Naghi-Tan: Eventually, he'll come forward D: It's tough for them both, but things are changing for the positive! ; ) Brook and Sanji do have a good relationship – I wish I could write it better D:

snowflake97: Thank you! :D Hopefully things will start to get better now that they hit bottom. This chapter should be a little perkier! Bepo is alive and kicking and the reason behind that will be revealed eventually.

WulfyFang3: Ahhhh! That's reserved for another story! LOL

: : 11

It took a few weeks for Law to eventually open up about his disorder. He was so guarded against the 'usual standard' that he needed this time to venture forth with the basics of it. The therapist was patient and kind, and didn't allow him to feel like the cause of his disorder "wasn't important". Law eventually began realizing the roots of the disorder stemmed from the trauma of losing his family in the car accident. Binge eating as a preteen was his attempt to fill the emptiness he'd felt at losing them, and anorexia had become a way of having control over something he didn't have when they'd perished. Being allowed to see it that way opened up Law's eyes – he'd never attributed these things to his disorder, but once Marco was able to point that out, it felt like everything made sense.

His sessions were twice a week – once for therapy, another for food exercises. There was a nutritionist present, but Belladonna encouraged Law to invite Sanji, as his roommate and last minute emergency contact, to participate in what felt like a food workshop and not a clinical, humdrum detail of what to eat and how to eat. Sanji was reluctant to interfere and Law felt awkward with the invitation because they weren't that close – but both of them ended up making meals together at her designation.

Sanji realized that these workshops, designated for Law to understand that food wasn't an enemy, was a rather sneaky way to invite support for both of them. Law had mentioned that he'd started cooking his own meals by watching Sanji, but Sanji hadn't been cooking in a while due to his own depression. So doing this with each other, side by side, allowed Sanji to start working through his own issues by supporting Law. Belladonna was gentle and supportive, pulling in various ingredients with immense information on the content that made each meal new and different while gently nudging against Law's calorie limits. In the meantime, she was urging them to communicate together – which made it more awkward, considering that it felt strange to open up to each other in this fashion.

While they shared certain experiences with each other privately, none of it was intimate or personal. But it helped them open up little by little, learning new things each time. It made things weird back at the apartment for both of them – they weren't sure why this was affecting the relationship they already had, but it made them both uncomfortable. While Sanji was glad he could help in some way with Law's recovery, he felt awkward knowing personal details that Law admitted at Belladonna's coaxing during the workshop. While Law was glad Sanji was there to work out some of his issues by becoming interested in cooking again, he felt awkward hearing about how Sanji cooked this and that for Zoro.

Sanji didn't mean to bring Zoro up so much – it just felt like he was finally admitting to himself just how much his ex-husband took over his life so that it seemed that he was barely an individual himself. It had never occurred to him how co-dependent he was until he actually faced it.

It wasn't the easiest time for Law. He wasn't magically fixed just because he was doing things differently, or that he could come to grips with his disorder. His mind still fought him; it was surprisingly panic-inducing how he'd freaked when his clothes started to fit differently, and while he noticed a subtle improvement, it didn't reflect right away with others. He was still losing hair, he still could not look at himself in the mirror, his hands still shook and his stomach protested with each new meal he made himself. He realized that this was going to take longer than he thought.

"But we're beyond your usual point, right?" Marco asked him when Law pointed out his frustrations. It occurred to Law that they were. Right at this time he'd quit his progress, overwhelmed by his own insecurity and doubt. While he still felt those, he felt more comfortable admitting that he felt stronger this time than the last.

"Why do you think that is?" Marco asked. "What's different about this time?"

"Probably the ambiance here," Law admitted sarcastically while thinking about the answer. "More…plants."

Marco already understood that Law used sarcasm to safeguard himself, so he nodded gently. He gestured at several large pots sitting near a window. "These are designed to purify the oxygen in your room, so perhaps that's right."

"We have this salt rock lamp at home that's…sitting in the corner of the living room. We haven't turned it on in a very long time. It was interesting to have."

"Tell me, what happened the day you retrieved that lamp? Such an odd thing for the pair of you to have," Marco added, looking at him curiously. "Neither of you look like the salt lamp type."

Feeling slightly relaxed now that they weren't venturing into personal matters, Law thought about that day he and Sanji met Aokiji.

