A/N: See below.
3
After school, Law walked straight home. Located just a few blocks from Grandline, it was a lovely two story house with a neatly maintained garden, a porch swing and a fluffy Akita named Sugar. He reached out and patted the barking dog atop of the head before digging a key from his pocket and unlocking the three locks set a foot apart above and below the knob, then pushed himself through the thin opening available so Sugar wouldn't follow him. It was a short battle as Sugar pushed and lurched against him to try and get through, but he managed to shut and lock all three once more before looking around himself.
Rosinante was seated in the old rocking chair in front of the television, Law wincing slightly as he saw that Doflamingo had left him with the Nickelodeon channel on for the entire day. While the house was beautiful on the outside, the furniture inside consisted of lawn furniture, milk crates, friends' recycled junk. Because neither male could be home during the day, the rocking chair was a 'jail' for Rosinante. It moved too much for him to get up safely from, so he ended up in it for most of the day; as a result, Law had to hurry home right after school to clean up any bathroom accidents he'd had, change him into fresh clothes, and argue with him over wearing the adult diapers Doflamingo insisted on. But even if his mind was deteriorating, Rosinante still had some pride and stubbornness in him; he would remove the diaper himself, throwing it somewhere nearby, dirty or clean.
Law set his notebook aside on a rickety side table, then reached to pull the man to his feet. Rosinante had been diagnosed with a form of dementia very rare for his age, and it was up to Law to take care of him. As long as he was living in Doflamingo's house, he had to be responsible for these things; payment for living with the man's generosity for taking him in.
The man had taken in foster children before Law came around, but once his younger brother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, he hadn't since then. Because Law was nearing legal age, making him a difficult candidate for others to take in, he was grateful that Doflamingo had given him a chance. Working as a corrections officer for a nearby high security prison, Doflamingo was a twisted sort of man that Law both feared and respected. Doflamingo took care of his brother with as much care and consideration as possible; but with limited funds and burning anger for their living situation, Doflamingo tended to be unapologetic and impulsive towards Law; Law only responded in defense, used to aggression from other males that either thought of him as easy prey or a threat. But both of them cooperated easily when it came to Rosinante, their only bond forged through him.
The brothers had come from a rich family, but something had happened in their lives where Doflamingo ended up taking care of his brother from a young age, and took advantage of the foster care system to use kids to take care of his brother. It had been easier to do when Rosinante had been in his early stages of mind decomposition, but it had grown difficult to keep teenage children after that. Law had been the only one to stay.
Taking care of the man was an extremely difficult duty, but now Law couldn't imagine leaving him when he required so much attention. While Rosinante's moods and behavior shifted at a flutter of a heartbeat, there were times where he was caring and gentle, and gave Law what he'd been searching for.
Years ago, Law had lost his little sister to a brain tumor, and in the breakdown, his parents had crumbled under the difficulty of that loss. Their grief had turned unbearable after watching their little girl die after prolonged treatment, and their father had turned angry, and their mother became absent. They grew more involved in their work and came home less, so when Law started failing his classes, acting out as a result of grief and puberty, the household had become a constant war zone. He started running away just to find some peace. He was removed from their home when his father grew violent, and the resulting move from foster home to foster home turned Law to the streets to escape. A year and a half spent in juvie after helping a group of teens stage a home invasion on an elderly couple that resulted in a death convinced him he wasn't worth saving. His relationships with those friends crumbled under the system, and it became difficult getting close to anyone because of the mockery that occurred whenever he spoke. When Doflamingo took him in, Rosinante was confused with who he was, and acted out aggressively. Law ran away the first week, but Doflamingo's friend, Vergo, found him and returned him. Because Doflamingo needed a check from the state, he 'convinced' Law to stay, and in that time, Rosinante grew on him. He felt that being around the man, who needed care at all times, made him feel wanted.
He couldn't imagine a future for himself after being held back a year as a freshman; he'd skipped a grade in middle school before Lamie passed away, but now he stopped trying at school. He just didn't care; he had considered the possibility that he'd be Rosinante's caretaker for the rest of his life, with Doflamingo supplying him with a roof over his head and some food to eat. But the man himself was having a difficult time with money, and it was only a matter of time when Law would have to drop out of school altogether to find a job that could help them out.
