7
It took Law a few minutes before he could actually bring himself to enter the classroom. Hearing Mr Hansen give a lecture made nervousness weigh heavily in the center of his chest; knowing he'd have to walk in front of the full class always made him feel so tense, but lately it had become an even bigger chore than before. He absolutely dreaded the class because of the Vinsmokes. After the phone debacle, he was positive the brothers would gang up on him this time, in defense of their brother. After their car trip to visit with Doflamingo's friends from out of state, Law was exhausted, and he felt close to unraveling, again. He was pretty sure if Sanji continued attacking him over what he'd done to him, Law would end up fighting with him. He couldn't afford to let that happen at this point, but he felt weak; emotionally and mentally.
Doflamingo's warning over the possibility of it happening again after the last time made him ill – he'd punched Law in the back of the head over that incident on the porch, and while Law's head had rung, leaving him with an uncomfortable headache long after that, it wasn't the threat of more physical violence that made him wary of the man; it was being forced away from Rosinante that left him anxious. Physical violence he could handle; the separation scared him the most. Before he'd left for work, Doflamingo had reminded him that fighting at school wasn't something he'd take lightly; Law could still feel those strong fingers around his biceps, where the man had squeezed tightly enough to leave it tender, and he rubbed at that area self-consciously.
He certainly did not regret doing what he had – that kid had tormented him for no other reason than to just be a jerk, so Law felt he was in the right for a type of revenge. Spoiled brats like Sanji had no idea what it felt like walking in Law's shoes; they would not understand what it meant to be hungry, to feel unwanted, and to have the weight of an uncertain future weighing on one's already weary shoulders. So if a little inconvenience like this one hit them, so what if it caused a little discomfort?
Exhaling slowly, he clutched his notebook tight in one hand and finally pushed through the door. Mr Hansen barely glanced up as Law dropped his late slip atop of his desk and found his seat, feeling Sanji glaring at him the entire time. His neck burned where Sanji's eyes settled on him, and he felt the kick on his chair as the teen shoved his desk away from his.
"Your boyfriend's back," he heard Niji comment lightly, Yonji twisting in his chair to grin in their direction.
"Fuck off!" Sanji snarled at him.
"Hey, English! About time! Sanji was feeling extra sad with you gone!" Yonji shouted, as if his voice could be missed amidst Mr Hansen's lecture.
"Shut up, you trashy idiot! Stop talking like that!" Sanji shouted back, rattling his desk, Mr Hansen gruffly calling out warnings to the three of them.
It gave Law little satisfaction to hear their teasing – obviously, they weren't ones to let something like this slide, but he still felt tense because it was still the beginning of the day, and there was time for them to pull something over him. At least he wouldn't feel Sanji kicking his chair every so often, but he still pulled his shoulders forward, his back extra tense while expecting to be stabbed with the kid's pen. He kept an ear on the lecture, not putting effort into taking notes; but every squeak of that chair, every creak of that desk, and every rattling sound that blond brat made made Law jumpy as hell, expecting to be attacked at any moment.
When class ended, Mr Hansen wanted him to stay behind, so Law sat uncomfortably, one ear on the movement behind him, watching the green haired quadruplet grab his things and walk off, laughing and talking loudly to those that were closest to him. It wasn't a merry conversation – he was actively tearing those kids' self-esteem to shreds, mocking them for their looks, their desperation to get him to leave them alone. It sucked that the green giant was taller that most of the kids around him, so the intimidation factor worked in his favor.
Once the classroom emptied, Law approached Mr Hansen, frowning deeply as the male teacher looked over the late slip.
"Why?" Mr Hansen asked.
Law shrugged, fiddling with his notebook.
"Tardiness isn't acceptable, and it can affect your grade. Not that you seem to care about it, but if you're intending on passing this class, this is going to bring you down."
Law shrugged again. He didn't bother explaining why he was late; Doflamingo didn't want him talking about what he had to do, and Law didn't feel that Rosinante should be used as an excuse.