"We…did a lot of things that…I don't think either of us ever did. That store was…something I couldn't see myself entering, purely based on the outlook it provided. Hemp jewelry, potheads, vape pens and stoned cashiers. It smelled like…hippies basking in the sunlight," Law added carefully, thinking of how Sanji said it.

"Why does that memory make you smile?" Marco asked.

Law froze, unware that he had.

Marco shifted in his seat. "What else happened that day?"

"We…had ice cream. With snow still on the ground." Law found himself tightening up unexpectedly. It was difficult talking about something like this when it gave him suddenly unpleasant reminders of how good that day made him feel. It reminded him of his blooming feelings for the other man. They were missing all this time because of the circumstances, so suddenly being reminded of them – suddenly realizing them all over again – it was an unpleasant splash of hot water.

"But it was a great memory," Marco pointed out after some silence. "And you allowed yourself to enjoy ice cream. Is it wrong to feel happy?"

Law wondered what Marco would think if he'd explained his feelings. This wasn't the time to admit them or understand them. He had to focus on himself.

"It was a good day," was all he said, careful to control his expression.

That Saturday, he and Sanji found themselves standing in front of the food mart Sanji had liked to use. Both of them looked at the sliding doors with heavy reluctance, as busy shoppers walked around them and pushed carts with varying content. It was noisy, busy, and both of them could smell the deli. For Law, it was his first exercise to shop with a list he had made with Belladonna's assistance, and for Sanji, it was his first time out since his depression started. Both of them felt anxiety racing around their chests. Both of them felt reluctant to interact in such a busy place, making contact with people. Both of them knew it had to be done.

"It would count," Law said slowly, avoiding meeting the curious gazes of shoppers around them, "to just step inside the foyer and step back out."

"We can do this," Sanji said with determination, fists clenched at his thighs. His teeth was clamped around a cigarette filter that had already burnt down. "We have to, we can't just…make things last until you hit the gas station from our apartment to get goddamn soup."

Law looked at the list he had in his hand. There were a few ingredients there. He noticed a stack of baskets just inside the second set of doors. He worried about how he would look carrying that thing.

He looked to Sanji, who finally spit out the filter from between his teeth. He started biting his nails, then reacted with a growl and a light flail of his arms away from his teeth.

"Let's do this," he said, stalking ahead. He snatched a basket from the stack, and Law slowly followed after him. He felt like he had an overwhelming audience watching him as soon as he stepped in. But he told himself to stop feeling this way, for everywhere he glanced people were focused on food products, screaming kids and a loud deli server that served food with dramatics.

He plucked out a basket from the stack nearby, awkwardly cradling the handle in both hands. He'd memorized the list but every ingredient suddenly disappeared as his ears began to ring. He thought he was going to faint again, so he stood off to the side. He had no idea where Sanji left, the bustle of people overwhelming his sight.

He ended up seeing on the bench aside of the deli and feeling stressed as he clutched the basket handle in one hand. He ended up examining why he had these feelings, hearing Marco's voice as he did so.

Why did the store stress him?

Was it the new list? The expectation of eating what was on that list? Seeing people look at him?

Law exhaled low, calming the rising flames of stress. He started telling himself that it was silly to feel this way – clearly he was shopping to make a meal, and it was no one's business why he looked the way he did. Clearly he was shopping to eat, to nourish himself and he did not have to explain himself. He had every right as everyone else to be here.

Sanji showed up unexpectedly with everything on Law's list, cramming it all into one bag while tossing the basket towards the rack. He grabbed Law's arm and yanked him after. Law was surprised to see him sweating profusely around the neckline of his shirt, his face red with effort.

He took the bag from him as Sanji gulped in air just outside the doors, people looking at him with puzzled action.

Fanning himself, Sanji straightened up from holding onto his knees. "Panic attack, I guess," he sputtered uncomfortably. "Holy shit, what is happening to me?"

"Depression," Law said with a shrug. "I suppose. Unless you're doing meth behind my back."

Wiping his eyes, Sanji managed a strangled laugh. "How? How – it's just a freaking store, why am I freaking out like this?"

"Did you…run into someone you know?"

"No. I just…all I could think of was getting the stuff on your list - ! Oh…was…were you supposed to do this as part of your exercise?" Sanji interrupted himself to ask.

Law shrugged. "I can cook it."