If Doflamingo did decide to kick him out, then Law wasn't sure how he was going to handle that. He could survive on the streets, but leaving Rosinante was going to be difficult. Another pressing matter on his plate was that his parents had begun trying to reach out to reconnect with him. But after living through so much within the span of these past few years, Law didn't feel he could go back to them. He was too damaged and too broken, not the boy they'd known when he was removed. He still carried anger from his sister's passing and the unfair aftermath, and while the home invasion hadn't been his plan to begin with, only driving the getaway car, knowing someone had died because of it was enough to convince him that his parents wouldn't want him back after that. Doflamingo didn't like it either, and fought the social worker tooth and nail to keep those people away from Law, and Law let him.
These were all the things that rich, spoiled kids like the Vinsmoke siblings would never understand.
After a brief argument about using the wheelchair, Law helped Rosinante to the bathroom down the hall, cleaned him up, and dressed him in fresh, clean clothing. He started his laundry and threw in some of his own clothes; since Rosinante demanded so much care, he shared a room with him, using a sleeping bag to sleep near Rosinante's bed. Doflamingo had given him his own room with a twin bed, but Law just felt better sleeping closer to Rosinante, able to tend to him better when he needed it.
After he had Rosinante seated in the kitchen, Law pulled the wheelchair close in case they needed it – Rosinante's response was to get up and kick it, but he ended up falling against the table, causing another exasperated response from Law as he helped him up, shoving the wheel chair back into the living room as Rosinante continued to throw a fit.
Rosinante then talked lightly about what activities Sugar had been up to in the yard, then talked about the Bubble Guppies and how Spongebob continued to remain optimistic despite being a sponge. Law listened and replied to his questions as he cautiously lit a cigarette for Rosinante, and made the man a late lunch. While Rosinante couldn't complete the motions of smoking a cigarette, he just wanted the taste and feel of having one. Anytime he breathed in the smoke, he fell into intense coughing fits. When the cigarette was finished, Law removed the butt from his mouth, poured him some juice and placed the plate in front of him. Then he sat next to the man while he ate, to make sure he didn't choke; Rosinante's mobility was very limited, and he had a hard time with basic actions; that was his disease's condition.
He told Rosinante about what the kids were up to at school, about his homework, about what he ate for lunch; it was easy to convince the man that he was a likeable person when he only talked of the others as if they were friends. Seeing Rosinante's delighted expression upon Law repeating a funny story he'd overheard, hearing his praises for finding good friends and being a good person made him feel as if he had a normal life.
He did not talk about how difficult it was sitting in a classroom full of kids he was certain he'd never see again, how he was mocked for screwing up his own name, that he ate food he found in a trash can; how he went through unlocked lockers in the gym to steal money from wallets left in there. That cash he kept hidden from Doflamingo, used for the things that he absolutely needed, and for Rosinante's needs. While Doflamingo paid for their bills and Rosinante's medication and doctor visits, using every resource he had, the end result was that they were barely making it; and if Law was going to be kicked out, at least he'd have some cash to make it.
After Rosinante was finished eating, Law wiped his nose, then cleaned his face, and put the plate away. They went out to the backyard so they could watch Sugar chase birds and come to them for affection. They walked about, talking and enjoying each other's company, but when Rosinante slipped into one of his spacey moods to stare at the porch from the swing, Law used that to take a nap, rigidly sitting upright with his head down, leg touching the man's, so he could wake up if he felt him move.
When Doflamingo came home, there wasn't anything left to eat. He mocked Law loudly as Law explained what he used to make for Rosinante's lunch. Both of them snapped at each other until Doffy found the dirty diaper Rosinante had ripped off himself earlier that day, something Law had yet to clean up after being at Rosinante's side since he'd come home. After a shouting match that had Doffy shoving Law into the fridge out of frustration, he took a shower and came back to visit with his brother over their favorite shows. Law used that time to complete a couple of papers due for class. Doflamingo then left the house to go eat out with friends.
When it came close to bedtime, Law followed the routine necessary to get Rosinante ready for bed. Night time was difficult for them both, as Rosinante had a hard time sleeping; he often woke up multiple times, either screaming out of rage or just to hear the noise; trying to wake up at one in the morning to go cook them breakfast, or hallucinating that there were other people in the house. Sometimes, Law woke himself up to make sure the man hadn't choked on his own tongue, or was still breathing; Rosinante's motor functions were slowly shutting down, and the possibility that he'd leave them in his sleep was a high one.
The weekend passed in normal fashion; he continued to care for Rosinante while Doflamingo managed to come home with a couple of bags given to him by friends and the food bank. It was insulting for him; they'd lived in a mansion, had millions, he often ranted; they never had anything to want, and now they were barely scraping by with donations from friends and state provided checks. Doflamingo was angry, but it was an understandable anger; Law could deal with it.
