Corazon wasn't exactly sure why he felt the need to do a perimeter check around the island. They'd been here for months and he had yet to even spy a ship on the horizon. Logically he knew they were safe here. Still, it didn't stop him from doing a quick check around the island every three days or so. If nothing else it allowed the pirate to clear his head a bit. Coming to a cove that was a bit more difficult to reach he paused, taking in the sights. It really was beautiful, with the white sand surrounded by large rocks on both sides, waves gently crashing against them. "I wonder if Law knows this is here?" He mused, watching the white foam of the sea get pushed up onto the beach as the waves pulled a small boat ever closer to the rocks.

He blinked, thinking he was seeing things. It was still there. A small boat, maybe a life-boat, was being shoved dangerously close to the rocks. Tensing, he melted back into the underbrush before circling around to get closer to the rocks. The boat had appeared empty when he'd been closer to the beach, but from here he could see three people sprawled in the belly of the boat. None of them were moving, and he thought them dead until the little vessel finally hit one of the rocks and threatened to tip over.

Three heads popped up, and he saw they were children. His confusion grew. "Wha-?!"

"Shit! Rock!" One of the dark haired kids attempted to push against the rock with no luck. "Where the hell did a rock come from?!"

"Land, you idiot! We found land!" Another, a blond jumped out and started trying to tow the boat towards the beach even as the waves threatened to dash him against the rocks.

"I can help-"

The blond choked on water, it still do deep for him, "No, stay in the boat! You guys can't swim. Just try to push us away from the rocks."

"Sabo…" One of them warned even as they both started pushing with all their might. "I think the boat broke. We're taking on water!"

"Shit shit shit…!"

Cora took a step forward, unwilling to let children drown, even if he didn't know how the hell they got there in the first place. Just as he was about to break cover the one in the water managed to touch the bottom, his pulling becoming more steady. The kid seemed awfully strong as he dragged the damaged boat up the beach. When it was barely in the water the other two jumped out and helped, clothes already soaked from the hole that water continued to rush out of as they pulled it out of the surf. They came stumbling almost to the tree line, within feet of Corazon. The man froze, not wanting to startle them as they flopped bonelessly on the ground. So close he could see the sunburn on their arms and faces. Their clothes were tattered and torn, more rags than anything. He wondered what had happened, right up until he saw the heavy manacles on each boy's left leg. Slaves… his stomach dropped as he pushed himself further into the underbrush, horrified.

"Do you think we're safe?" the smallest asked.

"Maybe. I hope so. How long do you think we were in that thing anyway?"
The blond shrugged, "A few days? A week at most. I'm not sure. At any rate, if we don't know where we are, how the hell is that freak supposed to find us?"

"How did he know about us in the first place?" The dark haired one shot back.

The youngest sniffed, "I miss Jiji…" Only for the two others to cover him in a group hug. Corazon bit his lip, melting back into the woods to give them some privacy. His first reaction was to go to them, but only a fool would think that would be welcome right now. Instead, he was going to give them time. A few days to recover and get their feet under them while he and Law both made sure they had enough food and fresh water. Then he'd decide what to do with the three new inhabitants of their little island. As much as he was at lothe to leave the safety it had provided, if necessary he'd take the three to the nearest inhabited island. But first, he'd give them time to recover.

Law moved silently, moving to another branch that was closer to the three strangers. They were young- younger than he was. He, himself, hadn't seen them arrive, but Cora-san had. He'd said they'd arrived on a small boat that was barely more than a raft it had looked so bad. Looking around the small beach, he could just make out the boat, keel-side up with a large hole in it. He wondered if the three of them were planning on using it for shelter. If they were, it was a poor choice being too close to the water's edge still. Not to mention the hole. He turned his attention back to the three of them. Two were definitely older, a blond and one with dark hair. They seemed to be arguing about something. The third was younger. He was sitting a little ways away, watching the argument. From where Law was he still couldn't make out the words, but the next tree branch that could hold his weight was at least a hundred feet away. He'd either have to climb down and then go from there or risk a glide. Hopefully they wouldn't see him, since Cora-san had told him to stay out of sight. Slowly he relaxed, allowing his wings to emerge from his back and rolling his shoulders to settle the tension between them with a pop before stilling. So far no one had noticed. He tried two soft flaps, gauging how much lift he would need. It would be easier if he could just fly but he still hadn't quite figured that out.

