off imaginary dust from his clothes. "You make valid points. It's entirely possible that customers could just have a low aptitude for alcohol, and that's nothing we can control."

He straightens his coat and watches Doflamingo with an unreadable emotion. "We'll deal with this in stride and try to figure out a way to prevent this incident from ever happening again."

Doflamingo gives him a grin, but it's dimmer than before. "I'm glad you're finally seeing where I come from."

The younger brother nods stiffly as he makes his way to the door. He grabs his pack of cigs and lighter from his pockets, and turns to acknowledge Doflamingo with a nod.

"...I'm glad I am, too."

The older man narrows his eyes as the brother leaves. The words have an ominous ring to them. Doflamingo glides to the door's windows, watching the man light up outside the house. Whatever Corazon was thinking, he had to make sure it wasn't the truth. Surely, the man couldn't have possibly figured out his scheme from their simple conversation. Doflamingo didn't plan with Kaido and the others for months on end for his brother of all people to discover it.

Corazon's shoulder erupts into bright flame and he yelps in surprise, rolling on the floor to put out the fire. The older brother turns from his door, disgusted.

Never mind. The man was an idiot after all.

"Corazon? You're up early, what's up?"

"Law," the blonde greets over the phone. Law's immediately concerned. The usual lightness of the man's voice was gone, replaced by serious, dark tones. The man didn't bother to correct the way Law addressed him, and he called him Law. Not son, or some variation of the sort. Something must be wrong.

"I need your help with something," the man on the phone continues. "Are you willing to lend me a hand?"

"God, of course," Law replies easily. He didn't need any explanation. If Corazon needed help, then it would be supplied, end of story.

Law was in his car, driving to Amazon Lily for his daily cup of coffee. The events of the previous night weighed like a brick in his stomach, and only coffee could possibly help dissolve the block into something easier to digest. Mentally and physically.

"I think Doflamingo's up to something again." He can practically hear the scowl in Corazon's voice.

Law nearly veers into the other lanes of traffic.

"He's what?" Law asks aloud, stupefied. "I thought you said he gave up that shit back then."

Corazon sighs deeply, tiredly. Perhaps just as tired as Law felt at the news. "Yeah, he did. Or at least thought he did."

"Fucking hell," the surgeon curses. He rolls to a stop for a moment at a stop sign before jerking forward again. "What is he doing?"

"Something bad. At the Going Merry."

Law quiets at the words. "This has to do with that woman passing out." And it's not a question. He knew something smelled strange about the situation...pun intended.

Corazon's voice hardens. "Yes, I believe so. I want to investigate the establishment once more. Nothing about a woman passing out with a faint pulse sits right with me, no matter how many angles I look at it from."

"Yeah, me neither."

"Which is why I'm asking for your help, Law. You were there, and you're a surgeon. I'll need your knowledge when I'm looking into this."

Law nods as though Corazon was there in the car with him. "Consider it done. Should I tell Luffy and the others? They were there, too."

"No. Absolutely not." His voice is steady and unyielding through the receiver. "We need them to continue acting as normal as possible around him. The last thing we need is to arouse Doflamingo's suspicion. That would be counterproductive at best."

Law falters, and finds himself at a loss of words. He hasn't heard the man's authoritative voice in well over a decade. It makes him sit up a bit straighter in his car seat.

Corazon sighs again, and Law can hear some of the man's urgency seep out with his air. "At least, not yet. I want to make sure we've got solid evidence before telling the others. For all I know, I could be wrong."

Law turns into the side road that leads down to the red bricked strip mall. "I highly doubt that."

"Well whatever it is, I want to have something more concrete in our court before I pass the ball. I'll let you know updates as soon as I can, okay?"

The surgeon parks and closes his eyes against the headache that was about to envelope him. "Okay."

"...I love ya lots, kid."

Law feels a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "Love you too, dad."

The surgeon swears he hears Corazon smile as the line clicks off. He spends a few moments in his car just breathing. Law had no idea what he was about to get himself involved in. The whole situation felt a bit too outlandish to be quite real, but yet here he was.

A cup of coffee sounded like heaven right now.

He exits his car and makes his way to the cafe. The familiar chime of the door welcomes him in, and to his surprise, it's Luffy who stands at the cash register. He's never seen the teen at the position. If he was there, then both Sonia and Mari must have either quit working there, or have passed away.

Law tilts his body to look past Luffy, and sighs a breath of relief to see both sisters alive and kicking. Luffy seems to sense what he was thinking, and he crosses his arms defiantly, frowning.