"Look, would you like a seat change? I can change your seat, but I'm warning you now, it probably won't matter. Those kids will still find a way to attack you, even if you're across the room. Try not to be so much of a victim; grow a backbone, stand up to them. Smartly, like the other kids, do," Mr Hansen added, waving him off. "Physical violence will only exacerbate the situation, so maybe just make yourself less of a target. Don't come in late, Monday."
Law wanted to point out that he wasn't much of a teacher if he was only acknowledging what the Vinsmokes were capable of and couldn't control them as an adult, but it wasn't his place to say. He did feel angry at being told that he was an easy 'victim', but maybe he was. Because he lacked confidence, security, and felt too self-conscious over his speech, of course he'd appear as a perfect victim to those like the Vinsmokes. So there wasn't any way he could argue against that; it just felt wrong to be told that by an adult.
Once he left the classroom, he headed to his locker to dig out his text for his next class. He meandered over to it and took his seat, the classroom silent with the teacher's absence. He ended up staring out the window, rubbing his arm, feeling Doflamingo's fingers there, still. As he removed his sweater to examine whether or not any marks had shown up, his stomach rumbled noisily; he was starving. He did see traces of a bruise showing up, but he quickly covered it at the sound of approaching footsteps. He let it go because Doflamingo needed him around, no matter how he treated Law, because he needed someone to look after his brother while he worked. Law felt that, as Doflamingo was their sole provider, Doflamingo was only angry because of their living situation, and it wasn't as if Doflamingo attacked him senselessly. Law felt that he had a good point to make it clear to Law that fights at school meant Smoker would come around, remove him from the home, and Doflamingo had to find another kid to take his place.
He refocused out the window, hoping that Rosinante was doing okay; the man refused to take his medication that morning, and had fought him the entire time, but Law was convinced it was only because Rosinante had been exhausted from the trip, himself. Doflamingo had thought that the trip would perk them both up, but it had only caused more stress; his friends had been kind and compassionate, but because of the man's pride, Doflamingo had ended up tense and angry afterward, hating that people 'felt sorry for them'.
By the time lunch came around, he sneaked back towards the gym area, and sat down against fence behind the baseball field. He lit a cigarette and smoked it while staring off into the distance, thinking about his future. He felt sure Doflamingo would keep him, but he had to convince the man into doing so. He could find a job, but he wasn't sure how well that would work out, unless he found a miracle position that didn't require a car ride, and that kept him from Rosinante for very long. Maybe a weekend position would do, or Doflamingo wouldn't him being absent in the evenings. He would have to bring it up, hoping that Doflamingo would agree to it. Because if the man didn't want him, Law wasn't sure what he was going to do.
Smoker had pressed him to stay in school; there were programs that could assist with him living on his own after his time was up, but his future was still so shaky. He just hadn't any ambitions. Nearly everything required him to speak well, everything required a degree – anxiety made him sick. He'd never imagined he'd wind up this way after Lamie's death, and it felt so unfair; he'd had childish dreams of following in his father's footsteps, but after that, he lost sight of everything.
The bell rang, so he tossed the butt and headed to the library, wanting to look through some of the newest books before he headed to his History class. He was thankful that Ms Nico was very understanding, and had let him know that she didn't mind his tardiness as long as he showed up. He wished there were more people like her; she made him think of his mother, sometimes, how her patience and gentle prodding made him feel comfortable talking whenever she approached him. But thinking of his mother always made him feel rotten; that burning feeling of frustration and hurt hit him again, and he wondered what his parents were thinking, wanting to talk to him after all this time. Did they think things would magically fall back into place now that he was grown, and they had time to live without him? Were they going to judge him for the way he lived now, for how badly his speech problem regressed, for failing classes, for being an 'easy victim'? After thinking of how perfect Lamie had been rendered after her death, he was sure that his parents would be very unhappy with how imperfect he was compared to her ghost.
Bitterness made him frown, and he wandered the shelves while the librarian ignored him; as long as he wasn't causing trouble, already in an understanding with Ms Nico, she let him do as he pleased. He found a book on artic animals, and flipped through that, feeling his mood lift as he viewed the different species located within. By the time he wandered into his History class, Ms Nico was in the midst of her lecture, and she smiled at him as he took his seat. Afterward, during break, she shared with him her Subway sandwich and gave him a can of cold Coke, saying she had 'accidentally' packed extra.