He made sure to wait till both of the two arguing were now shouting before risking three hard flaps as he shoved off. The branches shook and the one he landed on creaked and squeaked as he folded his wings, hiding the bright yellow bands on them as best he could. He stilled, waiting to see if anyone noticed. Lucky for him the two were still yelling, though the youngest had looked into the trees.

"I think we should try to fix the boat!"

The blond sighed, "What good would that do us, Ace? We don't even know where we are in the first place! It was lucky we even found land and you want us to just go off again?"

"We can't stay here! What if he's looking for us-"

"I bet he is." The youngest said, turning his attention back to the argument. Law let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "You kind of burned one of his ships up."

"See? Even Luffy knows it's not smart to stay here!"
"HEY! I never said that! Sabo, I don't wanna leave! I like it here, and we haven't even gotten to explore yet!"
"I'm not sure if exploring is such a good idea, Luffy." The blond, Sabo or something, smiled at the younger before turning his attention back to the boat.

"I'm telling you I can fix it."
"That's not the issue, Ace. And I'm not saying we stay here. Not forever. Just for a bit." Sabo waved a hand, broadly gesturing to the youngest, Luffy. "Hear me out before you get angry. We're exhausted, hungry and I don't know about you, but I don't think Luffy here is in any shape to be drifting around. We spent too long on that damn boat without food or water, Ace. And before that what we were given was worse than the stuff in Gray Terminal. I'm just saying we need to recover our strength before we leave."

Ace looked annoyed. He turned away and went over to the boat before dragging it further from the water. "Fine. You might be right. But I don't like it here."

"At least there are woods. We can forage for food, and fish. Nothing we don't know how to do. Why don't Luffy and I go look for some leaves and shit to turn the boat into a proper shelter while you look for food?"

"Fine. Luffy, stay close to the cove."

The youngest pouted, "but I want to go exploring!"

"We can do that tomorrow. First we need to make a new fort, right?" Sabo pointed out, smiling slightly. "Don't go wandering off, okay?"

Law had heard enough. He didn't want to get caught spying in the first place, so he carefully launched from the tree, gliding away. He had to tell Corazon that the new people on the island were planning on staying. That rose the question of whether the two of them should move their own camp further away to stay hidden. Knowing Cora-san he had a feeling the older man was going to want to take them in. Trafalgar didn't like that idea. They had no right to be here, and he didn't trust them. Plus they seemed to be running from something. What if they brought their trouble to the island?

It didn't take him long to return to the small camp that he shared with Cora-san. As he expected, Cora-san was putting together what could only be a food package for the three intruders. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." His friend and teacher froze, a slightly guilty look on his face. "If you leave that, they'll know they are not alone here."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"Yes it is. They need to leave."

Cora-san stood, walking over to him and placed a warm hand on Law's hat. "There's nothing to worry about. I promise you I'll protect you."

"But who'll protect you from them? I don't trust it; there should be no way to just accidentally end up on this island."

"They're not a threat, Law. They're just boys." Cora's face became drawn, haunted, "Victims, like you."

Luffy had managed to wake up before Ace and Sabo for a change. For a short time, he sat there, looking down at his brothers as they slept soundly and debated waking them up. He was hungry, and neither of the other two liked it when he wandered off alone. But Sabo had spent a long time trying to fish last night, and Ace had done most of the work setting up their shelter. Neither would let Luffy help much, instead having him tend the fire. He knew it was because they were worried about him even if Ace had said it was because he didn't want Luffy to mess up. It wasn't because he was weak, either. He glared at the cuff on his leg, the cuts around his ankle from his repeated tries to get it off. That was the reason his brothers were being so protective. The stupid Mingo-man was a lot stronger and scarier than Blue Jam had been. Luffy wasn't ashamed to admit he'd been really scared when they'd been separated and tossed into small cages. He hadn't seen his brothers in days, and when they were together he'd been so scared that the man was going to kill his brothers. He knew he shouldn't have cried, but it was hard to be brave when someone was threatening his family and he couldn't stop them.

Ace muttered something in his sleep and rolled over, arm wrapping around Sabo as he burrowed closer. Luffy smiled at the sight of them, glad they were still together. He decided to let them sleep. This morning he would be the one taking care of them by getting food. There should have been berries and such in the woods, so he wouldn't even have to go near the ocean. With that thought in mind the eight-year-old shuffled out of the lean-to that Ace had hastily put together and headed into the forest.

