Despite the blatant animosity that hung between Law and his reluctant caretaker, of which both made it verbally known, Law was at least starting to recover from his ordeal with Vergo. Kidd had even been thoughtful enough to go out and buy things to help with the swelling on Law's face, and the cuts to his body. The bartender had a sneaking suspicion these weren't provided by Kidd's own sense of generosity, rather that of his superior.
Most of the time, Kidd just stayed in his bedroom, leaving Law to have the living area with the tv to himself. It wasn't all that bad—though, the stench of the house left something to be desired—and Law was at the very least thankful that he had somewhere to hide out until he was up on his feet again.
Since Law's belongings were taken from him upon his capture, he'd requested a disposable cell phone to be able to contact his people if need be. This resulted in Kidd coming back from the nearest convenient store and tossing the small object into his lap with no small amount of distaste.
"I'm not your errand boy, got it? Last time I go shopping for you…" He'd said with distaste, tromping past the trash that littered his living room and returned to the sanctuary of his own bedroom.
He'd already made all the necessary calls to his contacts, making sure they knew this number in order to reach him for any reason. But now his thumb hovered over the dial button again, this time with much more hesitation.
Summer's phone number, already dialed and ready to go, was one tap of his finger away. It was a risk. Hell, calling anyone at all was a risk. Who knew if Joker had people tapping the phone lines in order to track him down.
So badly he wanted to hear her voice, to refresh his memory of the way she said his name…He knew she was probably suffering too, unsure as to what was even going on. No clue whether Law was still alright or not. He hated putting her through it, but it was necessary. The last thing he wanted to do to her was let Joker get his hands on her.
With that morose thought in mind, he erased the number and closed the phone, tucking it back into his pocket. He swiped a hand through his hair, feeling unusually pessimistic about it all. There was so much more to do, so many more to eliminate in order to even touch Joker in any substantial way. His network was vast and intricate. There was no telling just how many people were affiliated with the crime boss. No way in hell. And Law was supposed to take him on by himself? Fuck…
Without really meaning to he grabbed the phone again and opened the screen. Staring at it for a moment, he finally decided to call another phone number, craving some sort of conversation with someone that actually knew him.
It rang several times, almost to the point where he didn't think the man on the other end would answer, but finally the ringing cut short and a shuffling noise was heard on the other end for just the briefest of moments, followed by the familiar drag of a cigarette.
"Hello?"
Law closed his eyes, sighing inaudibly. It was really good to hear Corazon's voice too. He had missed the clumsy man without realizing it, and at the very least it was a relief to hear he was alright.
"Hello?" He tried again, and Law realized he hadn't responded yet.
"Hey, Cora-san."
"Law?" He started in surprise. "Are you ok? How are things? Where are you?"
"I'm just fine, don't worry about me." He answered, intentionally omitting the rest of the answers Corazon was looking for. "I guess I just wanted you to know that. I've got no other reason for calling, honestly."
Corazon scoffed on the other end, obviously outraged by Law's cool demeanor with the whole thing. "That's it? Do you have any idea how worried out of my mind I've been? I haven't heard from you in nearly a month! And all you have to talk about when I do hear from you is that you're fine? God damnit, Law…"
Law winced, knowing that Corazon wasn't really mad but hating the way his voice cracked in both relief and worry. He had his reasons, however, for staying off the grid. It just still hurt him a little anyway. "I'm sorry."
They both knew it was only a half genuine apology, for Corazon was a smart man. He understood the precautions Law was taking. Even though he didn't agree with the way he was going about this, Corazon at least knew the bartender wasn't stupid.
"You've always been the type of person to do things your way, I guess. I shouldn't really be surprised."
Law smirked a little, feeling somehow proud that Corazon knew him so well.
"I've noticed a lot of crimes recently that the police think are gang related. A lot of deaths." Corazon mused, leaving the open question hanging.
"Hmm." Was all Law said, knowing Corazon wanted to know more but unwilling to say anything more about it.
Corazon sighed again, taking another drag of his cigarette. "I just hope you're actually doing ok, and not just telling me that so I don't worry about you."
"I really am ok. A little…banged up, maybe…but still breathing."
"What about Summer? Is she alright?"
"…" He paused, wondering that himself. "I have trusted people making sure she's alright. They'd let me know if something happened."
"…so you don't know?" Corazon surmised bluntly.
"…not with certainty. But I had to send her away, Cora-san. I can't have her close to me if I'm trying to keep her out of danger. They'd find her in a second."
"Where even is she?"
"I don't know. I wanted it that way. The fewer people who know her location, the better."
"Jeez…" There was a familiar click of the lighter Corazon always carried, and Law guessed he'd lit up a second cigarette. "You know her neighbor's house was broken into the other day? Zoro told me her younger brother was home alone while they were out."