He took a different door out from the school after the last bell, knowing Sanji was probably out looking for him. All around him, kids were talking excitedly about their weekend plans, and he couldn't identify with any of them. He didn't feel like a kid; he felt too old, too weathered to identify with their petty problems and angsty relationships with their peers, so none of it was something he could feel any empathy for. Pretty much everyone ignored him as much as he ignored them; it was only a select few that bothered to give him any attention.
The route he took home was longer because he avoided the roads, wary of seeing that Vinsmoke Buick driving around. He still felt targeted, and warily looked over his shoulder as he crossed through an unfamiliar neighborhood just to come up the backside of his house. Sugar barked at him frantically as he crawled up and over his fence from their neighbor's yard, but calmed down as he called out to her. Letting himself in from the side entrance near the garage, he wandered into the living room, greeting Rosinante with relief. Rosinante greeted him, but he didn't look very well. Law could smell released bowels and vomit, and set immediately to clean him. He noticed that Rosinante felt heavier than he usually did when he hefted him into the tub, and nearly stumbled as he did so, but he thought nothing of it.
Doflamingo called the house to let him know he was coming home late; he wanted to go out drinking with his friends, first. It didn't bother Law, but it was when he started dinner and filled the sink with hot water and soap when his ears started to ring. He thought it was only because he felt so tired that his hands felt clumsy as he listened to Rosinante talk about Spongebob and Patrick.
After serving Rosinante, he sat next to him as he usually did, picking at the eggs and toast, making sure the man ate his share. It wasn't until the middle of his meal when Rosinante started choking, sending Law into a panic as he left his chair and quickly applied the Heimlich to dislodge the egg caught in his throat when that buzzing sound happened again. As Rosinante coughed and hacked, struggling to breathe, Law turned to the sink to wet some napkins, squishing them nearly dry so he could clean the man's chin.
He noticed that the sink water was coming up to him fast, and he reached out to keep it from hitting his face, but his hands only dropped, and his legs buckled when he made to step away, and all he heard was a crunching noise before the kitchen rushed up around his vision.
: :
Sanji was relieved when he pulled up to the house, not seeing the old Cadillac out front. But he was anxious for another reason as he sat in his car, mustering up strength to get out from the driver's side, messenger bag in his lap. His brow was furrowed as he stared out at the house from across the street, just off to the side, nearly hidden by the neighbor's house. He had some papers he wanted Law to look over, wanting this work performed before the weekend started so he could focus on their sporting activities. He was still angry at the other boy; but at the same time, he had a strangely morbid curiosity to do some investigating. He was still affected by the things he'd heard the other day, but he wasn't sure how to sort them out. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do if he found out answers he had yet to acknowledge for himself. Law did not seem hurt in anyway when he came into class, so Sanji wondered if what he'd heard was anything at all. Was this all concern for another human being, or was this only for his grade point average? He couldn't figure it out.
But he knew one thing was certain; coming around here with Doflamingo present wasn't something he wanted to encounter, again. That man was frightening.
Sanji swallowed tightly, looking around himself. He told himself to stop behaving like a wimp, and pushed out from the driver's seat, making his way to the house with determined steps. Sugar was barking frantically from the side of the house, and Sanji could hear shouts – but they were quiet, so he assumed it was only from someone's television set. Sugar noticed him approaching, prancing wildly before darting over to him. She licked and nipped his arm, then raced back around the house, resuming her frantic barks. Sanji made his way up to the front porch and hesitated, feeling angry at himself for being afraid.