By the time six a.m. Monday morning came around, Law pulled Rosinante out of bed. But this was one of Rosinante's bad days, because he fought Law during his bath, slapping and snapping at him while he resisted every action, Law calmly responding in his usual spiel in that he was only there to help him. During breakfast, Rosinante complained about his food and his physical discomforts, refusing medication, stabbing cigarettes out on the table with frustration. By the time Law was able to give himself any attention, it was already twenty minutes after the first bell had rung. Seeing that Doflamingo had already left for work, Law could only make sure that Rosinante's favorite channel was on, fed Sugar, then hurried off to school.
His cheek felt hot and swollen from where one of Rosinante's hits had landed, and he rubbed at it self-consciously as he hurried to his first period class. When he got there, he ignored the looks of his classmates and the teacher's demand for him to return to the front office for a late slip, so he took advantage of that walk to skim over the trash cans, looking for something edible. By the time he returned to the class, it was halfway over, and he felt exhausted. He sat down and stared at his notebook, listening to the lecture. Their debate presentation would happen Wednesday, and he felt apprehensive with that. It meant he had to speak up in front of everyone, and he dreaded doing it. He had left all his schoolbooks in his locker in his haste to make it to class, so when it came time to open one up, he didn't bother pairing with another person. He felt self-conscious over his unbrushed teeth and lack of a shower, so getting close to anyone wasn't comfortable for him.
Sanji jabbed at him with his pen and made demands that sounded utterly unreasonable. Law ignored him, because he at least did his side of the debate and gave that paper to him, so he refused to give him any more attention.
They ended up taking a test, and he realized that he must've lost his pen from the spiral binding of his notebook; he didn't bother asking to borrow anyone's. Exasperated with him, the teacher held him back during break, and Law was able to complete his test with the pen the man gave him. Grading the paper while lecturing him on punctuality, the man was surprised that all his answers were correct. Law left the classroom more tired than before, but at least he had a pen. He walked to his next class as the bell signaling break ended, and was in his seat as the others filtered in. He thought about how Rosinante spoke of their family before Doflamingo killed their father – Law wasn't sure if this was a true fact, considering that Rosinante was often confused – and ended up thinking about his own family.
It felt if his parents had blamed him for Lamie's death; they latched on him after the funeral, then grew frustrated when he wasn't to their standards. After Lamie had died, she had been rendered perfect; she was the happiest kid, the smartest, so full of potential. She was given a godly status, he felt, a status that he felt he couldn't measure up, to. He didn't understand why; he had been a very studious boy, focused on his goals, skipping a grade, always with his chores done before they were asked of him. But his parents started nitpicking at him, and his speech grew worse as his own grief and stress rendered him tongue tied. He reminded them plenty of times that he was grieving, too, but then those shouts turned into frustration because he couldn't get the words out, properly.
It felt that, after all the hard parts were over, they were inviting themselves back in, and it didn't seem fair. Despite knowing Doflamingo's true intentions for the constant pressure against the pair, Law was grateful for the man for being a wall between his parents and him.
By the time that class ended, he was starving, but the cafeteria scene was too much for him, so he wandered out to the parking lot, digging out Rosinante's cigarettes from his pocket and settling on a comfortable spot underneath a tree. He stared off into space and thought about nothing. The rest of the day continued on in this fashion, but he was at least fifteen dollars richer after rifling through the gym lockers during last period. He used that money to buy more cigarettes and some milk, then returned home. The rest of the evening was spent wrestling with Rosinante to eat, to stop stabbing the table with his fork, and he wound up with a fresh injury to his forearm. When he finally ended the day with Rosinante tucked in bed, he cleaned the wound and applied a fresh bandage, and fell asleep on his sleeping bag without changing out of his clothes. The next day was a little easier, but he could feel himself coming unraveled.
When Wednesday morning came, he gave Rosinante a few minutes to sleep – he took a shower and changed into fresh clothes, then started laundry.
Doflamingo complained about the noise as he woke up ahead of his alarm, and the pair of them snapped at each other as Law roused Rosinante from sleep. Doflamingo decided that Law wasn't doing it right, and took over, showing Law how Rosinante should be cared for, and they argued with each other while Rosinante looked puzzled. When Doflamingo made it to the kitchen to cook his brother breakfast, he was angry that there wasn't much left, and snapped at Law for eating it all. Law snapped back in defense, fed the dog, and went to school with Doflamingo yelling after him. By the time he made it to school, it was five minutes after the bell, and he was still touchy.
