28


Exhaling heavily, Lainy looked over her food. She felt an overwhelming sensation of helplessness in her, something that welled and spilt over, desperation changing the taste of her dinner. She was aware that they had failed, but because of everything that had happened after that horrible night, she now felt tremendous pressure to make up for it. After hearing the horror that her son had endured since then, she only felt that this 'relationship' of theirs was just another obstacle to stumble over.

With how vulnerable she felt her son was, and after hearing the horror stories of those Vinsmoke family, she could not help but think that Law was in the wrong place, with the wrong person. Lorenzo studied her for a few moments, then looked back at his son. He set his fork down aside his plate as Law cleared his, the sounds of the busy restaurant taking up space between them as the D boys decimated their dinners with enthusiastic gusto.

"What matters most is that…you are happy," Lorenzo said quietly, wiping at his mouth. "That you aren't in a position where you can't say…where you can't say 'no', or don't feel as if – "

"Like anything you say regarding it has any weight or value to me," Law told him, his mouth full.

"Even if you can't take our words in the way we're trying to express…can't help but express," Lorenzo added fitfully, "take them with an open mind. They're infamous for a reason, and…Lainy and I…are very concerned that, perhaps what you don't know as a healthy relationship - "

Law put down his fork with a loud clatter, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and finished chewing. He looked away at the sound of Ace and Luffy battling each other over Ace's Philly Cheesesteak and Luffy's spaghetti and meatballs, their voices reaching top volume while Sabo ate his food hastily to prevent any robberies. Garp was criticizing Zeff's chefs while he cleaned his plates, Zeff moments from physically attacking him for the obvious lie.

He wanted to tell Lorenzo that their opinions had no meaning to him. He wanted to say that this relationship had given him the most positive feelings he'd had in years. He wanted to remind them it was their fault in the first place for his lack of knowledge in having a 'healthy relationship'. But all these things built and weighed down onto his tongue, which was pressed firmly against the back of his teeth. And sorting them out to express clearly was causing him frustration.

He fitted them both with a glare, crossing his arms over his chest. "Nothing you say will stop me from holding onto the only thing that makes me feel like a normal person."

"Considering the rumors about this particular family – "

"Considering that you only know of four of them, and not all of them suggests a lot."

Lainy sucked her lips between her teeth, finding Law's confrontational position troubling. But her eyes found the person they were discussing wading through the D brothers' mess, holding a tray full of food over his head while Luffy reached for it, exclaiming with joy as a server hastily removed their emptied plates to make room for more. While she couldn't deny the difference in appearance and position whenever Sanji was around Law, she still felt she had to do something in regards to protecting her vulnerable son's well-being.

There was nothing nice said about any Vinsmoke; their patriarch was controlling, abusive and powerful, and it showed in his work, in the rumors surrounding him when it came to his cases, to his ex-wife. The sons were regarded similarly, and when Lainy had learned more about them, she was astounded at the way the boys presented themselves when it came to the public. All of them were following in their father's footsteps, and that worried her, because what would happen when Sanji grew tired of Law?

"You were fine with him being a friend," Law stated. "Now you have an opinion?"

"We just are not comfortable with the thought of you being…used…"

"Like I said earlier - !"

"I understand that, but – "

"Your opinion essentially means nothing to me."

Lainy inhaled slowly while Lorenzo frowned, clutching his napkin tightly. The pair of them stiffened as Sanji hurried over, looking troubled by his earlier battle with the D boys.

"Did you like it?" Sanji asked Law, seeing that his plate was clean, save for the bones.

Law nodded rigidly, unsure of what to say with the tension racketing at this moment. Because he was aware of it, Sanji gathered what he could, looking over the Trafalgar's plates and cups. Then he hurried off, holding the plates to his chest as he ventured towards the kitchen, seeing a couple of chefs pulling on Zeff, trying desperately to calm his temper as Garp snoozed over his empty plate.