For a few moments, Sanji seemed to struggle with himself. Law could see him cursing inwardly, because his mouth twitched and his eyes seemed to flare with some dramatic temper he hadn't shown in months. He could just imagine that the younger man was cursing himself out for "being bossy".

"I really didn't want to do it anyway," Law said slowly. "It was overwhelming just walking in there."

"That'd be great, because…I don't think I can do it. Cook. I mean, only because that's something you should be doing, I can just…help or something, in some way," Sanji then said anxiously, hands clenching the other in a show of control. He then lit up hastily, much to the dismay of those passing by them. He ignored a couple of comments as he exhaled, so Law wondered if he were still struggling to restrain himself from taking over Law's exercise.

It was hard holding onto the bag. His fingers felt slippery. His muscle strength wasn't that spectacular. But he held onto it determinedly while Sanji struggled to hold himself back from doing it himself.

After some minutes, Law suggested, "Should we eat here and save cooking for later?"

Sanji considered the deli the pair of them could see from the outside. He instantly wanted to say no, but he said reluctantly, "Sure."

Minutes later they were both seated at the back table, where they could only be seen if someone walked into the deli to use the drink station. Sanji had a sandwich he hadn't dressed and Law had a cup of soup with a small bag of chips. Neither meal looked that appetizing, nor did either of them made the motion to start eating. Sanji was burning with stress – he hadn't realized how nervous he was to be back in the public eye. He'd lost so much confidence and security in himself over the past few months; sick at the thought of facing his former friends, again. Scaring himself over his imagined reaction of seeing them. His mind had gone absolutely blank for the week's meals – it was like he'd forgotten the basics of grocery shopping. All of this accumulated to the panic attack he had; which seemed so pathetic considering the circumstances.

Sanji inhaled and exhaled slowly before he said, "So…you think this is working out for you?"

Law considered the milestones he'd made so far. He ended up nodding. "I do. I've never gotten this far, before."

Sanji looked relieved. "That's good to hear."

Both of them fell back into awkward silence for a few minutes. Law glanced up at Sanji to see him frowning down at his sandwich, both hands clutching the chair seat. He was starting to clean up – he took daily showers, changed and washed his clothes, put some effort into paying attention to his face. Now he just looked like someone that had a hard night's sleep rather than looking sleepless. With the warming weather, both of them had chosen light sweaters and jeans, while Law layered up with a black, hooded jacket and light scarf.

"I want to watch a movie," Sanji then decided. "In a theater."

Law couldn't remember the last time he watched a movie in a theater. He wondered why.

Once they agreed upon a movie, Sanji bought butter-less popcorn, some candy and a soda. Law wouldn't allow himself any of those – the idea of indulging was intimidating. But he could hear Marco asking why it was a crime to enjoy. Law found himself wondering what his younger sister would have bought while enjoying a movie with friends – with him. With their parents.

It was startling thinking of this subject all of a sudden. He had not given them a thought in what felt like years. Most of his head was consumed with his job, with food – it occurred to him that he didn't even remember his parents' voices, or Lamie's laugh. He froze in his seat while Sanji dumped popcorn into a cardboard tray and set it on his lap.

"Just in case," he assured the older man while sipping at his soda. He immediately made a face.

Eager to get his mind off his family, Law asked, "What is that?"

"It tastes like diet. Disgusting. I'm going to go exchange it. Want water?"

He was off before Law could answer, and the older man glanced around himself uncomfortably. The theater was large, but already had some couples, a few singles, and what looked like a family at the end of their row. So everyone's voices was quiet and gentle, the sounds of them enjoying snacks filtering in above the soothing sounds of the music as it showed local advertisements. Law looked at the popcorn tray in his lap, then took a kernel. He ate it slowly, allowing the taste to permeate his taste buds. It wasn't bad, but it made him feel panicked because it was dangerously unsettling how he could let himself splurge.

He once again pictured his little sister cramming popcorn into her mouth and sipping at her soda without pause. He wanted to recapture that feeling of freedom. He wanted to feel it for himself. Sanji had a box of candy in the other cup holder. Chocolate covered peanuts. Law reached for them.

His mother had used to mix her popcorn with M&M's. He remembered that. He dumped some peanuts into his hand, watching it tremble. Then he dribbled popcorn over that. One by one, he ate all of that. It hurt to remember more of his family as he chewed, recalling bits and pieces of his childhood in such a random moment. It had never occurred to him that his disorder had been the aftermath of losing them.