"You're such an asshole," Luffy huffs without malice. "I can run a register if I wanna."

Law ignores the lies. "Sonia?"

"He begged us to train him. He keeps making mistakes though, the idiot."

When Law turns back to Luffy with a raised eyebrow, the younger reddens slightly at the harsh truth. "This shit is crazy outdated, it's not my fault!"

Sonia shakes her head, grinning wide from ear to ear. "But it is your fault you don't know how to count money correctly."

"Fuck off! The guy gave me change after I punched in the numbers, of course I would mess it up!"

Law chuckles, because he needed this. He needed Luffy's smiling face and lovable quirkiness. Anything to take his mind off the implications of the earlier phone call.

"Cappuccino, like usual?" Luffy mumbles as he turns back to the register.

"Actually," Law begins, scrutinizing the menu, "I think I'll take a Red Eye."

The teen's face crumples. "What the fuck is that?"

"I got you, here." Mari strolls up behind Luffy, helping him punch in the order to the system. "You already know everything about this one, so just fill this out so he can pay." Luffy makes a sound of understanding, nodding in time to his co-worker's directions.

Soon, Law is paying and leaving the front for his special seat on the long couch. Mari calls out to him as Luffy goes to busy himself with Law's order.

"What do you need, Mari?" the surgeon asks, folding his receipt in his hands.

The woman flickers between his eyes for a moment. "Last time you ordered a red eye, you looked like shit. Today you're ordering it again, and you look like someone asked you to join a suicide pact."

Law actually snorts. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it ends up being."

At the brunette's terror, the surgeon laughs. "I am far too old for you to be worrying about me. Thank you for your concern, but it's unwarranted." Wrong. It was warranted in every way possible. But he had sworn to secrecy for the time being.

"I'm not concerned." Mari's gaze cuts somewhere to his left. "I just don't want to see an edge lord look even more edgy."

Law sighs. "Sure, Mari." Her pride knew no bounds. He begins to walk to his seat when she calls out over her shoulder.

"You realize I'm two years older than you right?"

Law blinks slowly. He did not.

The woman chuckles, a smile evident in her voice. "...I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you."

Law rolls his eyes. "Honest mistake."

He takes a seat on the edge of the couch, his favorite spot. Law briefly wonders how the spot was always available for him, then stops because Luffy probably had something to do with it. The cafe was decently busy, as usual- more and more people had started catching wind of this place, and it brought business like no other. Law was happy for them, as Amazon Lily deserved at least that much.

The surgeon tips his head back, taking in his surroundings. The calming lights, the aroma of coffee, the soft conversations, the jazz that filtered through the air. It was all so peaceful. He breathes in, then breathes out. Slowly, the conversation with Corazon moves to the back burner. He would think about it later.

Then Luffy's there, setting down the tray of drinks and watching him with a raised eyebrow. "Okay. Who's suffering?"

The smile that slowly stretched Law's face stretched wider. "Y'know, that's not the first time someone asked me that just because I smiled."

"...I don't think I even want to know how that conversation came to be." Luffy takes a seat across from Law and reaches for a white drink on the tray, nursing it gingerly. At Law's surprise, the younger chuckles. "Sonia got me on our frappuccinos during my breaks. I'm hooked."

Law brings his own order to his lips. "But I thought you didn't like coffee?" the surgeon grins around his bitter drink. "Have you finally decided to walk amongst the chosen?"

Luffy licks the white off his lips, laughing. "Of course not, it's vanilla bean. The base is cream instead of coffee, so there's no caffeine in it."

"Then that doesn't count."

"It's close enough!"

Luffy sips thoughtfully for a long moment. He downs a few more swallows before he sighs. "Law...there's something I wanna tell you."

The worried tone to his voice makes Law lower his brows in return. Maybe he was still concerned over the recent events? If so, the younger was not alone in his thoughts. "What is it? You can tell me anything, Luffy."

Luffy searches his face before dropping his gaze to his cup. "Alright. But you're gonna freak out."

"Please," Law scoffs. He brings his red eye to his lips, "what could you possibly-"

"Kidd texted me again."

It took just about every single muscle in Law's throat to keep from spewing the coffee back up onto the table. "What?"

The younger reaches out across the table to hold Law's hand. "You good? Kinda looks like you wanna murder someone."

"Well that's because I kind of do," Law grits, narrowing his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have taken Kidd's vow to stay away from his boyfriend seriously. "Didn't you say he wouldn't try to get into contact with you again?"