Lainy took a deep breath. "We would still welcome you to our home, Law. No matter what…we could…work on these things – "

"Even if I agreed to it, I would not follow your rules," Law said firmly, feeling hot anxiety build up in his chest. Because this was happening, because they were still offering, and because the entire conversation was so damn stressful – because this was his chance to take it, to use it, and he still didn't know if he could. After all that he'd revealed, they still wanted him? He looked for Sanji, to remember what it was they'd planned, together. To look within himself to see if he still wanted to do this. But he didn't like how judgmental they seemed to be when it came to Sanji – he automatically pulled up his defenses.

Lainy examined him for a few moments, looking for cracks. "Of course not," she said quietly.

"Because you're not a child, anymore," Lorenzo added, clearing his throat to do so. "But there would be rules – general rules."

Because he was curious, Law asked, "What sort?"

Despite herself, Lainy brightened at the possibility that he'd agreed to them. Lorenzo kept speaking, making it clear to Law that they'd planned for this.

"Being that you're still attending high school, it's important that your education comes first. That you're home in time for dinner, curfew at twelve – only being that you're still attending school, and this is a fair request. If you have friends over, they must respect our household and ourselves, and you, as well. We are not tolerant of rude and disrespectful individuals – "

"You'll make an exception of Sanji."

Both Lorenzo and Lainy looked troubled, each of them glancing at the teen as he cursed and kicked Luffy to keep him from attacking him, holding a steaming plate of ribs high above his head so that he could place it down onto the table. The words that left him caused a couple of elderly diners to blanch, Garp to awaken with a startled snort, and Zeff guffawing, looking rather proud of the combination of words strung together.

"Otherwise, I have no one else," Law said, watching as Luffy hugged Sanji tightly, the flat of his sandal against Ace's face as Ace looked over the platter of meat with appreciation.

"A-as long as he isn't…disrespectful towards, or of you," Lorenzo said slowly, Lainy frowning. "And that includes name calling, physical or mental abuse, stress – "

"If anyone is abusive here, it's me," Law interrupted, watching them look at him with startled looks. "The last time I hit him, I was pissed at him for thinking he could leave me for someone else."

Lainy put her fingers against her lips, to cry out with denial. Lorenzo looked as if he wasn't sure what to say, fumbling with his napkin as he stretched out the material, crushed it within one hand.

"Stop thinking he's the bad guy," Law told them firmly.

"That sort of behavior is unacceptable. We don't talk with our fists," Lorenzo muttered, quite aware of the accusation in Law's face as the teen looked at him. He cleared his throat noisily. "I've had to learn the hard way, of this…physical violence is not acceptable as…as a result. It will not be tolerated – "

"No one has the patience to hear me speak. I've learned this is an easier method. Thanks to you," Law added, staring at Lorenzo.

Taking a deep breath, Lorenzo then said, "We are willing to help find better ways to express yourself without using your fists – "

"If you think to hit me now, you will be hit right back."

"No one's threatening you with violence, Law," Lainy interrupted, almost tearfully.

"Just in case," Law said.

"We will all continue attending therapy," Lorenzo interrupted firmly. "All of us. For our impulses, for our mistakes, to fix what's left of us – it's helped your mother and I significantly, and I feel that with time, you'll find it useful, too."

"Therapists like to spend more time on what makes me tick than what can be fixed," Law said. "They want to know if I'll be a problem to society later. I'm too old to be 'fixed'."

"You're not too old," Lainy interjected quickly. "You are never too old! You can be helped, you just have to put effort into it, just as much effort as others are putting into you!"

"Just so you can give up on me again? No," Law added, slouching in his chair. "Setting myself up for failure isn't on my list of things to do."

"Then what is on that list?" Lorenzo asked. "Don't you want to get out of there? Don't you want a permanent house with access to all these material things, all these important possessions that those your age want? Food? Clothes, a bed? Where you don't have to…to worry about predators, or if you'll be wanted, or - !"

"The place I'm staying gives me all that – "

"It doesn't show," Lorenzo pointed out, gesturing at his overall appearance.

"I don't need many things – "

"You require the very basic of things, and that's obvious those things aren't being met! You're starving every time you see us! You are not putting any care into your appearance, your clothes are …! You need to be out of that house, away from those selfish pricks that are clearly just using you - !"

"I don't want to because I'm nothing without - !"

"You are somebody!" Lorenzo shouted over him. "You're just a kid that should not be spending what's left of their childhood taking care of an adult - !"