Sanji returned with a brand new soda, settling in his seat before noticing what Law eating. He looked at him with surprise, then worry.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, hand reaching over the armrest between them to touch Law's arm. The theater darkened at that moment, and Law hadn't realized it then but his cheeks were wet with tears he didn't know were falling. It was embarrassing to acknowledge this, touching his face with palms and fingers smeared with chocolate. Sanji quickly passed him napkins, then wet a couple with the water he'd purchased.

It would be shameful to walk out into the hall and use the restroom with chocolate on his face. Law ended up letting Sanji wipe his face with the napkins, using the darkness of the theater to feel okay doing so. He trusted the other man to protect his dignity and not make a big thing out of the situation.

"The last time I watched a movie, I was with my family," Law explained. "I guess it just caught up to me."

Sanji ended up ruffling his hair as Law wiped his nose with a clean napkin. "I guarantee you that no matter where they are, they are extremely proud of you. I bet they're smiling in heaven, seeing you here."

"You're so cheesy," Law mumbled, but he trusted that Sanji was right. It was weird that he could picture it.

Sanji chuckled, nudging Law's shoulder with his forehead before turning back to the screen with his popcorn. In the end, Law could say with comfortable ease that this was another one of those good days.

When Law tried to explain to Marco at his next appointment the significance of his progress, Marco just smiled with understanding.

"What do you feel when you think of your family, now?" he asked curiously.

Law had to think about it, but ended up shrugging. "Right now, I'm just remembering things. It…astounds me how much I had not thought about them."

"It tells me how powerful your disorder had become," Marco said. "It seems like it's a separate entity. But one that's steadily being lassoed and contained."

"I wouldn't be that positive," Law said with some uncertainty. "It's not something that's…I had it for most of my life, it's not that easy to rein in."

"Of course not," Marco assured him. "It won't be easy. It's not supposed to be. Killing a toxic part of ourselves involves much more than just…milestones. It means facing memories we don't like, memories we may have forgotten, memories we just made. It means looking into the mirror, Law, and seeing every part of ourselves we didn't want to see before. But every time you look into that mirror, you're going to realize something."

"How ugly I am?"

"That you can actually face yourself," Marco corrected. "Which is usually the toughest part about this disorder. You can look at yourself and see for yourself the damage you've done – but what makes it different this time around is now, instead of looking at yourself and seeing the damage, you can look at yourself and see so far what you've repaired. It's visible, Law. It became visible when you started thinking of your family."

Law thought he was full of some new-age shit that belonged to the store Aokiji worked at.

But when he got home that evening, he mustered up the courage to look at himself. He was disappointed that he could not see the physical changes Marco insisted were there. But the longer he stood there, the more he realized that he had pieces of his father clinging to him. He had his father's wild hair – thin and scraggly, now, but Law imagined that once he was healthy he'd have the same thick, seemingly uncontrollable hair that his father did. He had his mother's eyes. He remembered that she had a beautiful smile. He had his father's shape – he had his mother's hands.

Tears dripped to the carpet at his bare feet. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. His family was physically gone, but they'd always been with him in spirit. In him.

And they probably were encouraging and supporting him from wherever they were now – he thought about how Sanji spoke of a Higher Power. He didn't believe in it because he believed in his own hand and his own work. But he had to believe that people went somewhere when they passed – even if they were quiet, even if he couldn't see them, they were still present.

He looked at himself in the mirror once more. His chest didn't look so thin, he realized. His bones weren't as prominent. His shoulder joints weren't so knobby. When he breathed, his ribs didn't push so hard against his skin. He furrowed his eyebrows. He ended up touching his sternum, tracing over the line with his fingers before settling his palm over the left side of his ribs. His heart beat steadily inside of his rib cage.

It didn't seem like much, but Law felt encouraged. He could see his progress. He could see his family. He could remember.

: :

Both of them were able to wander into the grocery store days later. Sanji had written a bigger list and both of them agreed upon that week's meal plans. It was the first time Law had started to feel a little more confident of himself – he left his jacket and hat at home. His clothes were still too big on him, but because he felt a certain way about himself, he nervously plunged forward with a simple sweater shirt, jeans and his hospital shoes. People looked at him and made quiet comments but he was sure that thing wouldn't die so easily. He had his hands fisted in his jeans pockets, though, clenched tightly as tension strummed through him.