To a boy who'd seen very little of the world, the forest was huge and exciting. The trees where only a little bit like the ones he was used to seeing back home, and unlike the mountain forest of the Goa kingdom, there were no animals making background noises. Luffy wasn't deterred, though. If he had too, he'd gather smaller things for his brothers to eat. Frogs, snakes and large bugs weren't their favorite food, but all three had resorted to snacking on such things before if a hunt had gone badly - or in one memorable case when the three of them had given a surprised Makino their kill for her birthday. Walking through the thick undergrowth for a while Luffy frowned. He hadn't come across any kinds of animals at all. His face scrunched up in thought as he came to a stop, wondering what to do. As he stood there, he realized he'd been so distracted, he'd almost walked right off a ledge into what looked like a pool of water. Spanning the gap was a fallen tree, making a natural bridge for the boy to cross. He didn't even hesitate, nor did he hesitate to pick up the brightly speckled slug on the tree and try to eat it.

There was a loud crack sound and a shout of surprise off a ways from where he was. Cora shook his head, not surprised. He had wondered how long it would be before the three newcomers started to explore their island. The hard part was going to be staying out of their way and keeping an eye on them at the same time. It would be easier if he could just get Law to agree to let him take them in. He understood where the teen was coming from, however. He hadn't had much positive experience with others, and it was only natural Law would be wary about strangers even if they were kids like himself.

"Help! Ace! Sabo!" Corazon froze at the sound, head snapping around to the direction the cry had come from. "Help! I'm stuck!" It was the youngest of the newcomers, he was sure of it.

Pirate though he may have been, he couldn't ignore the obvious panic in that shrill cry for help. Without even thinking he took off, bouncing off of trees and tripping over his own feet in his rush as he followed the cries. Soon he was at the waterfall he himself liked to bathe at. A quick glance told Corazon that the crack he'd heard had most likely been the sound of the tree they'd used as a ladder breaking as now only half of the monstrous plant was still there. The other half he assumed had been washed away. Worriedly he looked down, afraid he was going to see the brat maimed or pinned beneath the branches. The child had somehow managed to get himself trapped at the bottom of the small waterfall alright, but he didn't seem hurt. He was huddled on the tiny strip of dry gravel and rocks, desperately trying to reach for the broken tree as the water soaked him.

"Help!"

Cora tested to make sure what was left of the tree wasn't about to go crashing down at the slightest touch. With his luck it was a possibility and he didn't want to crush the child. Once he was sure it would hold his weight he cautiously stepped onto it and into the boy's line of sight. "Are you alright?"

Dark eyes stared up at him, wide and full of fear as the poor thing hunched in on himself for a moment. Cora was sure to keep what he hoped was a friendly look on his face as he waited. "Who- who are you?! Where're my brothers?!"

"It's alright, I'm sure they're fine. I'm Corazon. I heard your shout."

"Stay back!"

He held up a hand placatingly, "I'm not going to hurt you. Promise. I just want to help."

The boy was shivering now, probably because of the water. He glared at Corazon. "I'm Luffy. I don't trust you! I bet you're a bandit!"

"No, no I'm not. I swear."

"Oh." Some of the suspicion faded, "Marine? But you don't have one of those stupid hats…"

Corazon wished he could agree, just this once. If only to put the Luffy's mind at ease while he rescued him. But if the kid had been a slave, he might not see Marines the same way as most civilians did. Trying to seem harmless wasn't easy when you were as tall and quite frankly as intimidating as he was, but he tried. "No, I'm not. I'm a pirate, but don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you."

"A pirate?" Luffy repeated before beaming brightly at him, "Really? I wanna be a pirate, too, Mr. Smiley face." That was not the reaction he'd expected. Nor had he expected the boy to react by reaching out eagerly as he tried to reach the blond. "Can you help? I broke the tree."

He offered a sardonic grin as he reached down, "I can see that. How'd you manage that one, Luffy was it?"

"I punched it." The boy grinned, fingers brushing his own. Cora stretched a little more and was able to snag Luffy's hand. "Because there was an icky slug on it."

He smiled at the boy as he hefted him up. "I see. Well, next time be a bit more careful, huh?"

"Ok!"

"Let's go look for your friends now. I'm sure they're worried about you." He said as he gently placed the child on the ground. It was a relief to see Luffy wasn't hurt.

"They're not my friends, they're my brothers!" The boy grinned even wider at him, obviously very happy about this.

"Is that so? Well, all the more reason to get back to them, right?"

"Right!"

A weight collided with his back, and Corazon almost tumbled forward, turning slightly as he did.