"Don't talk about him that way!"

"How selfish is this stranger, anyway? To be relying on you when there should be someone more available to do so!" Lorenzo exclaimed, growing angry at the thought of it all over again, unable to picture who the person was that would force his son into the caring of another human being without care to himself. Every time he looked at Law, something inside of him crumbled from his own mixed feelings.

"He was there far more than you two ever were," Law muttered, stiffening up as the sound of his father's raised voice brought back unpleasant memories. But somewhere in the din, he heard the faint crackle of the note Sanji had written him in his pocket. He forced himself to breathe slowly, pinning Lorenzo with a cautious stare, and Lainy watched him. Despite the threats he'd given earlier, it hurt her how vulnerable and fragile her son still was; it showed in his body language, in the way he watched Lorenzo with caution, and she clenched her fists atop of her lap, feeling frantic that things weren't working out the way she wanted them to.

"Stop it!" she hissed, repeating herself when Lorenzo started to yell again, growing furious as his emotions took control over the way he expressed himself. "Both of you! Prodding each other like this isn't helping! Lorenzo, we were prepared for this, and you're not conducting yourself appropriately, like we practiced! Law, we know what you're doing. Pushing at us, challenging us, isn't going to discourage us away from you. We're aware of all those horrible things, and we're sorry that it happened! But you're not giving us a chance to right it; you're not giving us a chance to even start."

"There's nnnno reason why I should!"

Lainy reached out and pulled on Lorenzo's arm as he made to speak, hearing him exhale with frustration. Both of them took a few moments to think, to put themselves back into order, while Law pushed his chair back and considered the Exit door.

"No," Lorenzo said hastily, rising to stand, as if he intended on stopping him. "Don't go. Just…let that be the end of it, for now. Don't run. At least we've given each other a place to start. We know what's happening in your head, you know what's in ours. But running from it now, it isn't useful to either of us – "

"It sounds like you're angry at me!" Law pointed out when Lainy interrupted with, "We are, Law. We're very angry at you."

Absolutely floored by this, Law just looked at her, all his bewildered replies on his tongue, trapping themselves against his teeth.

Lainy took a few moments to compose herself, Lorenzo looking at her with a similar expression.

"We're frustrated and angry that you refuse to give us this chance to bond with you," Lainy said quietly. "Both of us are frustrated that you don't give either of us a chance to sit down and talk with you, because you've been hurt - "

"You're fucking - !"

"I'M SPEAKING!" Lainy shouted over him, drawing attention from the others around them. She composed herself once more. "Yet, you're comfortable allowing yourself to be abused in this manner, by staying in homes that don't provide any sort of care you rightly deserve, by thinking you deserve this type of attention, this type of treatment, when we can rightly give you everything you've needed, and everything you've deserved. How is it strangers are given more regard than your own family?"

"Lainy - !" Lorenzo exclaimed, wearing a sort of horrified expression as he looked to Law.

"I'm frustrated and angry!" Lainy snapped, eyes filling up with tears once more. She looked at Law. "Why are strangers given complete consideration when we aren't? You're more willing staying in homes that will destroy you, than stay in one where we can love and care for you, regardless of everything that had happened! When will we be considered?"

And because it was such an intense hassle to mount and prepare a verbal response to it, Law felt he couldn't say anything, just yet. But he searched for Sanji, finding him arguing with Zeff over a receipt, and once Sanji looked his way, Law gave him the signal; a couple of pats atop of the table. Sanji immediately pushed the receipt against Zeff's chest, much to the older man's bewilderment, and undid his apron on his way to their table.

Before Lorenzo could muster the words out of his mouth, Sanji came up to the table, essentially standing in their way as Law quickly left his chair and headed to the Exit door. Both Trafalgars stood up with alarm, Lorenzo moving to walk after him as Law hastily made it outside, Sanji moving into Lorenzo's path.

"Just give him a few minutes!" Sanji said, hands out as he blocked their path. "Just a few minutes!"

"He's going to leave us!" Lainy uttered in a panicked gasp, looking absolutely terrified. "He's going to leave us!"