But as small of a step as it was, it was one of the biggest he could take at this point. Sanji seemed more relaxed with him – Law had grown to understand that he was holding himself back from taking any sort of control to dominate the outing. He'd realized that Sanji was using more "May I…?", or "Can we…?" in place of his usual "I'm going to." He refused Law's suggestion on finding his own therapist, claiming that doing this was enough for him to work on himself.

Both of them wandered the fresh fruit and vegetables, picking out things from the list. Sanji pushed the cart while Law read off the piece of paper with his tense handwriting. Both of them were haggling each other over a bag of mixed vegetables versus fresh when they became aware of heavy breathing from behind them. Both of them looked to see Luffy standing there – dripping with sweat and effort, alarming other shoppers.

"I found you!" he managed to heave out, glaring at Law before looking at Sanji.

Sanji put the bag aside. Law wouldn't blame him for leaving the scene, watching him with curiosity. But after a few moments of composure, Sanji turned away from his cart to face Luffy.

"What do you want?" he asked, with just a touch of a snap in his tone.

Luffy looked at him, then tensed up. He struggled to get his breath back, but also struggled to align his thoughts. To Law, it seemed like all the words he wanted to say suddenly just crashed spectacularly and jumbled together, like a fatal car accident. He imagined big words laying like dead bodies alongside Luffy's simple sentence structures. It was alarming how big his imagination was growing.

"Sorry!" Luffy ended up shouting, the word ringing out throughout the store. Sanji looked surprised while Law rubbed his left ear, which was closer to the young man. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?" Sanji asked on a bewildered tone. "Don't be sorry."

"NO! I'm not – I'm not taking my apology back!" Luffy shouted at him, then struggled to lower his voices, fists clenched at his chest. "I'm saying sorry because…I've been trying to say that all this time! I – I've been looking for you, for, like, forever - ! I could've said it better if he'd just – give me you!"

After he pointed accusingly at Law, Sanji glanced at the older man. It amused him to see that Law looked vaguely amused as he watched Luffy.

"He did tell me about you," Sanji then said to Luffy quietly, noticing that people had returned their attention to their shopping. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

Luffy exhaled hard, finally able to breathe normally. He stared up at Sanji with examination. "You didn't want to talk to me?"

After some consideration, Sanji said, "I didn't. Not to any of you. Why?"

Luffy frowned, casting his attention to the contents of their cart before looking at both of them again. He focused on Law once more. "You weren't at the hospital."

Sanji snapped his fingers to regain his attention. "I accept your apology. Now, scram."

"No," Luffy refused with a shake of his head. "I have a lot to say."

"I don't…" Sanji exhaled shortly. "I don't want to hear it. Really, there's nothing for me to say – "

"It took me a long time to realize that - ! I kinda get why you left Zoro," Luffy interrupted him. "It took me a long time to think about it, and I get it. So…I just want to apologize for the way I acted. Because – but -! I don't understand why you couldn't talk to us about it."

Sanji frowned deeply. Considering the subject, Law felt that it wasn't one that Luffy was going to give up any time soon. So he took hold of the cart.

"I'll finish this," he told Sanji, giving him the privacy Luffy was demanding. Sanji looked after him reluctantly before crossing his arms tightly over his chest. Luffy continued staring up at him with an angrily determined look, like he was going to fight every word Sanji would say. Eventually he crossed his arms, mirroring Sanji's look.

"Speak," Sanji said, growing uncomfortable with the confrontation. Every part of him was rigid with tension, and he couldn't help but glance around, looking for the others. Looking for escape routes.

"Back then," Luffy said with some uncertainty, "before all of that started – weren't we your friends? Why couldn't you have said anything?"

"What business was it of yours?" Sanji asked. "Was it something you'd understand then?"

"I would've tried!"

"And what after that? What would you have done to fix the matter?" Sanji asked him sharply. Luffy looked frustrated at this, lowering his fists to his side. "You can't make someone…feel something for someone that…either lost the feeling in the first place, or never had it."

"I know Zoro says stupid stuff like he doesn't care, or it doesn't matter, or - !"

"It has come to my attention that it was my fault from the beginning," Sanji interrupted him. "I…confused something I thought was love with something that turned out to be…a convenient way to escape."

"So…you didn't love Zoro?"