The dark haired youth stood before him, holding a broken piece of shell like a knife as he pushed Luffy behind him. "Stay back! Stay away from my little brother, you freak!"

"I'm not going to hurt him. I just wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Liar! I saw that mark on your shirt! You work for him!"

Corazon blinked in confusion before glancing at his shirt. It wasn't anything fancy, just one of his old shirts, a gray button up with the jolly roger he and Law had changed on the back. It had started out as his brother's flag before the two of them had added to it… His heart lurched as what the boy was saying hit him. He could see it in the way Luffy was now looking at him with fear from behind his brothers. They knew Doflamingo's mark, which meant they'd have had to had run into it. Heart-sick, his eyes fell onto the thick manacle on the dark haired boy's leg as he stood defiantly before him. It didn't look like much at a distance, being gun-metal gray like most shackles. This close, though, he could tell it wasn't made out of metal but stone, with a chain fused into the rock. He could just make out half the circle that was most definitely Doflamingo's Jolly Roger carved into the rock. His big brother - ruining everything he touched. It was sickening. "No, no it's not what you think!"

The shell flashed out, leaving a thin cut on his hand. "We won't go back! I won't let you take us!" He couldn't react fast enough as the youth darted forward, murder in his eyes.

He didn't have to, though. Law was there, slapping the shank out of the younger boy's hand as his wings flared in warning. The smaller boy leapt back, a snarl on his face as Law mantled, looking as threatening as Corazon had ever seen him. "Don't you dare hurt Cora-san!"

"Ace-"

Gray eyes went cold. "Sabo, take Luffy and run. Get off the island."

"We won't leave you, you idiot!"

"I'll be right behind you-"

"No, I won't let them separate us." Sabo growled, coming even with Ace. "If you want us, you're gonna have to kill us! We're not going back!"

"We don't want you here in the first place!" Law snapped, taking a threatening step forward. Corazon didn't know who was more shocked out of the two of them when orange flecked wings blocked their view of the youngest. It wasn't as impressive a wingspan as Law's, but the dark haired child was younger than he was by a few years at least. Still, there was no mistaking the wings of a D, or the look of fatalistic determination as both boys tried to make themselves seem as large as possible.

"You're a D…" Corazon choked out.

"Ace-Sabo- I'm scared…."

"Like you didn't know that. Just 'cause Luffy's stupid doesn't mean we're going to fall for that nice guy act." Sabo growled, taking a reluctant step back to comfort the smallest, Corazon assumed.

"It'll be alright, Lu." Ace muttered, shifting his wing slightly to allow his brother easier access.

Law snorted, flaring his larger wings dramatically. "You two honestly think you could take us? You're grounded with those sorry excuses for wings. If you even knew how to flap, that is, which I doubt. Not if you were stupid enough to attack Cora-san."

Corazon knew Law's words about them being grounded had been for his benefit. While the boy was distracted with Law, he looked closely at the wings and was sickened by what his brother had done. At first, he'd expected the lack of primary flight feathers to be due to his age, but it was obvious Doflamingo had removed them. He hadn't just clipped them, which would have been traumatic enough to be sure. Judging by the patches of dried blood on the feathers, he'd yanked them out by the quill. It was no wonder they were terrified of going back; of Corazon. He laid a hand on his ward's shoulder, causing the youth to look up at him. When he had Law's attention his shook his head slightly, and Law reluctantly lowered his wings. He might not like the strangers, but he was smart enough to have an idea of what they'd been through and realize like Corazon had that it was indirectly their fault. His dear older brother was going after adolescent Ds.

Cora crouched, trying again to seem less threatening. In response Ace allowed his feathers to settle, but still refused to lower his wings. He couldn't blame the kid, even as he watched the left wing shake slightly with strain. He felt Law's attention shift to the limb as he spoke. "I'm nothing like Doflamingo, even if he is my older brother." Twin growls answered him, one from the blond, he assumed. He expected that, but he wanted to be honest. "I swear to you, I'm not going to bring you back to him…."

The left wing finally gave under the strain of holding itself up and collapsed, revealing nothing behind Ace. The preteen gave him a smug, dark smirk. "Of course you won't bring my brothers back to him. You'd have to catch them first."

Law was off like a flash after the two intruders to their island. He still didn't like them being there, but he understood the fear they were feeling, even if they were afraid of the wrong man right now. It was a good thing that he was more familiar with the island, because the blond - Sabo was it? - was fast, even hampered by having to carry the smaller boy. At least the little one had the sense to keep his wings tightly tucked against his body…. Law frowned, realizing that Sabo didn't actually have wings. He felt the old surge of jealousy at the one who got to live a normal life and sped up, catching the back of the younger boy's shirt. Sabo's momentum kept him going for a few more feet, ripping the shirt before he tumbled forward, dropping his little brother.