'How could you say all that?" Lorenzo asked her incredulously, and both of their voices were reedy, thin, and Sanji watched their reactions cautiously as he inched back towards the Exit door, seeing them face each other.

"Stay!" he then commanded, barely catching their attention as he hurried outside, hearing Zeff bellow after him impatiently.

Once outside, just down the alleyway, he caught sight of Law fumbling with his cigarettes, lighter clicking away. He hurried over to him, searching his expression for an explanation of things. But he caught sight of his shaking hands, and once Law had the cigarette lit, puffing at it anxiously, Sanji reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it between both of his.

"Did you tell them?" he asked, looking up at him with concern. "Did you tell them your thoughts? Conditions?"

Law replayed some of the conversations over, again. There was too much to talk about. Too much that he didn't want to share yet with this kid. But even as he felt cold and incredulous and frustrated and struck, an emotional similar to the sensation of a physical hit, he found himself wondering the answer to Lainy's question.

He didn't want to be hurt by them again. He didn't want the disappointment – he couldn't take it. He knew what to expect in strangers' homes, now, nothing would be shocking. He knew where he stood with Doflamingo, and could expect violence, stress over Rosinante. With his parents, he didn't know what to rely on. Yet, he acknowledged that he didn't want to be comfortable easing back into that household, to be disappointed, again.

"I did," he said with effort. "But it didn't go…"

"What matters is that you gave them an idea of what to expect," Sanji said with relief, holding onto his hand, leading him down the alley to walk. Law's legs felt stiff and jerky, and walking felt too hard to do while he was smoking, so he forced himself to a stop. Sanji jerked him again, nearly causing him to lose his cigarette. "Keep moving. Don't stop, because your body won't react quick enough when you need it, too. You need to loosen up, get moving."

It made sense, and Law followed him, even as every step was heavy and his feet dragged, like they couldn't remember how to operate correctly.

Since he wasn't getting any answers, Sanji stopped pushing. What mattered was that Law was talking, and it had been obvious if all parties involved were upset. If Lorenzo and Lainy were left standing there in that state, then it was working. At least the lines of communication had been opened, no matter how badly.

In the parking lot, Law said, "They really want me to live with them."

Sanji observed his expression. "It doesn't look like you're happy about it."

"I still think…" Law trailed off, sucking in too much nicotine, erupting into coughs. He ended up spitting a large mass of collected mucus and smoke onto the pavement and immediately felt sick as anxiety raced through him. They paused in mid-walk as a small family left the restaurant, laughing and upbeat over the sights they had seen. The youngest was gesturing at how many things Luffy had crammed into his mouth, laughing as he did so.

But for a few moments, Law just stood there with his hands on his knees, frowning down at the pavement. Sanji stood next to him, hand on his back. In the silence that followed, he ran his hand up the length of Law's spine, wincing at the feel of bones against his palm, the sweaty moisture caused by nervousness. The smell of Law's agitation was obvious.

"What do you want me to say?" Sanji asked him quietly.

"Nothing," Law told him, straightening up to wipe his face, ashes falling from his cigarette. "I don't even know what to say."

Sanji couldn't imagine being in his place so he kept his mouth closed, watching him for any signs of need, or wants. He felt apprehensive because he didn't want Law going back to Doflamingo's, but at the same time, he could feel that getting along with his parents was much more nerve-wracking than Sanji had thought. He took the cigarette away from his shaking fingers, tossing it to the parking lot curb before looking around themselves. He frowned at the sight of the half full area, where diners tonight had been treated to a couple of scenes.

He leaned in to rest his forehead against Law's back, holding onto his shirt to do so. The feel of the older kid's sweat immediately made itself known against his own sweaty bangs. "Will you have dessert?" he mumbled, knowing that it was a definite 'no'.

"Are they allowed to be mad at me?" Law asked instead, incredulity laced on his tone. "Is that even – I'm flummoxed, here."

"Leave it to you to use big words," Sanji said, drawing away from him so that he could face him. "I've never heard that word used by anybody around me."

Seeing that Sanji was speaking the truth, Law just stared back at him. He couldn't help but smile a little. In a race to keep his thoughts intact, he latched onto that. "Not even from big brother?"