A weight sunk into Law's chest. He hadn't known that. This is what he'd tried to minimize, the collateral damage to everyone else, but Joker didn't seem to want to play by any set of rules.
"Are they ok?"
"Yeah, shaken up and a bit nervous after the fact, but otherwise fine. Both Zoro and his lady suspect it's got something to do with you though. Said the kid overhead the intruder say Vergo's name."
"Fuck." Well, there went any chance of it being an unrelated incident. He hoped that didn't put Hitomi's brother in any unnecessary danger. The kid didn't have anything to do with Law, but he'd heard something he shouldn't have. "I've done everything I can to try to avoid that. I swear it."
"I believe you. But we all know how these things work. Nothing ever goes to plan, does it?"
Law glanced around at the dingy living room he was currently stuck in with a dry glare. "It appears so." A sudden thought made him grimace. "How's the bar been since I've been gone?"
"Oh, not too bad. Luffy's really gotten the hang of the job. His personality works best for the day shift, though. I've hired a temporary replacement for nights in the meantime. He's a college student, and only interested in getting a few months of work experience for a different job. It works out for both of us."
"That's good. I'm sorry about having to leave, by the way…"
"Shut up about that, Law. I get your reasonings. No need to feel bad about it. The only thing I care about is that you're ok." The bar owner said gruffly, but in a way that Law knew was a loving way. He wasn't actually mad.
"On another note, I've noticed Nami coming around more often now. Only during day shifts, though. Always wants to see Luffy."
"I can take a guess why." Law mused indifferently. He didn't know either Nami or Luffy all that well to really care about their personal lives.
"Reminds you of a certain someone, doesn't it? I guess 'The Heart Seat' was a fitting name for my bar. Look at all the employees that have found companionship while working there!" He said in amusement, chuckling despite himself. "Maybe I'm in the wrong business. How popular are speed dating cafes nowadays?"
Law rolled his eyes good-naturedly, thinking the idea was ridiculous. "Those don't really exist much anymore."
"We could always bring them back…"
"Cora-san."
"I'm only kidding, Law!"
The bartender couldn't help the laugh under his breath, but another morose thought entered his mind, and the smile quickly fell from his face. "I'm afraid he'll try to come after you, Cora-san. He has to know where you are by now."
"Ha!" Corazon laughed heartily. "Don't worry about me, Law. We're brothers by blood. He wouldn't do something like that. Nothing matters to him more than family. Trust me."
Law begged to differ, but said nothing more. Corazon would only shoot down his concerns. It was a waste of breath, really, but it didn't ease his mind. "If you say so."
"How are you on cash?" Corazon asked, quickly changing topics. "If you need some-"
"I've been preparing for this worst case scenario for years, Cora-san. I'll be just fine."
"Good. That's good…" The older man trailed off, suddenly with a lack of things he thought to ask or talk about. "If there is anything you need from me, don't hesitate to tell me." He was desperate to keep the call going longer, wanting to get as much time with Law while he could. A part of him feared this was the last time he'd get the chance to even speak to him. No one knew what could happen a week, even a day, from now.
"Yeah…I should go now." Law said, never having been adept at ending phone calls like this. He had every wish to keep talking to Corazon, but his paranoia wouldn't allow it, whispering darkly that anyone could be trying to trace the call.
"Law…" Corazon started, voice thick with emotion. "I just want you to know that you've made me so proud. Both as a man…and as a son. So please, just make sure both of you make it out of this."
The bartender closed his eyes, trying to hold back his own emotions from bursting through. Because if he broke down he wouldn't ever hang up the phone. He'd go running back to The Heart Seat and want to see the man that had become the closest thing to a surrogate father he would ever hope to have face to face.
But he couldn't. Joker probably had men watching the bar at all times, just waiting for the moment Law went back for any reason, only to follow him back to wherever he was hiding out. No. He couldn't do that.
"I will." He said thickly, swallowing back the word 'dad' he'd almost let slip. With an immense amount of effort and pain, Law ended the call and tossed the phone to the other side of the couch so he wouldn't be tempted to make any other emotional calls.
Law sniffed, covering his face with his hands, trying to will the heartache to go away. His job wasn't done yet.
Corazon snuffed out the cigarette into his ashtray and hung up his cell phone. It tumbled from his hands and fell to the desk as he sighed, leaning over his desk and holding his head in his hands. That boy would be the death of him, he swore…
A few tears dropped onto the leather covering in the middle of his desk, and Corazon tried rubbing at his face to stop the flow. He let out a deep huff, releasing the pent up breath from his body in a rush.