He cleared his throat quietly, and wiped his palms on his slacks. He knocked on the door, standing as tall as he could. He waited to hear movement from inside, but Sugar's barking was nearly overpowering. He thought it was odd that she would be doing so, wondering if she only wanted to be fed. He walked to the edge of the porch and leaned over the railing to look at her, seeing that she was barking directly at an open window. She kept leaping, as if she were trying to look inside; Sanji noticed that there were shouts coming from the window, but they were faint, so he still thought it was from their tv. He wandered back to the door and knocked louder, telling himself that Law was only ignoring him. He looked at his watch, then ventured back to the railing because Sugar's barking was so frantic. He felt it was odd behavior for a dog. He jumped over the railing and walked alongside the pathway there, noticing that the screen was missing. He could hear a warbled shout, and the voices of some cartoon coming from the television set. He grew hopeful at that instant – maybe this time, he'd see Law's baby, and prove to the others that he had one. He pushed Sugar away, the dog nipping and jumping on him, and peered cautiously through the window. He saw cartoons on the tv, but there was no one in the living room. He was disappointed, looking for a baby carrier of some kind, but then as he stood there, he realized that the shouts were coming from further within the house. He was fairly certain that it was that man – the one Law was taking care of.
Alarm raced through him, because that man sounded scared, hoarse words alternating from 'help!' to 'Law!' Sanji pushed at the window, but it wouldn't budge – he thought there was a lock on it, and he banged on it, calling out, "Hello?"
That man stopped shouting, and Sanji repeated himself. He was given a relieved noise, then a frantic, "Help! Help me! Help me!"
Sanji pushed at the window again, Sugar barking and jumping high, as if trying to make her way in herself. Certain that he couldn't fit through that open space, nor budge it any further, he hurried around the house, Sugar following him for a moment before returning to the window. She raced back and forth as Sanji looked for a door, finding one near the garage that opened upon prompting. She followed him inside briefly before racing away again, still barking incessantly. Making his way towards the other door, Sanji found it locked. No matter how much he pushed at it, it wouldn't budge. He thought of how three separate locks were used on the front door, and wondered if this was done in the same manner. Scanning the garage, he saw nothing but storage boxes, junk, odds and ends placed against the walls, an old boxing bag. Bracing himself, he placed a foot just above the knob, aiming carefully before kicking. The door budged slightly, wood splintering, so he kicked again, and this time, the door swung open with a heavy creak, exposing a narrow hallway. He hurried in, wincing at the smell that hit him. He was pretty sure that it was a combination of piss and shit, with some vomit mixed in, and it was a horrendous smell that should never be mixed together. He coughed in his arm, eyes watering. He made his way to where the shouts came from, peering into the kitchen and seeing that man sitting on the floor, looking helplessly panicked. It seemed he'd left the table in a clumsy haste, spilling a plate full of food, milk, chair overturned, but in a reaching gesture. All around him was faintly steaming water, pooling in various areas.
That man was then pointing away from him, Sanji looking over to see the sink overflowing, Law laying in an uncomfortable position against the cabinets. For a moment, Sanji wondered if he were dead – but he quickly lunged forward to turn off the faucet, wincing at the steam wafting up from the full sink. He grabbed hold of Law by his sweater and yanked hard to pull him away from the pool of hot water on the floor. That man reached out and pulled on Law, too, both of them moving closer to the table to escape the worst of the water damage. Now that he was on his back, Sanji could see that Law's lower face was bloodied, his nose unusually swollen and slightly tilted upward in the center.
It was frightening to see his classmate like this; he looked dead to Sanji, and Sanji didn't know what to do. Once again thrust into a situation he had no experience with, he froze, feeling hot water creep up the hem of his pants, forcing them to cling to his legs. He then pulled his bag around to grab his phone, but Law started to come around then, uttering a long, wordless sound that ventured into incoherent noises as he tried to speak. Sanji pushed his bag away, watching the older teen's eyes flutter, and it was such a ghastly sight to see him so frail and uncoordinated, bloodied over his nose and face that he froze all over again.
Seconds passed, and that man pulled at Law, calling his name with a heavy tongue, gently patting his face. He attempted to move Law out of the water, but since the kitchen was pooled with hot water, there was no escaping it. Sanji made to call '911' again when Law recognized him, caught sight of his action, and grabbed the phone from his hand. .
"Don't!" both of them said in unison; Sanji as he watched Law place the phone in water, and Law to stop him from calling out. Sanji snatched his phone up, wiping it frantically as Law made to push himself up into a seated position, reaching up to touch his face. Once he saw Rosinante on the floor, he gave a horrified sound, moving to pick him up when he realized there was water everywhere. Rattled, he looked around himself with bewilderment, unsure of what happened. Sanji shoved his phone back into his bag, and set to pick up Rosinante, but the man shoved him away with an embarrassed noise.