Luffy slinks back to his side of the table and takes a small sip of his frappuccino before replying. "He wasn't supposed to- he was blocked." The man growls low in his throat through his next words. "But then a certain someone took my phone during a game and fucked with my blocked settings."

"Shachi," Law breathes, truth dawning. "Oh my god."

Luffy shakes his head. "So that's how I saw them. But he's not texting about what you think he is."

A scowl works onto Law's face. "Then what does that fucker want with you?"

"He wants to talk to me about something, but I dunno what." The barista looks to his lap, conflicted. "Claims it's about Ace."

"Bullshit," the surgeon brushes off, angry. "We know how fucked up he can get. What if it's some twisted ploy to get close to you again? Wouldn't put it past him."

Luffy nods, and it feels like his head is swimming through molasses. "I was leaning towards that too. But he's been texting me since a month back about this."

Law isn't happy. Kidd has been trying to talk to Luffy for a month. Nothing good came from interacting with that man, going off what Luffy told Law about him in the past, and the thought of that disaster trying to make space for himself in Luffy's life once more made his blood damn near boil.

But at the same time, if Kidd really wanted to throw Luffy's wishes to the wind and get in contact with him, he would've shown up at the teen's apartment again. Yet he didn't, and opted for text instead. Despite being blocked, not knowing whether or not his messages would go through. It was strange behavior from someone who supposedly didn't respect Luffy's wishes.

"I don't know why, but it just rubs me the wrong way. Remember when you were trying to kick his ass that one time that we went to the auto shop? I remember the lady there saying that he's been gone from work for a while, too."

Luffy sucks on his drink, hallowing his cheeks. "Like, if he wanted to talk to me just to mess with me, there are much better ways to do it."

Law hated to admit it, but Luffy had a point. "What the hell does he need to tell you so badly?"

A shrug. "I tried texting him back, but he hasn't read my text yet."

Law studies the dwindling dark liquid in his hands. "Weird."

"Right?" Luffy swirls his frappuccino. "I just think something's off."

The older man makes a noise into his cup, downing the rest of the coffee. "Been feeling that a lot as of late."

The younger watches him, worry drawing faint lines across his forehead. "What do you think I should do?"

"To be honest?" Law looks him dead in the eye. "I'm not all too concerned with him. We have no reason to be. If this was so incredibly important, he would've just texted it. Hell, I still can't help but doubt his true intentions. I really don't like him, Luffy."

Luffy drops his gaze to Law's empty cup. It was ironic, seeing as Luffy thought the same thing of Law when he first met him. "...True, he could've just texted. And I don't blame you."

"Honestly? If I was you, I wouldn't let it get to my head. I'm sure he doesn't have anything good to say, and talking to him would only bring back bad memories."

The teen dabs at his face with a napkin. "You're right. I'll block him again."

Law smiles softly. "Good. I think it's for the best. Speaking of which..."

The surgeon hardens his jaw as he searches for the right words to say. This was toeing a thin line but Luffy had to at least be somewhat warned. "I would...be best to be careful around Doflamingo at the Going Merry."

Luffy laps up the remaining droplets of the white liquid in his cup, then turns up to greet Law with a knowing expression. "You don't have to tell me twice. That man is so creepy. I try to avoid him at all costs."

The older lets out a breath. Hopefully this was enough of a deterrent from Luffy getting involved prematurely. "Thank goodness."

"Luffy!" It's Sonia, barging in from the back room with armfuls of coffee beans. "Tear your ass away from him and come back here! We're swamped!"

The teen stands quickly. "That's my cue."

Law stands as well, moving to pull Luffy close. "Talk more about this later?"

"Yeah," Luffy whispers as he eases into the embrace. The surgeon leans down and plants a feather light kiss on Luffy's lips, sealing the promise. Luffy grins against his lips, and the older grins right back. Pure bliss. When Law pulls away and looks down into those big black eyes, so full of appreciation and trust, he melts. He was a sucker for Luffy's eyes. He was a sucker for Luffy's everything. He holds the barista tight to his middle.

"Take care okay?" Law goes then, and when Luffy smiles that smile reserved only for him, the sounds of the coffee shop fade away.

"You too," Luffy says softly against his chest. Law lets him go, and Luffy gathers their dirty dishes onto the tray. The older watches him leave, and something burns bright and fierce in his chest. He isn't sure what to call the feeling. Maybe it's a spark of something deeper, or maybe it was just him missing the teen's touch. But there is one emotion he can clearly differentiate. It's a twinge of sadness at the lack of warmth against him. Sighing, Law stands, and shuffles out from his seat.