Law stood there in shock, holding the ripped shirt as the blond spun to face him, his face twisted in anger and fear. "Luffy, keep running!"

"But-"

"NOW!"

He could just make out the smaller boy go crashing through the trees, but he continued to stare at the blond. "You're…."

"What's the matter, never seen a cut-wing D before?" The blond growled, throwing himself at Law.

"I don't want to fight!" He tried, grappling with the smaller boy. He was incredibly strong, more so as he was driven by desperation. When it became obvious he wasn't going to listen, Law snagged one of his fists, twirling around the boy in a flurry of feathers to pin it up between his shoulderblades. Right in the patch of blue feathers….Sabo snarled and screamed in rage, but was unable to throw Law off him as the older boy pushed him to the ground. Just in time, too, as Cora-san arrived holding the other boy, still struggling.

"Where's Lu?" Was the first words out of Ace's mouth.

"Got away." Came the reply. It seemed like the fight went out of both of them at those words.

Cora-san had that look on his face, the one that promised trouble for someone. Law followed his gaze and saw it was on the boy under him. Quickly he got off Sabo allowing the other to sit up and glare balefully at him. "Did Doflamingo do that to you?"

Sabo snorted, "Hell no. My parents did. Your brother was most disappointed."

"Didn't you know? He wants Ds who can fly. His own personal army or some shit." Ace growled, wrenching himself free. "But we'll never break! We're free, dammit! And you won't ever catch Luffy, either."

Law sighed, rubbing his head as he felt a migraine coming on and let his wings recede. "Cora-san doesn't work for Doflamingo. He saved me from him, so why would he bring you back to him?"

Both looked at him like he'd grown another head. After a moment Ace leveled his glare at Corazon. "So you aren't here to capture us?"

Cora-son let out a small laugh, "We were actually hiding here first. I swear I won't let you go back to him, not if I can help it."

"You're not going to hurt Luffy either, right?" Sabo asked, looking honestly worried.

"Well, first we have to find him, but no… I won't hurt your little brother."

"He's in the bushes behind you." Ace replied, looking the other way.

Law snorted, "Like anyone would be that stupid and not run when they -" He trailed off, noticing he was being watched by dark brown eyes peering at him from the bushes. "Your brother is an idiot."

"We know." Sabo informed them, holding out his arms for the little one to rush into in a flurry of half flaps that managed to knock Law's hat askew.

He glared at the child at first, only for it to fade when he took in the large patches of missing feathers and the way those left were puffed. His whole body was shivering, and Law was willing to bet he had a fever. Out of the three of them, it was obvious Luffy had suffered the most at Doflamingo's hands, though all were thin and Ace's wing definitely had either a strain or a pull. Luffy's wings looked like the man had just ripped chunks of feathers out for no reason. He watched on with a clinical eye as Sabo gently held his brother close, drawing those damaged wings in and wrapping his arms around him. Luffy barely flinched; a true sign of trust. Law sighed in a mixture of annoyance and defeat.
"We have a camp set up not far from here. There's food, if you're hungry." He said, not looking at them. He still felt everyone's eyes on him, and knew Cora-san was smiling at him. He told himself he didn't care. It wasn't like he was so heartless he could leave them out here like this!

"So, how did you manage to get away?" Corazon asked as he struggled to get the fire going. He thought that Ace was rolling his eyes at his attempt.

Luffy smiled at him from the safety of his older brother's arms, "Ace blew up the ship we were on."

Corazon stopped what he was doing and looked at the two. "Huh?"

"What? It wasn't that hard once I had that stupid seastone off."

"Yeah, getting them to lower their guard enough while you and Lu weren't wearing those manacles was a real bitch." Sabo agreed, "Guess it was almost a good thing Luffy got sick during the trip even if I still wanna kill the bastard for ripping out his feathers like that!"

"MMM! That really hurt! And I didn't like throwing up all the time. It made me feel worse and it was stinky and slimy." Luffy pouted.

Ace ruffled his hair, "Well of course it was stinky. That's why they kept bathing us." He explained, "And Luffy was so weak already that the water and the seastone at the same time just made him worse, so they took his maniacal off. And then my genius of a brother here-"

"You flatterer."