"Stop! Obviously he's dying, you think he can pick you up? Just let me do it!" Sanji snapped. Rosinante looked back at Law with understanding, before allowing the teen to do so. Law made to get up, but he felt like shit, holding his nose with one hand, unsure of what happened. Sanji struggled to get the man into his chair – it was a near impossible task, considering how uncoordinated he was, how weak he felt. Once he was sure Rosinante was settled, the man worriedly calling Law's name to keep his attention, Sanji then turned and looked at Law.
"Are you dead?" he asked cautiously, Law frowning at him.
After a few moments, he demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"Don't yell at me after I saved your life!" Sanji exclaimed. "Don't you dare! I'm calling the cops - !"
"No, don't! It's fine. I must've…tripped?" Law wasn't sure what happened, unable to remember how he went from A to B. He attempted to wipe his nose, but he felt the deformation there, wincing, breathing hard as he registered the damage. He then sat there, stunned, dripping blood onto the watery floor beneath him.
Sanji stared at him, understanding that the older teen was disoriented. There was enough concussions and sports-related injury in his family, between all of them, that made him feel that Law would be okay. He'd seen enough broken bones, cartilage, sprains and tears to know what each one was, and how serious it was. This was a startling injury, but he knew it only needed adjustment.
"Here, this happens a lot," he said gruffly, crouching in front of him, fingers pressed up against his nose. Law jerked away in reaction, Sanji grabbing him by his soaked sweater to pull him back. "Knock it off! Stop being such a fucking baby! I know how to fix this. It's either this, or you can go to the hospital."
"How do I know you're not going to just - !"
"I have three stupid brothers that have broken possibly everything that is to break, and then some," Sanji muttered reluctantly. "I haven't, personally, but I know how these things work. If Yonji isn't having his nose busted in baseball, then Niji has his busted in some stupid hoverboard accident. Ichiji had his broken twice, followed by plastic surgery – but he still needs it reset from time to time. They sometimes come to me if they don't feel like going in, and they're fine."
Law still didn't trust him, but he did trust those stories. The three of them were very involved in physical activities – he knew because they were either bragging or complaining very loudly about it – and it occurred to him that Sanji never included himself in those things. He looked at Rosinante, who looked at him with a terribly upset expression, eyes watery red. Whatever happened, Law regretted that it happened in front of him. But bringing it to law enforcement's attention, to the hospital, to Smoker's notice – it threatened his position, here. It would be difficult to explain, so he had to come up with something.
He grew aware of Sugar's barking.
He looked at Sanji nervously, and Sanji read it as a confirmation. With his fingers pressed up against Law's nose, he made a face as he straightened out the cartilage, the uncomfortable crackling ringing out in the silence. Law cursed and made to jerk away as the unnatural movement caused him discomfort, but Sanji looked satisfied. He then removed his sweater, shoving it up against Law's nose as it resumed bleeding.
"Don't touch it!" he warned, going to the fridge for ice. He heard Law attempting to rise, water sloshing as he did so. He looked over his shoulder as he grabbed ice, seeing how wobbly he moved, still disoriented as he reached out for the table for support. Rosinante was very upset as he reached for him, guiding him to sit next to him, looking at Law with so much concern and worry that Sanji looked away. He packed ice into a rag he found in a drawer and brought it over to Law. Then he opened his bag, rummaging for the pill bottle he kept there, rustling up a set of four. "Here. Take two of these. It'll help with the swelling and the pain. Take the other two in the morning."
When Law removed the sweater to do so, Sanji looked over his work. His nose was swollen, but it did not look crooked or dented. The cartilage would only need time to heal. Rosinante was patting Law on the back, shoulders, murmuring soft words while crying silently.
"Why can't I call for an ambulance?" Sanji then asked impatiently.
"They charge thousands just to drop me off, and there's another thousand in it to be seen," Law muttered bitterly. "Besides, nothing happened."
"Then what happened?"
Law shrugged, because he really didn't know.