Shit. He hoped he wasn't turning into...what did Mari call him? An edgelord?

The doctor gives Sonia his regards as he leaves, since she had taken over for Luffy during his prolonged break. Chimes ring through the air as he exits. The man stands outside the door, letting the cool winds of fall shift through his clothing. It was a darker morning than most, and Law had to squint to find his car again. Hopefully his shift at Flevance was a laid back one. The man really didn't need much more on his plate. Between Doflamingo and Kidd, the man already had a lot to swallow.

Unbeknownst to him, the man would soon be choking.

The drive to Flevance was a roaring kind of deafening silence. Going through the routine of parking his car and entering the hospital was practically second nature to him, and Law went through the movements thoughtlessly. Performing to the best of his ability both in and out of the operating room was his one core strength if anything, so he did it without complaint. Law spoke with nurses, with doctors, with patients. The patients were the hardest. Lying assurances through his teeth was just a part of the job, he knew, but sometimes he felt heavy with the guilt that came with it. Regardless, he did it. Seeing their relieved faces made him appreciate his position as a doctor more. He would try to add grains of truth to his pretense.

Nightfall soon blanketed the skies outside the hospital. Law was completely immersed in his work, and the time flew by faster than it's ever flown before in his life. At least it seemed that way to the man, because when the news came to him, time came to a crashing, hurling stop. Everything that happened throughout the day seemed to catch up to him in the form of an overwhelming, debilitating migraine. The intensity of it left him dizzy on his feet and dumbfounded in its wake.

The man before him tugged at his shirt, begging him to react, to do something, to say something. Law trembled as he inhaled and felt his voice crack with his whole chest.

"...Luffy."

Luffy didn't have any classes that day, so he headed to the dance studio after his shift at Amazon Lily. Wanted to get his mind off things. Wanted to dance his troubles away.

The sidewalk that led to the studio was a deep navy blue that reflected the morning skies. He contemplated bringing out his phone to light the path, but it was just bright enough for him to figure out where to walk. He pulls his jacket around him a little tighter. Why the hell was it so damn chilly?

Soon, the doors of the dark building come into view, and even sooner, Luffy slips through them. Inside, the lobby gives off modern, minimalistic vibes. Green plants in the corners, black couches on soft white carpet, a couple lamps. Hardwood floors, white walls, hallways that led to various studios on his left and right. A woman seated at the desk between the halls, lazily scrolling down her phone. Luffy walks to her to check in.

"Studio 7A?" she asks, not looking up.

When Luffy nods, she waves him away. "Go on."

The receptionist, Victoria, always looked as though she was one foot in the grave. Always a little pale, had that disconnected look to her eyes. She wasn't trying to look this way for an aesthetic- she genuinely gave no fucks about anything, her job included. Luffy could get behind that, he understood. He gives her a half smile as he makes his way back to the small studio.

His morning sessions were usually a freestyle moment. Putting on the music and letting his body move and express itself as it wished was an irreplaceable joy to him. It ate away at his worries until they left him. Sometimes that would take half an hour, sometimes it would take four. Luffy makes his way down the familiar hallways, passing studios on his left and right. He rounds a corner and sees the sign '7A'. Smiling, he makes his way down the short hall and opens the door.

"Oh yeah," Victoria calls out lazily. "I forgot. Someone was already-"

Luffy stops dead in his tracks. The man inside pauses mid-choreo as well, eyes wide.

"Fucking hell," he breathes, facing him slowly. "Luffy."

"...Kidd."

Luffy makes a move to leave but Kidd runs a hand through his sweat slicked hair, cursing. "Fuck, Luffy, could you- could you stop for a minute?" He runs to his phone to silence the music.

The teen shakes his head and the door's almost closed. Mere inches from the frame, Kidd's large hand holds the wood. There's a few seconds of silence before Luffy's soft voice cuts through the tense air like a guillotine. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I need to talk to you about something. It won't take long, I promise. Please."

Luffy relaxed his shoulders. He had nearly forgotten that he wanted to know what the red head had to say. The teen lets go of the door and Kidd pulls it wide. He doesn't wait for Luffy to address him, and instead walks back into the small room. The red head plops down on the far side of the studio, giving Luffy plenty of space on the floor to sit.

Luffy stands. "Well? What the hell have you been trying to tell me?"