"He probably does say it, but I tune him out, a lot."

After a few moments, Law then mumbled, "I'm tired."

"You've had a long day," Sanji agreed, reaching out to hold onto his hand again. "But you're not done, here."

"I, literally, don't have any mind to say anything more. I just need to think…I just need to think about things and…sort it out."

"Then cut the night short like that. Go in there, tell them thank you for the food, tell them you'll think about it," Sanji said firmly. "Don't just go and leave them in the dust. Not – "

"I don't owe them any courtesy - !"

"You don't! You don't, but this is mainly for you! You're cutting it short because you're sick of their shit, you need to go home and think! You're in control of this by doing so – you don't have any just running off, because that just makes them think – like, you do that, again, they'll know you're terrified of them - !"

"It's not that I'm terrified of them, I just don't want – like, I know they won't like me anyway, and…"

"You're going to use them until you can do this on your own, and that will take some work, but it's sure as fuck better than sleeping in the streets, doing shit-all to get through it!" Sanji insisted, pushing at him to get his attention when Law turned away from him with a huge, unsettled sigh. "Stand your fucking ground! Stop doing this! Stop running away – don't do this, tonight, you don't need to feel afraid. Everything was put out in the open, all of you know what you're in for. Get it over with."

"I think that they're a little…deluded," Law said carefully, unsure of how to word what he felt. "I put everything out there, but they still think they can save me."

"As long as they're aware of it," Sanji told him, reaching over to hit his arm. "If it's out there, it's out there. It's okay if they try – use it. Use it, Law!"

"It's not that easy – like I said, what if I get comfortable, and - !"

"Then I'll come around and remind you of it, so what? It's better than Doflamingo's! Who knows what he wants you to do! It's better than the streets – what are you going to do on the streets? And that program you mentioned, does that sound better than this?"

Law sighed again, Sanji at his side, following his every step as he made meandering footsteps in the handicapped area, taking the lines one foot at a time. He ran his hands through his hair, briefly entangling them there while he considered his options.

"You don't have to like them," Sanji said insistently. He reached out and grabbed his jeans to stop him from wandering off. "But think of them as your next foster family. A classroom you have to endure. They won't be around all hours of the day! You can do this if you keep yourself at a distance, it'll be easier for you!"

"Is this the type of influence you appreciate, Law?" Lainy asked, startling them as she walked over from the front, having spotted them from the walkway. "That sort of advice doesn't sound very forgiving."

Defensively, Law stopped walking and stepped in front of Sanji, stopping the younger teen from speaking as he opened his mouth to do so.

"It sounds like you're being brainwashed," Lainy added, feeling her jaw clench as she looked from one to the other.

"No. It's sound advice," Law said, hearing the sound of a car door open, feeling a little embarrassed for the confrontation in a parking lot.

"How is it? He's telling – you're telling him not to trust us," Lainy told Sanji, having to look around her son to do so. "You're influencing him not to - !"

"I'm giving him advice! He has a hard time talking to you guys - !" Sanji spit out with protest before Law covered his mouth with one hand and pushed him away.

"Don't talk to him," Law told Lainy with a hardened glare, his mother wearing a startled expression upon this order. "I told you, if you had nothing but shit to say about him, then don't even try."

Sanji heard this and bit the inside of his cheek - he figured his last name had caused this, but it threw him off that Law would defend him. He was stuck between being touched, and being surprised that this was even a thing that had been discussed.

"It looked as if you were running -" Hand out, to stop both boys from speaking up in protest, she said, "We panicked! We panicked because that's what you do, this happened before, and I'm aware that I might've said the wrong thing trying to say the right! Let me clarify myself -"

"What's to clarify?" Law asked incredulously.

"Let her speak, let her speak," Sanji said at that moment, tugging on his arm, and when Law looked at him with utter disgust, scanning the parking lot for possible voyeurs, Lainy saw her chance.

