Last chapter of this part :)
The Visit: Memories
Law dropped his two bags —his only possessions aside from what he had on his person, Sengoku noted with some bitterness at the thought that Law just couldn't own more things, like a normal kid his age— on the second bed of the room Sengoku had rented for the duration of his stay.
"You gonna tell me what are you doing here?" Law asked brusquely, rudely, when he turned around with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Today is your birthday, isn't it?"
Law looked surprised, blinking up at Sengoku as if that was the last thing he had expected, and Sengoku had the nagging feeling that Law may have forgotten the date. Before Law could react, and probably grow defensive, Sengoku took out the envelope he had been carrying in his coat pocket since he left Marineford and offered it to Law.
Law raised his eyebrows, the gesture barely noticeable below his hat.
"You bought me a birthday present?" he asked skeptically.
"No."
"Then?"
"Just open it and see for yourself."
Law shrugged and reached out, taking the envelope from Sengoku's hand and opening it with no hesitation.
Law froze when he pulled out its contents.
Sengoku didn't comment when Law's lower lip wobbled, nor when his hands trembled as he passed from one picture to the next. Law's eyes grew wet, and Sengoku knew for sure then that Law hadn't seen his family's faces since Flevance.
It wasn't much, just copies of the official pictures from the files: his father serious but not grim, his mother smiling softly and his sister grinning widely. They were all the same everything that was left of Law's family, because Flevance had been burned to the ground and all the bodies disposed of in that same manner.
Law moved to the bed, walking blindly with his eyes glued to the pictures, and sat heavily on the mattress. Sengoku left a pack of tissues next to him and went to unpack the suitcase he had dropped off in the room earlier that afternoon.
He didn't comment on the muted sniffles and sobs.
Finally, when Sengoku was done placing his few clothes in the closet, he turned to see Law had put the pictures to one side and was wiping his eyes on a sodden tissue.
"I didn't put them there," Sengoku started, unsure of how this conversation would go, "but I also have a couple pictures of Rosinante."
Law's head snapped up.
"Show me," he demanded, though he didn't sound nearly as brusque as he had earlier.
Sengoku walked to Law's bed and sat by his side, on the opposite side to the pictures.
He had brought two more, and took them out now. He didn't like the first one much, because there were too many bitter memories and feelings associated with it, but that was how Law remembered Rosinante, and so Sengoku had brought it.
He handed it to Law.
"We took that one after he had completed his disguise. He spent a long time coming up with it."
In the picture, Rosinante stood in the middle of an empty warehouse they had turned into a provisional base while he prepared to return to Doflamingo's side, because being anywhere near a marine base might have endangered his cover as a pirate. Rosinante stood with his arms spread wide, the black feathered coat thrown over his shoulders, red hood on and the recently healed tattoos a stark contrast against the skin of his face.
"He always set that stupid coat on fire," Law commented with a tiny, sad smile on his lips, and Sengoku had to snort.
"I'm not surprised. He used to set his uniform on fire, too."
Law looked up at him.
"He did? Did he have a coat, too?"
"No," Sengoku answered, and smiled softly at the memories the topic brought. "The winter uniform could pass, but nobody understood how he could set on fire the regular, sleeveless uniform too."
Law gave him a surprised, slightly wide eyed look. Then his lips pulled up, and much to Sengoku's surprise he chuckled. It was short, barely a breath, but it rang with amusement and no trace of bitterness. It was a good sound, and it made Law appear his age.
"What's the other picture?" Law asked a moment later. He wasn't smiling anymore, but he wasn't frowning either, and Sengoku could tell Law was more relaxed than he had been all evening.
Sengoku handed the picture over silently. He had debated a lot on that one. He had wanted to bring a picture of Rosinante before the Donquixote Pirates, but deciding which one had been more difficult than expected. Sengoku had many pictures to choose from. He had discarded the ones where Rosinante appeared in his marine uniform because while Law knew and accepted that Rosinante had been a marine, Sengoku thought it would be best not to remind Law of it so openly.
It the picture, Rosinante grinned widely, sat precariously balanced on a railing that overlooked Marineford where he liked to sit despite the many accidents he had there, dressed in jeans and a ridiculous pink t-shirt with two teddy bears painted on it.
"He looked almost normal," Law commented, not really unkindly.
Sengoku nodded.