Kidd looks up into his eyes but returns his gaze to the floor. He cursed his heart for skipping a beat but he can't help it. It's Luffy. "I don't think that faulty machinery is the reason for the fire two year ago."

Luffy blinks long and hard. The man could've at least told him to brace onto something. "...What?" he hears himself say in disbelief.

The red head nods his head, glaring at the hardwood. "It's why I didn't want to tell you over text. It's a lot for me to say and a lot to take in."

The younger makes a sound of agreement but it doesn't sound like him. He clears his throat. "Explain."

Kidd dares a glance at Luffy's face. He was staring him down silently. The older averts his eyes. Still couldn't do it. "After visiting you at your dorm a month back, I went out to drink. Get my mind off it all."

"If this is a sick, twisted way of trying to guilt trip me, it's not going to work."

Kidd snaps up, pain contorting his features. "No! God no, I couldn't-" The man lowers his lids and sighs the sigh of a broken man. "I'm getting help now. I'm trying to…to move away from all that. Start over anew. Be better."

Luffy is quiet. Isn't sure how to react to the words.

"But that's beside the point," Kidd says, sadness dripping off the words. He clears his throat to regroup. "Anyway. I went to this bar and there's these guys talking. A man named Kaido and his goons. I remember their conversation like it happened yesterday, he said this: 'let us toast to the lives of Marco and the others, who have died for our cause'."

The teen stills. "Marco? They said his name?"

"Yeah." Kidd affirms, voice low. "Claimed he died for them."

Luffy's gaze shifts downward, struggling to put the pieces together. "But he died in the fire at his coffee shop. It was an accident."

"Right. Supposedly an accident."

"And Ace…" Luffy swallows. "He was so injured because of the fire there too..."

"I thought I was hearing things." Kidd rubs the back of his neck and looks aside. "And I wanted to forget about it, but it just kept bugging me. Apparently, this Kaido guy and his group? They are not the type of people you want to mess around with. That, combined with them knowing Marco..."

Kidd's attention to detail was really something. Luffy couldn't think to have made that connection in years. Kaido...if he claimed that Marco's life ended for his sake, then he must have had a hand in Ace's injuries. He was in the same coffee shop when it burned down, after all.

The older bites his lip. It's time to get to the main point. "What if..." he begins slowly, carefully. "What if the whole thing was a set up?"

Luffy's mouth dries. "A set up?"

Kidd purses his lips. "I've been trying over the last week, week and a half to get more information about the incident. But every time, I come to the same dead end. A fire at Marco's Coffee. The cause is a faulty pressure relief valve. One injured, one dead. An accident. Everything is so clean and wrapped up and tied with a bow and it's fucking frustrating."

"That's why you haven't been at your job," Luffy realizes. Kidd even skipped going to work for this?

The red head raises a suspicious eyebrow at him. "How do you know that?"

The teen rubs his arm, gaze flickering to the floor. "...it's a long story."

He feels Kidd's eyes on him for a moment more before he begins again. "So I'm done trying to do this the right way. I'm going back to that bar and asking around for information."

Something in Luffy softens ever so slightly. "Why are you doing that for-"

"It's okay." Kidd shakes his head. "I want to. Aren't you curious? Even angry? I mean, I know nothing about this 'Kaido' dude, but-"

"Of course I'm curious," Luffy cuts off easily. He stands a bit straighter. "If what you claim is true, and god I hope it isn't, but if it is..."

He feels a flash of white hot rage race through him. "Someone's paying with their fucking blood."

Kidd finds himself smiling softly. There was that ferocity of Luffy's. He missed it. "I hear you. But there's no way we can do anything if we don't know anything."

He grunts as he gets on his feet. "So that was the gist of it all. I know you're not too comfortable around me, so I'll text you again with anything new. I'll...avoid this place as well."

Luffy nods, grateful. "Okay," he whispers.

Kidd shoulders his bag and glides past luffy wordlessly. He's at the door when Luffy turns to him.

"Hey Kidd."

The red head's hand grips the handle a bit harder. It's the first time he's said his name and didn't sound like he wanted to die ever since their breakup. He slightly turns to his former lover. "Yeah?"

Luffy fidgets behind him. "Thanks for doing all this. I mean, I never would've known anything if you didn't tell me. So...thanks." He hopes he didn't sound as awkward as he felt.

Kidd's heart soars at the words. It wasn't forgiveness, not even close, but it was a step. A step in the right direction. The journey to better himself would be long- maybe he would plateau at times, and maybe he'd fuck up and take several leaps backward.