Quickly, she said, "I stand behind my words, Law. Why stay in a house where you'll most likely be physically, mentally hurt than take a chance with your own parents, both of whom want so badly to make up for what happened? We'll never forget it, it'll never be the same, but we can pick up where we left off and turn it into something different! You'll be safer with us than you would with anyone else, if you would just give us a chance! Can't you see how much you've changed? You're braver, now, your head is lifted - you never did that, you never made eye contact and you're doing it now - there is nothing we can do to you that we've already done, and it isn't - we wouldn't, again, we had to learn from our - horrible, horrible mistake, Law! For you to keep your distance, just - kills us, but we won't ever give up! We won't ever turn away, just - give us this chance to start over!"

Law could hear the pleas in her voice, the faint veils of desperation as she spoke rapidly, venturing closer and closer to him until he finally realized that she was clutching onto him with both hands. Her grip was forged from steel, and she held herself rigidly, clearly intending on preventing his escape.

Law noticed Sanji standing off to the side, watching him, fiddling with his cast. Law watched him, feeling uncomfortable with the feel of his mother's hands on him, quite aware that it was the first time she'd touched him since he was a child. And before he knew it, Lainy had her arms wrapped around him, squeezing him with a surprisingly strong grip as she clutched at him as desperately as her words left her.

Her fingers curled tightly into him, taking note of his thinness, already weak with her words, and suddenly more aware of how much of her son she'd lost through these years.

Sanji watched Law with concern, seeing his expression battle his emotions, none of them positive. He was uncomfortable with his mother's touch, uncomfortable standing there, fighting something Sanji couldn't figure out through his expression alone. But it was easy to determine Lainy's reaction - plain on her face, in her voice, and Sanji could see himself in her spot. Fighting to be acknowledged, to be heard - and he felt like he was betraying his friend at that point, identifying with Lainy.

Lainy struggled to keep herself talking but her emotions overwhelmed her as she touched the boy she'd lost years ago. She pulled in large breaths, tightening her arms, and she gave a small sound of distress as Law started to pull away from her, clearly discomforted by her touch. Sanji wanted to stop him, only lost in his moment, but Law's face told him that he didn't want this.

So he stepped forward and helped Law pull out of her grasp, Lainy protesting with struggling breath as her fingers curled tightly into Law's shirt, unconsciously refusing to let go, sure she would lose him again.

"Let go," Law ordered quietly, starting to feel upset. He was confused by his own emotions, his mother's emotions, the situation - Lainy couldn't and didn't want to let go of him, and he started to feel panic because of the scene.

"No," Lainy whispered, the repeated herself firmly, holding onto his shirt with both hands. "No, I don't want to. I'm going to lose you, again, you're going to run away, I don't want to let go!"

"No, let go...let go!"

"Nooo!"

"Mrs Trafalgar, let him go, he's not going to leave, just let go for now," Sanji pleaded with her, reaching into help Law force Lainy's hands loose from his shirt.

"No!" Lainy pulled at Law to escape Sanji's grasp, and the three of them stumbled off to the side, struggling.

She spoke with difficulty, breathing heavily as she fought Sanji's hands, Law's prying fingers, finding more shirt material to grasp as she pulled back. "Just give us this chance! It won't be the same, but we'll give you a stable home, a peaceful environment, a chance to allow us to fix the things we lost!"

"I can't do this!" Law exclaimed, feeling panicked himself as Lainy refused to let go of him. "Let go! Let me go!"

"NO!"

"Let go, both if you, let go! Let go, he won't run, he'll stand to listen, just stop holding onto him! You're scaring him!" Sanji exclaimed, turning to try and insert himself between them, pushing at Lainy. Lainy pushed back on him, hard enough to cause him to trip over a parking barrier.

Frustrated that she couldn't hold onto Law with Sanji's interference, that she resorted to physical action, Lainy reluctantly let go, Law stumbling back away from her with near windmill action. She covered her face, striving to keep herself focused, breath in heavy pants as Sanji slowly picked himself up into a seated position, holding onto his casted arm with a wince. Law immediately went to his side, checking on his arm with worry.

Before anyone could say anything, Ichiji revealed himself from a nearby line of parked cars. "Assault and battery upon my brother won't help your case, Mrs Trafalgar," he said tightly, bringing their attention to him.

Sanji was up and in his face in moments as Lainy looked at Ichiji with confusion, unsure of whom he was. She desperately tried to clean her face, wipe her eyes.