"I don't know what to feel at this point," Sanji answered honestly. "What I thought I had wasn't something that…was real. And it was my fault."

Luffy gave an impatient sound before saying noisily, "You always blame yourself for everything - !"

"I blame myself because it was myself that put myself in that position!" Sanji snapped at him. "At this point, I don't know what love is, anymore. Maybe I didn't love him in the first place. Everything that I thought I had with him…wasn't exactly…what I had insisted it being…"

After Sanji trailed off lamely, unable to talk about it any further, Luffy frowned up at him.

"That's a lotta years being a liar," he said.

Sanji just nodded because it was the easiest thing to do.

"It's best this way," he added. "Not…there's no point talking to you about any of it. Not now."

Luffy exhaled with frustration. What he'd set out to do had practically blown up in his face. He was so sure it would work out with his apology, that Sanji would automatically open up to him and they'd fix it and be friends again – but now his thoughts were wild because he understood that Sanji was claiming he wasn't in love in the first place. But his memories convinced him differently of this matter, so he knew Sanji was lying in some form.

To either make him mad, or make him go away. His instinct told him that it was the latter.

Luffy wasn't not a patient man.

"Why are you lying?" he asked.

Sanji glanced uncomfortably at those that were subtly eavesdropping. He gave Luffy a scowl.

"Just leave me alone, all right?"

"NO!" Luffy lowered his voice once others looked their way. "I just want…an answer. A good one. I just…I know I did this badly, I just - ! I'm sorry it took this long of a time to understand these things, I just…! I know you won't come back, I know - ! Look!"

He took out his phone, flipping through various photos. Fearing what Luffy would show him, Sanji took the advantage to step out of sight. By the time Luffy looked up to show Sanji a picture of Brook, he was dismayed to see that Sanji was gone. He pocketed his phone and raced out onto the main aisle to look for him.

It probably didn't help that he ran like a large animal was chasing him – Sanji evaded him easily by hiding behind displays or crouching behind shoppers. Luffy was out of breath by the time workers nervously approached him to calm him down. He caught sight of Law using a self-checkout lane, so he ventured in that direction, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Law glanced at him after pausing in mid-scan. "Should I call an employee over to assist with you, lost child?"

Luffy glared at him. "I'm not a lost child."

"Here," Law said, passing him a chocolate bar.

"Oh, wow, thanks! I needed this," Luffy said, ripping the packaging open to take a bite out of half of it.

Law waited for him to start chewing before saying, "You'll have to pay for it."

"Wow, you dirty dog! Tricking me," Luffy accused, taking over on the next stand to do so. "Sanji ran away from me."

"Well…can't help you there."

After Luffy completed the purchase, he balled the wrapper up to shove it into his pocket. He stood there while Law finished scanning up his groceries. Luffy wore a glum expression.

"I want to apologize and fix the relationship that we had," he said slowly. "And I get that it'd be…hard because…neither of them are speaking to each other. Or that any can forgive each other. I get that Zoro's still mad, and I get that Sanji is…ashamed. But – "

"It's not up to you," Law said impatiently, reloading the cart with full bags. "Stop bothering me."

Luffy exhaled noisily. "Can you just give me his phone number?"

"I would if he had a phone."

"He doesn't have one? How?"

"It suffered an unfortunate ice accident."

As interested as Luffy was in that story, he pushed it aside to scowl. "Everyone has a phone!"

"All his contacts had included my prissy self and probably his boss," Law mused. "I'm sure if dogs could have a phone, Brook's, too, would be included."

Luffy looked off into the distance with a sad frown. "That's so sad…"

Law thought about being unable to communicate with Brook personally. "I know. I'm sure he would have interesting things to say."

"Who, Sanji?"

"Brook."

"I mean, he's okay with Zoro, but he obviously misses Sanji, too. Sanji was kinda like his mom and Zoro the dad," Luffy added sadly. "Sometimes he cooperates with Zoro to take his medication and eat, but other times he fights it and Zoro gets so frustrated because he's trying to take care of him. So Brook is really missing his mom."

"Not the mamma," Law commented vaguely, an image as Brook over Baby Sinclair from the show, "Dinosaurs". He could even picture Brook dressed in the yellow crop shirt and diapers. It was so amusing to him that he smiled faintly.

Luffy wasn't sure what he was speaking about, but ignored the comment. "It's sad not having friends."