So when Sanji started jabbing at him with his pen and demanding an unreasonable rewrite of his topic before they could present to the class their project, Law snapped. He stood up from his desk as the blond sneered at him, and he lunged across their desks to punch the smirking boy across the face, causing their classmates to react with startled shouts. Sanji pushed at him to get out from the desk to fight back, but because Law was taller, he simply pinned him to his desk and kept punching until one of Sanji's brothers yanked him back. In the midst of this noise, the teacher shouted for security, hurrying in to yank the sibling away from Law while the other one laughed at all three of them for fighting like girls.
An hour later, Law was sitting in the counselor's office in stubborn silence as she pressed for an explanation for the act. Outside the door, he could hear the office workers shuffling about, and occasionally Sanji's voice would catch as he complained to his other brother over what had happened. Law knew he was the aggressor in this act, and Sanji's family had influence, so he didn't see the point in explaining himself. The principal lectured him on fighting at school, for his bad punctuality, at the fact that he had just started the school year, and was already having problems. Because Doflamingo did not talk about their living situation, none of them were aware of the pressures he had there. All Law was worried about was being taken away from Doflamingo and Rosinante for another stint in juvie until he was of age.
The counselor then tried to reach Doflamingo, but being that he was at work, the operator promised to relay the message to him, seeing that it wasn't a pressing emergency. Frustrated, the woman made a call to Law's social worker.
They wouldn't release him until they were able to reach Doflamingo, so he was directed to sit outside, exchanging seats with Sanji. Sanji glared murderously at him while holding an ice pack to his cheek, something he threw away before entering the counseling office. His brother – Law wasn't sure which one, they all looked the same to him – was frowning at Law, but it wasn't a confrontational stance he was using. While Sanji griped and complained over what had happened with that loud voice of his, Law's social worker dropped by, and Law felt himself gripped with anxiety over what he would say.
"Let's go for a walk," Smoker said, frowning at him. Once outside, Smoker sat down on a bench seat, and Law remained standing, too wound up to sit. "You're not looking good, kid. What the hell is going on with you?"
Because Smoker had worked with him for years, Law could talk some things with him. So he said, "Been busy."
"You look like shit. Are you shooting up? Running that miracle diet?"
"No."
"You're not hooking it up to these perverts around here, are you?"
"Jesus, no!"
"Why are you causing so much trouble?" Smoker then asked, lighting up despite the No Smoking sign nearby. "You just started here."
Law shrugged. He then took the cigarette that Smoker offered him, lit it, and took a needed inhale of expensive tobacco. "Kids are stupid," he said, exhaling fragrant smoke.
"Why didn't Doflamingo enroll you into a speech therapy class?"
"Because they're full, and if I needed it, then I couldn't go here. I would have to attend another school outside the variance zone. I don't want to be that far away from Rosinante."
Smoker scowled. "He's not your fucking responsibility."
"He needs me."
"Goddamn it," Smoker muttered bitterly, casting ashes aside. "You're a fuckin' kid that needs an adult, it's not the other way around! Don't give me that shit – "
"He's doing worse!"
"I understand that you care for that man, but that doesn't make this shit any better! Especially if you're failing your fucking classes – I get what you're doing, you're only doing this because your birthday's comin' up," Smoker said. His frustration was evident as he looked away, shaking his head. "By the time the paperwork I need comes back to me, you'd take off."
"That's right. So it's pointless trying to take me away, right now. This place doesn't matter – "
"You don't think that, in his right mind, Rosinante would want this sort of life for you? Don't you think he'd want you to succeed? He'd want you to go places, kid, not get yourself stuck in one. That's what he'd want for you."
Stubbornly, Law crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at his shoes as he clenched that cigarette between his teeth. Smoker looked him over once again.
"You fightin' the world, again?" he asked, indicating his ear. "What's this?"
"Rosinante's fingers caught in my earrings when I was helping him out of the tub."
"And that?"
"I fell on a fork."
"Bullshit."
"That's my story."
"And this one? What's going on with this one?" Smoker asked, indicating the school.
"Unreasonable demands. He's a rich fuck that gets away with everything."
"I'm aware of it. I know who their father is. I'd be careful when it comes to him, they're rotten," Smoker continued, dashing ashes to the side. "Just like their father. What you want to do, kid? You want to spend these next two months with Rosinante, or juvie, where your sentence could be extended for the hell of it because of that guy?"