"Get out of here! Get out, what are you doing here? It's too early!" Sanji cried, pushing at him. "Wait in the car-!"

Ichiji shoved him aside and strode towards Lainy. She cowered back from him as Ichiji threatened her with, "You touch my brother again, and you'll never see this fucking kid again! Our father will make sure of it! You must know who we are!"

"Fuck off!" Law shouted at him as Lainy looked stricken at the threat.

"No, fuck you!" Ichiji snapped back at him, easily pushing away Sanji's attempts to physically shut his mouth. He grabbed his younger brother by his arm and jerked him back, Sanji making to get away from him, Law advancing towards them to separate them both; Lainy made to grab him, and succeeded in snatching onto his jeans while Ichiji shifted grip to Sanji's right hand fingers, bending them back into a painful hold that made Sanji automatically obey.

"Ow, fuck, you asshole!" Sanji protested, looking from him to Law with panic. Then, once he realized where Ichiji planned on taking him, his protests grew in volume. "It's not time! It's not time for me to clock out, yet, it's -! I have to go back inside, it's not time -!"

"If your job was that important to you, you'd be inside rather than out," Ichiji snapped at him, starting the car by remote, first. Law started trailing after them, Lainy watching with quiet observation as Ichiji applied more pressure to Sanji's arm, causing him to cry out with pain. "This parking lot drama ends now. Is this why you choose to work here? To play social worker with a family that doesn't matter to ours? Why do you waste your time? They're not worth it!"

Ichiji ended in a shout, looking back at both Law and Lainy, the woman looking at him with insult. Still holding onto Sanji, Ichiji took the steps necessary from the Buick to face them, Sanji struggling to loosen the pressure built in his broken limb.

"For an adult, you're quite stupid," Ichiji told Lainy. "I'd expect this sort of illicit stupidity from these two, brain dead as they are as they bind together at the cause of hormones, but for someone that supposedly has a degree, and in the position you stand in, causing harm to another kid with your track record doesn't bode well for any future reunification with your estranged son."

Fumbling for an answer, Lainy said,"You're right, uh..."

"My name isn't important right now -"

"Ichiji! Ichiji is my asshole older brother!" Sanji struggled to say, pulling at his grasp as Ichiji added a twist to it that nearly had him onto his knees. Law moved closer to them, Ichiji putting himself between them.

"Let go of him!" Law shouted at him. "Let go, you're going to break it again!"

"It'll be your fault," Ichiji told him firmly. "So if you want to hear it snap, come closer."

"Law-! Stop!" Sanji begged, holding onto his own arm, waiting to hear the sound of bone giving away under Ichiji's grasp.

Lainy just watched with horror, speechless as the eldest Vinsmoke faced off with them. Her son's distressed face said everything at the moment, and she realized why the Vinsmokes had the reputation they had. Seeing the way the red haired teen had no sympathy or regards to his own brother in this state was absolutely alien for her, as her children had been so close and loving towards each other.

"Father will be very displeased to learn that this is what you were doing here, Sanji," Ichiji told Sanji, lifting his arm up so that Sanji had to get up from the pavement to follow the movement, to alleviate the pressure. "You said you were only working, not using this place as a clandestine meet up with your boyfriend and his estranged family. You were told not to bother with that nonsense."

"This is my fault!" Law snapped at him, fists clenched. "I arranged to be here once I found out he was working here!"

"Ugh, its as if I'm being addressed by a struggling child," Ichiji muttered with disgust, Lainy paling at the given comment, Law looking at the teen with frustration. "If only you were given some sort of IEP to follow while attending - school, then perhaps I wouldn't have to feel the need to tune you out in deference. As it is, I see why my other brothers pin you with a target."

"Shut up, Ichi, you fucking asshole! Stop talking to him like that! You high and mighty jerk! Thinking you're so above everyone, you -!" Sanji snarled at him, managing to kick him to cause him to stumble, but not release his hand. Law shot forward to grab Ichiji, who did not release Sanji but dropped into a low horse stance before forcing Sanji's arm, elbow over shoulder, into another point of break. Hearing Sanji's panicked cry as his elbow bent upward into an unnatural angle cause Law to drop his hold on Ichiji, for Lainy to walk forward helplessly, shocked that she was seeing this type of scene.