It was the worst thing in the world, to see someone you cared for in such danger, but being unable to do a damn thing for them.
Unless…maybe he could?
"No! Don't! Ahhh…please don't!"
Hitomi shot out of bed the moment she heard something from across the hall. Eyes wide with the shot of adrenaline that was coursing through her body, she reached for the lamp and flicked it on, trying to identify hat exactly was going on.
Soma was screaming. Immediately, she went for the gun in her nightstand, hearing Zoro hurrying down the hallway as well. They both met each other in front of his doorway and burst inside, Hitomi bringing the gun up at the ready for anything she found within.
Soma was thrashing around on his bed wildly, trying to toss some unknown attacker off of him. A nightmare, Hitomi realized with a small inkling of relief. At least it wasn't a real person. She put the gun on his nightstand and crouched down beside him.
"Soma!" She tried shaking him awake, but he only cried out louder. "Soma, it's me! It's Big Sis! You're having a nightmare! You're not in danger!"
Zoro tried holding down his feet which kicked out and everywhere in an attempt to escape. The boy cried and sniffled and moaned in a dreamt pain. Obviously it seemed real to him, whatever he was experiencing.
"Soma! Wake up!" She tried again, shaking a bit harder now.
Finally he opened his eyes and wrenched himself from his nightmare, still kicking and thrashing with his hands for a few moments, dazed and unaware of who the people were beside him.
"Shhh! Soma, it's alright, it's Hitomi and Zoro. There's no one else here but us. You're safe now." She cooed, trying to get him to calm down.
Slowly he came down from the terror of what he'd seen in his dreams, before settling his gaze on his two caretakers. His eyes were wide with fear, but in the blink of an eye, he shut them with force.
He sniffled loudly, trying to clear his nose of the mucus that was running down his face.
"I'll get you some tissues." Zoro offered, standing to go to the bathroom. Hitomi settled herself directly in front of Soma and held him by his shoulders.
"You're safe now, Soma." She said gently, feeling his body shiver with the last vestiges of terror.
He took a deep breath and finally opened his eyes. In place of the fear was a completely calm expression, shockingly so, considering he'd just woken up from a nightmare. Hitomi frowned, concerned that something else was wrong, but he only sat himself up and wiped at the tear tracks down his cheeks.
"Thanks, Big Sis. I'm fine now. You can go back to bed."
"But-"
Zoro re-entering the room interrupted her, and he handed the tissues to the boy. He took them without a word, wiping at his runny nose. No one said anything for a moment, just waited for Soma to get himself back together again.
Finally he put the tissues to the side and looked them both in the eyes. "I'm alright. Really. You guys can go get some more sleep. I won't have another nightmare like that again. Sorry I was so loud."
"Soma, what was the nightmare about?" Hitomi asked gently, but he shook his head.
"It's fine, Big Sis. Don't worry about it. Just go back to bed. I know you have work in the morning."
The silver-haired woman sighed in disappointment. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the lack of any solid, real danger present slowly weaning it away, she had grown increasingly more tired. Soma was also correct. She did go to work early in the morning, and there were a line-up of cases she needed to work on in order to catch up to the time she'd spent dealing with the break-in.
But she wanted to be there for her little brother, to comfort him when he was at his lowest. But he wanted the both of them out. She'd always said he could make his own decisions and she would respect them.
A woman of her word, she stood and nodded, ruffling his hair a little just to make herself feel a bit better. "We're right down the hall if you need either of us, ok?"
Soma nodded silently, watching as the both of them stood and returned to his bedroom door. Hitomi grabbed the gun on the nightstand and gave another glance back at her little brother. He was already back under his covers and facing the wall, ignoring them both as they left the room.
"I'm worried about Soma." Hitomi said that morning as she was getting ready for work.
Zoro, still dressed in his t-shirt and lounge pants from sleep and nursing a cup of coffee with a bleary expression, watched as the woman touched up the last bit of her make-up to get ready for the day.
"That's the third nightmare this week, he has such a hard time sleeping, and he seems…I don't know how to explain it…almost too calm after what happened."
The security guard nodded, sipping from his mug.
"But he won't talk to me about any of it. He just always says he's fine. I know he's not, but I can't get him to say that he needs help." She lamented, putting away her make-up and grabbing the first of her earrings. "I just don't know what to do. Or what he's thinking."
Zoro had a pretty good idea, but he wouldn't mention it to her. It felt like a violation of Soma's privacy or something to tell her his suspicions about it. It had everything to do with Soma's pride as a man—or, by, he supposed—and nothing to actually do with his sister.
"I'll talk to him for you." Zoro offered. A month ago, he wouldn't have been comfortable being in the same room as Soma without Hitomi around, let alone talk to him. But Zoro and the younger boy had reached a tentative respect for one another through a mutual affection for the silver-haired woman in front of him.