But he was able to begin the journey. It was a start.

"You're welcome, Luffy."

The door closes, and Kidd is gone.

When Luffy finally gets back to his dorm, it's late. He lays face down on his bed for so long that Barty pokes his side to check for a rise and a fall.

"Lu~ffy. You still kicking?"

The teen groans. "Sadly."

"Great," Barty smiles. He jumps back to his own bed and stifles a yawn. "You were gone for a while after your shift ended, went to dance?"

A muffled 'yes.'

"Huh," Barty muses, lying lazily on his back. "And how was that?"

Luffy watches him through half lowered lids. "Fucking awful. I couldn't focus the entire time. I just gave up halfway and came back here to study and do homework."

"Dang, I didn't catch you." The roommate's gaze slides over to Luffy. "I must've left right before you came back. Why couldn't you focus?"

The teen buries his head in his pillow again. "...-dd was there."

"Come again?"

Luffy whirls to him, emotionally drained. "Kidd was there!"

Barty sits straight up in bed and turns to him in shock. "Again?"

Luffy's face returns to his pillow, but he leaves just enough space to articulate his words better. "I know."

"How is he always popping up in your life now?"

"I don't know."

The green haired man crosses his arms. "That fucking sucks man."

"I know. I don't know what to do."

Barty lets his back hit the bed once more. "If I were you? Maybe sleep it off. Sleep can cure a lot of things."

Luffy snorts. "Can sleep heal my trauma from him? If that were the case, I would've been in tip top shape ages ago."

"Well," the roommate begins, a smile tugging on his lips. "There was one day you went to sleep hating Law, and now you're here dating him. So sleep can do something, at least." He laughs as Luffy's pillow is chucked at him.

Luffy's face flushes a light pink. "Ha, ha. Very funny," he drones lifelessly. Barty tossed the pillow back and settled into his bed.

"But seriously. You look like you've seen hell these last few days. When's the last time you've gotten a full night's sleep? I'm sure you could use it."

The teen starts to make objections, but Barty ignores them and hops off the lofted structure to switch off the light. He turns to his laptop to let Bink's Sake play quietly, and he lets the soft glow of the screen give the room a breath of illumination.

Luffy felt himself calm almost as soon as the song began, and the lull of sleep tickled his body pleasantly. "Not fair..." he murmurs. Barty knew the song calmed him.

Barty chuckles quietly as he crawls back into his bed. "Night, Luffy."

"Night," comes the sleepy reply. Luffy's out like a light within moments.

Luffy wakes up in the middle of the night to a phone call.

Groggy hands grope around his shelves above him and bed for his phone. The sound cleaves through his brain the air so harshly that when he finally finds the phone and answers, he doesn't care who it is. The annoyance he felt far outweighs the consequences of telling off whoever was calling at these unholy hours.

"Who the hell is this?" the teen growls into the receiver. He hopes he sounds more menacing than tired.

"Is this Monkey D. Luffy?"

Luffy pauses at the unfamiliar voice. Very, very few people knew his full name. He's hesitant to respond, but does. "Yes, this is him."

The woman's voice on the other end is soft. Sad. "This is Flevance Medical Center. I am deeply sorry to inform you that your relative, Portgas D. Ace, has passed away this morning. We ask that you-"

He hangs up on the woman. Luffy moves faster than he ever thought possible, and before his mind could register what his body was doing, he's out the door running. He's running and struggling to breathe, to think, to comprehend, because why? Why did the hospital just call him in the middle of the night and tell him such a god awful lie? Because it was a lie. Fuck her, fuck them, fuck them all. It was a damned lie.

There was no way that his brother was dead. It'd be a cold day in hell when that happened. His brother was strong, stronger than anyone he's ever met in his life. This was the Ace he grew up with. The loving, kind big brother he could always depend on. The man who Luffy fiercely depended on for everything. The man who protected and fought for him. The man who could always make Luffy smile and who could lead him through even the darkest of times. The man who he visited with Law not even a week prior.

There was no way that he was dead.

Luffy's heart clenches harshly at the thought.

...right?

A/N: Thanks for reading! Until the next~

P.S. I actually share Luffy's disdain for coffee. Just not for me I guess :( But give me a vanilla bean frap and it's gone in seconds.

P.P.S. Victoria is a canon character.

P.P.P.S. Bink's Sake is like ASMR to Luffy. I listen to ASMR when I want to sleep, too.