"Rosinante."
"Oh, so he's worth not sleeping, eating?"
"He needs a lot of care…"
"Then get back into that school and fuckin' try!" Smoker bellowed at him, Law jerking back with a start. "You pick up a fucking pencil and get that shit done, stop acting like it doesn't matter, because it does! You think you can get a job without a high school degree? You're fucking wrong! There aren't any jobs for kids like you that think you don't need one – there's only a few places that'll allow you to make enough money to support that man, and it ain't nothing pleasant! You want to be involved in that man's life, you convince Doflamingo that you're useful! Get that fucking degree, get a job! He'll agree to that, that fucking bastard. This shit you're doing right here isn't doing anything for you."
Chastised, Law stared down at the sidewalk, cigarette nearly gone. Smoker did make sense, and he felt physically ill at realizing his position.
"You're a smart fucking kid, don't let it go to waste. And I'll talk to that guy about taking over more of these duties, because you need time to focus on yourself, too," Smoke decided, cigarette clenched between his teeth. "All these F's you have need to go somewhere, being that it's still the beginning of the school year. Just make them passable, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. Get that degree so you can get that job. Then we talk about college – "
Law snorted, finishing the cigarette. "Like that's possible."
"Shut up, anything's possible! Throw that away, let's go back inside. I'm sure I can talk to these guys since Doflamingo seems to be MIA," Smoker said, tossing his cigarette butt onto the lawn. Law followed him inside, where the counselor had been intending on looking for them, motioning them to follow her into her office.
When they crowded inside, Sanji was sitting there with a purplish-red face, fists tight at his thighs. He stood from the chair, glaring with so much venom that it didn't make sense when he struggled to say to Law, "I apologize. This was all my fault. It was only self-defense from you, I started it in the first place."
Surprised at the turn around, Law just stared at him. Smoker crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the flustered counselor and the principal that wore an awkward expression, truly surprised.
"Then he won't be in trouble?" Smoker asked as he indicated Law, wanting to make sure things were all right before he left.
"Uh," the principal stammered, looking suddenly uncomfortable when Sanji pinned him with a glower, "no. No, uh…I guess if you two can apologize to each other, work it out, we'll let it go."
Smoker knew how the process went; he looked at Sanji with a considering expression. Fights nowadays required suspensions, and he knew they were going to lay one on Law, the counselor explaining over the phone that they needed to go over this with Doflamingo in order to have it in effect. For the Vinsmoke to get away with it, with just an apology from the kid, didn't seem fair. But it worked for Law.
He used an elbow to prod Law to speak. With a glower of his own, Law muttered, "I apologize, as well."
"Then you'll talk to Mr Hansen about letting us complete the debate on Friday?" Sanji demanded of the principal. "Because that grade is forty-five percent of our average. It's complete, we only have to present it."
"I'll talk to him," the principal said with a suffering expression.
"If we're done here, I need to go."
At the dismissal, Smoker frowned. He supposed it was to the Vinsmoke's own gain to have this turned in his favor, but he still had to consider that it benefitted Law as well. "You'll call Mr Donquixote and clear up the misunderstanding?" he asked of the counselor, who nodded. "Well, it appears things worked out, then. Excuse us."
"Don't let your guard down," Smoker then told Law, seeing that the eldest Vinsmoke was gone from the front office. It was lunch time, so he supposed they'd all gone out to eat. "But use this for your advantage. You have a second chance, use it."
Law nodded, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He looked pretty baffled at the turn of events, unsure of how to accept that it had happened. Smoker patted his shoulder. "Come out to the car, I got lunch."
Dedicated Fan: it is quite a change, eh? I just…really wanted to see him on the other side of things, for once. It was a dream – literally, actually – and it's working out nicely. These two can teach each other a few things!
Ommm: Yes, this will be a chapter by chapter thing, and since each chapter is pretty short, it works for me :D Sanji won't change magically overnight, but he'll definitely do some growing up!
Janshal: :D I do too!
Minnyfox: Yes, his life is pretty tough, as detailed in this chapter. And it's difficult writing such a change in personalities, but as long as they redeem some of their canon qualities (LOL WHERE?), then I'm sure it's okay! Snag's reasoning for the sandwich was to humiliate Law in front of everyone; but insult happened because Law rejected his food, a very personal offense for him! I had a bad day at work so writing this helped me get over the drama haha