Law gave him an irritated look as he pushed the cart to the exit. He was sure Sanji would catch up eventually. "Well, whose fault was that?"

Luffy gave a frustrated expression, but it was something he couldn't help. He walked alongside Law, then looked at his cart. An idea formed. "I can help you carry these home."

"No need for that. I'll help."

Both of them looked up to see Chiffon standing there, a gleaming black car awaiting at the curb. She was wearing some multi-dollar outfit that looked a little cringey with her loud makeup and curled hair. "I saw you guys shopping," she told Law. "We're going in the same direction."

"Damn," Luffy muttered, then perked once more. Law realized he intended on following the car home.

"We need to make a few detours," he told Chiffon as a man dressed in black left the front seat to help load his groceries aside the baby already strapped into his car seat, gurgling happily with some toy.

"That's fine," Chiffon assured him.

Luffy scowled at Law. Law looked at him. "Understand the message, kid. I believe it's loud and clear."

: :

Sanji was home when Law and the others had finally managed to lose the kid chasing them. He lingered in a safe hiding place until he saw that the area was secure, then helped Law gather their bags. He was sheepishly silent as they headed back to their apartment after saying "thanks" to Chiffon.

"Think you'll be running forever?" Law asked him curiously as they entered the elevator.

"I just need some time to settle some things within myself," Sanji muttered. "I mean…I don't know how to feel with that. That he wants to apologize…I mean, I guess he's allowed to. But…I don't know why he'd want to."

"Guess he wants to be friends again."

"Doesn't he realize how awkward that'd be? Before, I looked forward to explaining my part but now – after all this, I…don't think it's necessary."

They headed down the hall to their apartment once the elevator let them off.

"What good is it going to do?" Sanji asked as Law found his keys to unlock the door. "After all this time, after what happened, what's the point of being friends with them again?"

"Closure?" Law asked with a shrug as they walked in.

He stopped short once he saw that Bepo had escaped his tank, looking up at them from the floor while Sanji caught himself from bumping into the other man after turning from the door. The spotted gecko quickly crawled up one of Law's legs while Sanji watched with a shudder. With a seemingly cheery look, the lizard perched onto the man's right shoulder. Law carefully made his way to the kitchen to set his share of the bags down onto the counter, Sanji doing the same behind him, closest to the fridge.

Sanji wondered if he should share his theory with Law. But he reasoned that if Law wasn't that concerned about Rocinante's sly behavior, it probably wasn't that big of a deal. But Sanji didn't understand how a man who took care of Law as a child could just stand back and watch him starve to death. It didn't make any sense. He felt anger towards a man he didn't even know.

At the same time, he told himself not to get involved with Law's personal business. Sanji wasn't of any position to interfere with what the man was doing. They were roommates, thrown together by chance, who happened to have…rather striking similarities. He wondered what Law would say of him when Sanji finally succeeded in securing his own place. Would he be as memorable a roommate as Aokiji and Kid? And who would take his place? Would it be someone compassionate and understanding?

He just didn't understand how any of those people allowed this man to melt away to this point. At the same time, he had to consciously pull himself back, not allow his feelings to take over. After his failed marriage to Zoro and the things that came out of it, he felt if he grew too involved with Law's situation, he'd treat it the same way he had with Zoro; grow dependent on someone that didn't have the strength to be firm with him.

Sanji was afraid to love again. As a result, he was afraid of getting close to anybody else. But he kept being drawn into Law's world because of his recovery efforts. Law drew his boundaries and Sanji did his best to stay aside of them. But he was afraid of what he'd do if either of them crossed that boundary.

During dinner, Law frowning as he took a bite of his own creation, Sanji politely ate as Law made a face. Bepo was bumping against one of the glass walls of his tank, ignoring the cricket that scampered over him. The lizard was upset he was banned from their eating area.

"This is fucking gross," Law announced.

Sanji couldn't taste what was wrong with it – it felt like his tastebuds had died long ago. Making all that smoking he'd done finally killed them.

"It's edible. That's what matters," he said, lowering his spoon. He actually wasn't sure what it was supposed to be.

"I can taste the salmonella."

"The eggs are supposed to look like that."

"Why is this a food source?"

"I think you did a fine job. This is what quiche is supposed to taste like."