"He's tired," Rosinante explained patiently, sniffling noisily. "He's just tired, and run down, and I take up all the food, and he gets none - !"
"That's not true," Law interrupted. "That's not true at all. Don't say that. I might've just had low blood sugar. I didn't have any candy, today."
"Your friends didn't have any candy?" Rosinante asked with concern.
"What 'friends' - ?" Sanji made to ask before Law shot him a furious look. Because he knew that signal very well, Sanji found himself automatically obeying it, then looking pissed because he did so. He stated gruffly, "So you fainted?"
"I…I guess so," Law answered reluctantly. "I don't remember…"
"What if you're diabetic? What if you're in some sort of shock? What if you die later on because you didn't get treated?"
"Why are you so dramatic? I don't need a hospital if you'd just fixed my nose."
Sanji wondered if that were true; then remembered that his real father worked in one. He had the thought that Law refused to go because he'd run into his father, which only raised more questions within him as to why Law wasn't with his parents. But there was one thing he understood; he knew what it was like to want to hide something from a parent. This entire situation didn't make sense to him, but he felt he could identify with that. If Law were removed because of violent circumstances, then what if his father was something worse than Doflamingo? Suddenly, he realized why Law was so reluctant to go, but it didn't make Sanji feel any better.
Looking around himself, Sanji went looking for a mop, then proceeded to clean up the floor. After that was done, he began cleaning the rest of the dishes. He noticed that there weren't very many, which made him look over to the stove with curiosity. There was only a small carton of eggs sitting nearby, and cheap wheat toast. Which made him look at the contents of the counter. He abandoned the sink and investigated the fridge, and was shocked to see only a carton of milk sitting there, along with a few slices of processed cheese, and what looked to be leftovers from the mini-mart. It was shocking to see an actual fridge with nothing in it, compared to his own. He shut it and returned to the sink, feeling dazed.
Quite frankly, he wasn't sure what he was doing; it was only natural action to jump in and start cleaning. Plus, he was shaken up, inside. He was a little scared because what if he'd arrived after Doflamingo left? What if that man had done something to Law before leaving? What if he were coming back?
At that, Sanji froze in mid-swipe, heart starting to race. He looked over at the pair, Rosinante still crying silently, but his arm was slung around Law's shoulders, and Law was leaning against him, still looking rattled. Sanji felt an unexpected sensation in him upon seeing that. Clearly, that man cared immensely for his teenage caretaker; it roused strange feelings in Sanji, because that type of affection was something he'd only seen in his mother, and he suddenly missed her terribly.
He finished cleaning, unsure of why he was even doing it at all. This wasn't his house. This wasn't his problem. He had things he needed to do, and - ! He gasped, looking at his watch, realizing he had missed messages from his brothers. He set aside the mop, flung the rag back into the sink and raced out from the front door without saying anything, digging the car keys from his pocket. Aware that his slacks were still wet, he had blood on his shirt, he remembered belatedly that he'd forgotten his sweater, but he had no time to go back and get it. He just jumped into the car and took off – moving safely, considering he only had a permit, and he couldn't risk being stopped for his poor timing. His hands were shaking as they clutched the steering wheel – once again, he was leaving that place feeling scared and helpless, and it was all that guy's fault.
Guest: That's awesome! What a comparison, you've flattered me terribly with that reference! It is a little like that, here, and I'm just – blushing with pleasure. :D Thank you for that! What a joy!Thank you for the catch - you're right, Doffy should've been answering the 'door', not the phone DX I fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out! I miss these things, and catch them only sometime later, so it's really helpful if peeps can bring it immediately to my attention. Thanks again! Both of these guys have very real similarities, but they are too much into their roles to even know it – little do they know how much in common they have if they'd just venture out from their boundaries. Hopefully this chapter – written in an emo-tastic moment of my own – brings this out. Here's where it gets a little more intense for both of them, and opens their eyes a little. The characters in the background are there for a reason – it's just Law's and Sanji's story, right now. The others will come into place a little later. Luffy is in the background, and Sanji will rub him wrong one day if he keeps it up. As for A03, I did try it out for a bit; but it seemed like I had more of an audience here. All I heard were crickets from that side of the fanfic world.