"Back off," Ichiji told Law, waiting for him to do so. "First of all, I'm outnumbered. This gesture is necessary against my brother, who is capable of hurting me, and two, against a deceptively stronger teen boy who can lift nearly three hundred pounds of an adult man from, presumably, floor to chair, from floor to floor. I've visited your house, looking for Sanji, I'm aware of that mentally incapacitated patient you are forced to take care of."

"I'm not 'forced' -!" Law denied furiously, frustrated that he couldn't help Sanji. Movement at the corner of his eye from the alleyway told him to look, but Ichiji did something that caused Sanji to protest, pushing his face up against Ichiji's back, struggling to pull back his arm. "Let him go!"

"Let him go, please, you're hurting him," Lainy whispered, hands to her mouth as she wondered if she should scream for help, text Lorenzo.

"So, you're the mother," Ichiji said, straightening up, forcing Sanji onto his tip toes to alleviate the unnatural pressure in his arm. "Why aren't you taking him back?"

Puzzled at the inquiry, Lainy said nothing, eyes darting from one teen to the other.

"We're trying, but without success," she murmured. Law looked back at her with disgust, for answering this Vinsmoke terrorist. "He...he's very reluctant to do so. And...that's okay, he's allowed to think that."

With disapproval heavy on his features, Ichiji said, "Legally, your power exceeds his. You're his parent. You don't ask a kid to cooperate, you make them. You don't give a kid a choice, you make it for him. Your pussified way of thinking is the only reason why he continues to live in a household where he is told what to do, and how to do it, because he respects that freak of a human being. You'll never earn it with your way of thinking, because he'll never respect you. Our father raised us to respect and follow his rules, his way of thinking."

Lainy frowned at him. "Children are allowed choices, considering what we present to them as parents, and ours hasn't been that good, but we still offer it to Law, in hopes that he'll make the one that'll allow us closer to each other."

"That's not going to happen," Ichiji told her. "With the way he's relying on Sanji, he's not going to go home with you. He'll stay at that man's place, to continue caring for an invalid, to be forced into work that won't need high school education. Sex trafficking is a huge thing nowadays, and you don't think prison guards know the quickest route to make a buck off failed actions?"

Law just stared at him with discomfort, Lainy shoving her hands to her mouth to keep from giving this meanly spirited teen anything more.

"Don't be stupid," Ichiji then told Law. "You think this romance of yours will go any further with Sanji? Like I said, he has a future, you don't. If you go down that route with that man, you'll do well to lose contact with Sanji in the meantime. He's prettier than you, he'll find himself sold before he even knows what's happening."

"ICHIJI!" Sanji screeched with horror, jerking at his arm. "What are you saying? Stop!"

"In the meantime, keep this family squabble away from my brother, he has nothing to do with it," Ichiji said with disgust, forcing his brother to walk around him, to make their way to the car. "As it is, if I hadn't arrived early, I would've never been aware of this. Seeing it only makes sense to me, now, and we'll have a talk with our father about this."

Feeling helpless and mortified by his older brother's behavior, Ichiji's grip unbreakable on his fingers, Sanji looked back at Law. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

Feeling helpless himself, watching as Ichiji shoved his younger brother into the back of the car – where he would no doubt use the child locks to keep him there – Law said nothing. But he hoped to see him there. He felt a whirlwind of emotion just knowing that so many bad things could happen to Sanji, tonight, taken out of proportion and turned into something hideous.

As the Buick left the parking lot, he felt his mother's presence behind him. He was brought back to the encounter with her, with Lorenzo, and it felt like a sharp slap of awareness. At that moment, though, it didn't matter. He'd already made up his mind.

"I'll move in with you," he said heavily, not looking at her. He heard her sharp inhale, could picture relief on her face. "But it doesn't change anything."


A/n: My laptop died. I typed what was left of this chapter onto a Note App, and it was the hardest thing I could do.

I'm sorry, it's difficult writing replies to all the reviewers, but thank you so much for reviewing! You guys reading this fic are awesome for sticking through it!