"Why don't you cook it?" Law asked stubbornly, looking at his bowl with distaste. "The things you make don't taste like unwashed ass."

"Are you an expert in unwashed ass?"

"I imagine it's something that you can taste by looking at it."

Sanji chuckled. "So when you look at an asshole, you think, Hmm, this tastes exactly as it looks."

"Like runny eggs. I guess if you have a taste for it, you can do it."

"Noted."

"Yeah, pretty sure that's what it would taste like," Law said vaguely.

"Or it just tastes like skin."

"Oh, you would know, right?" Law looked at him with consideration while Sanji lowered his spoon with an amused look. Intense silence hung between them.

"Are you suddenly considering being polite? Or realizing the error of your thoughts?" he ended up asking as Law then looked uncomfortable.

"Can you just please cook something else?" Law finally asked with some embarrassment.

"What goes through your mind, sometimes?" Sanji wondered aloud.

"I have already acknowledged that I have many inappropriate thoughts, there's no need to further embarrass myself."

"You never act on these things?"

"If I did," Law said slowly, "I'd be arrested."

"That is funny. Because I don't think you're a person capable of such deviant things."

"Despite it all, Sanji, I'm still a man. And we're dogs. Most of us."

"That box in your closet – it's taped up with something that doesn't match the tape we have here. So opening that is going to somehow align with this conversation, isn't it?"

Law struggled to suppress a sheepish smirk. "Don't open it," he warned Sanji. "I am very embarrassed about that period of my life."

Now Sanji was insanely interested. But he had to play this game slyly. So he shook his head. "I'm not interested in whatever 80's flavor sex toys you have in that thing."

"Why would it be 80's?"

"But you don't deny that it's a sex toy."

"It's my most precious collection, and I'd rather you not bother me about it."

Sanji pursed his lips, playing with his food while Law struggled to control his expression. He then said, "Knowing you, it's not exactly something shameful. It's something that you'll give the wrong impression of."

Law shrugged. "It does make me feel fabulous."

Sanji looked at him for a few moments, then settled against the table. "It's something like…toys. It's a toy."

Law gave a twitch, as if acknowledging this as a 'yes'.

"It's your sister's toys?"

Law ended up trying to hide a smile of mirth. Sanji wondered if he almost crossed a line bringing that up, but Law ended up saying, "She wished they were."

"So it is toys. And considering your love for that era…" Sanji gave it some thought before saying, "I'm going to need the internet to look this up. That's too far back for me."

"As a child, didn't you have toys to play with? Or were you of the tablet generation?"

"Don't make yourself out to be an old man, you're only a few years older than me. And I had toys," Sanji stressed. "All the boy things that made us masculine and tough."

Law considered this. "Well, if my parents waited a few more years being born, they would have fit right into this generation's set of free will parents."

"Don't tell me they're Barbies…"

"No."

"Law."

"No. It's not."

Sanji sighed heavily. 'And they're not your sisters?"

"Nope. Totally mine. Even has my initials on the hoof."

Law realized he'd made a mistake, causing Sanji to think hastily.

He laughed. "Don't tell me you're a fucking Brony!"

"That name is so obnoxious. And it's a small collection, I'm not exactly obsessed, I just kept the ones I had all these years."

"You have to show me! You have to!"

They ended up looking at the small collection of My Little Pony toys Law kept from his childhood. Sanji erupted into laughter and mangled smoker's coughs as Law demonstrated that they were capable of changing color under warm and cold water. He insisted that he'd wanted to be a veterinarian before his dad's influence changed his mind. Each of the toys had a structured background and story. Both of them ended up laughing about Law's memories with them.

Law hadn't spoken about personal details of his family to anyone, before. But it felt good talking about them, now, using the collection to do so. How encouraging his mother was providing him with new ponies when they came out, how proud of his father was that Law wanted to venture into the medical field, how Lamie argued and fought with him over the toys.

Sanji was in awe that a family could be so encouraging and so supportive of their son's interests, despite it not fitting into the mainline. He was happy Law shared these things with him; he had a great time being in that moment. But once he realized that this felt too intimate, when the laughter died down, he helped Law tape the box back up again. He helped him put it away then ventured into his own room without saying a thing.

Law was confused by the abrupt departure, hearing the door shut behind Sanji. He felt like they were having a good time, but Sanji suddenly just closed up and left him without saying anything.

He didn't know what he did wrong.