"Told them I was getting sick, too, so they took mine off. Just had to put up with three baths, acting all sickly during the day which wasn't that hard and then…."

All three boys grinned. "BOOM!" they said.

"So you two are devil fruit eaters?" Corazon asked and almost regretted it the way they tensed up. He smiled, "So am I. I ate a fruit that lets me create a barrier of silence. It's how Law and I got away."

The tension was still there, but Ace nodded, "Yeah. Lu ate one back before. He's made out of rubber now. It's kinda lame." His soft smile said otherwise, but his little brother couldn't see that.

"HEY!"

"He just needs practice." Sabo comforted,. "So do you."

"Yeah. That bastard forced me to eat one. I'm fire now, I guess. It's a lot harder to control than I thought. But I'm getting better." He pointed at the sticks Corazon had been trying to light and instantly a fire was going. "Ships are very flammable… It burned faster than I thought it would. Sabo made sure we got away before it was too late. He found a lifeboat and got us on it."
"And Luffy made sure we stayed in it when the sea got choppy. It was a group effort." Sabo finished the tale.

Law sat behind a tree as he watched the three new additions to his island home. The last few days the three of them had been going off on their own only coming back at dinner where they sat as a unit and glared at both him and Cora-san while eating. They even slept in a pile. Cora-san thought it was cute, but he didn't see what Law saw right now. Ace's wing was still stiff, suffering from a strain or a pull. Luffy was pale, sickly looking. His wings, which were being carefully combed through by his brothers, were obviously hot and sore to the touch with the way he whimpered and whined. In short, he was sick, suffering from an infection that the paste Law had prepared should draw out and treat. The problem was getting the three to trust him enough to help.

He looked again at the large shell full of gray-green paste. They weren't going to let him just walk up and put it on the littlest. No, Ace and Sabo were very protective. With a frown he called out his own wings and cautiously tugged a few feathers out of their moorings before burying them in the debris under the shrubs. Cora-san would be worried, but if it would help it was worth the little bit of pain. Law backed up a ways and made sure to make a lot of noise as he came out from the undergrowth, cursing about his missing feathers.

"What are you doing here?" Ace growled out, wings flaring as he caught sight of Law.

"Looking for a banana leaf to put this on my wing." He replied, returning the glare with a lazy look as he held out the shell and walked across the clearing to a short banana tree and yanking off a leaf. He sat, curling his wing around as he placed the shell in his lap.

Sabo watched closely, "What is that?"

"Medicine. I'm a doctor."

"Are not."

Law shrugged, "Am to. My parents were doctors, and I studied with…. I studied." He finished.

Sabo nodded tightly in reply, eyes haunted. "What's the medicine for?"

"My wing." He pointed to the pale yellow and black wing, patches darker in areas. He supposed the yellow was going to be really bright when he reached his final colors. "I was working them and a couple feathers got stuck in a branch. Ripped right out. This'll help prevent any infection from getting worse. Infections can be bad on an island like this." He commented, slathering on the paste before wrapping the leaf around the tip. "And the leaf holds it in place. Stuff is easy enough to make, but it doesn't keep well and I can't make a little… so unless Cora-san lights himself on fire again this'll go to waste."

Sabo bit his lip, looking at the shell and then at Luffy, "Would it work on an infection already there?"

"Yes."

"Don't! You can't trust him, Sabo." Ace hissed.

"He's not getting any better, Ace!"

"Why are you two fighting? What are we talking about?" Luffy asked, eyes glazed as he glanced around. "Oh, hi Law…"

The moment stretched before Ace stood up and stalked over to him. Law wordlessly handed over the shell, not pushing his luck. He still sat and watched as both boys carefully applied the paste to the horrible wounds. While they were working he grabbed two leaves and ripped them into strips. He slowly approached and handed them the leaves, earning a less hostile look as they were taken and wrapped around the wounds. This close he could see the torn skin. It would heal, but they'd have to be careful about the infection. At that moment he couldn't have hated Doflamingo more. Cautiously he reached out and ran a hand through Luffy's hair, smiling slightly as the boy leaned into it.

"Thanks." Ace said, refusing to look at him as he finished wrapping the wings.

"Yeah. Thanks." Sabo glanced at him, "Could you-maybe make this again tomorrow? For Luffy?"

"Yes, sure. No problem."

"And maybe look at Ace's wing?"

"Hey!"

"He's a doctor!"

"...Fine. Tomorrow. After we take care of Luffy." Ace glared at him half heartedly, "No funny business."

"I swear."