Hitomi shrugged. "I don't see the harm. Maybe you can get through to him somehow. I just want him to be ok."
"I know." Zoro, having finished his coffee, stood and walked behind her to put it away in the sink. He turned and wrapped his arms around Hitomi, drawing her back against his chest. "I'm sure he knows it too. Boys his age don't know how to deal with stuff like emotions."
A small smile quirked at the corner of Hitomi's mouth. "Were you the same way?"
"Believe it or not, yes."
"Hmm, how cute." She said in amusement. "But I would really appreciate it you talked to him. Maybe he'll feel more comfortable with another male to talk about it with. I don't know…"
"Don't worry." Zoro reassured, spinning her to face him and leaning down to kiss her. "Let me handle it."
Hitomi smiled again and grabbed her purse, before heading out the door to go to work. "I'll see you later then."
Zoro had been keeping a close eye on Soma that day, watching inconspicuously from the corner of his eye, pretending to be working on something else or reading a book while Soma played his video games. The boy hadn't said much since waking up from his nightmare that night, only talking to his friends on the video game console in his multiplayer game. They only spoke about game topics, though. Nothing personal.
At first, Soma seemed completely fine. A typical kid enjoying his Tuesday afternoon home from school playing video games. But he noticed the small, nearly hidden details of his behavior which stood out and seemed out of place.
Every once in awhile, Soma would glance around behind him, as if expecting someone to surprised him at any moment. His shoulders would tense randomly, and he was constantly fidgeting with his controller, even when no movement was required. Restless indeed.
The security guard felt bad for the kid. He'd been put through something no kid should have to experience. He was sure he'd remember that night in the closet for a long time, if not the rest of his life. Something like that stuck around far longer than any happy memory did.
At one point, several hours after Hitomi left for work, Soma seemed increasingly frustrated with having Zoro in the same room with him. He got up with a huff of a sigh and turned off his game console, intentionally avoiding the older man's gaze as he stormed past and into his room. The green-haired man didn't follow, content to let Soma gather his composure again.
Besides, Zoro wasn't going to broach the subject of what was going on in Soma's head first. He'd wait until Soma said something first. And if he knew teen boys, they eventually said the first word either out of anger or a desperation for the tense feeling to stop.
So he waited. He busied himself with mindless games on his phone and reading from a book that Hitomi had recommended he check out, only finding a mild interest in it. He wasn't really that big a reader. Sat at the kitchen table in a relaxed position, his ears piqued when the sound of Soma's door opened about an hour later.
A sour expression on his face, he stopped at the edge of the room and crossed his arms. "You know, I don't need a babysitter. I can tell you don't really want to be here. Why not just go?"
Zoro gave a small, amused smile. "I'm actually quite fine staying here with you. And I know you're old enough to take care of yourself. Hitomi is just concerned you needed someone to keep you company if-"
"If what? Another bad guy tries breaking in? Or if I have another freak out like this morning?" Soma questioned, moving to the pantry to get something to eat. His hunger must have been what brought him out in the first place.
"Both, or neither. I don't know." Zoro answered truthfully. He honestly didn't know, but he still felt like he needed to be here. "All I know is that you're sister is worried about you."
"Well, she doesn't need to. I can take care of myself." He grumped quietly, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.
Zoro watched him a moment, contemplating what he was going to say. "How are you sleeping?"
"Just fine."
"And the nightmares you've been having? Anything you want to talk about with those?"
"Everyone has nightmares. I'm just fine." Soma grabbed a spoon from the counter and made his way over to the couch again.
Hmm. Stubborn as ever. Zoro sighed, before putting his phone away and dragging himself out of the kitchen chair. "Alright, you and I need to chat."
"Why? We don't have anything to talk about." Soma snipped, crunching away at his cereal without looking at him.
"Yes we do. Because you've been different. Ever since the break in you've been extremely tired and have had multiple nightmares. You're like a walking zombie at this point." Zoro explained, and Soma shrugged.
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying you're fine, but do you think Hitomi is?" Zoro watched as Soma paused, before finally looking his way. "Hitomi wants her younger brother to be more than just fine. She wants you to be happy, and back to the way you were before the break in."
"I'm not any different now." Soma adamantly replied.
Zoro shook his head. "You're scared and paranoid-"
"I'm not scared!" The boy shouted, nearly knocking his cereal bowl over when he stood and glared at the green-haired man. "I'm not scared of anything! Not some stupid intruder, or anything else!"
"You don't look comfortable in your own home, Soma. That's not normal. That's fear."
"I fear nothing!" He tried again, just as angrily as the first exclamation. "Big Sis taught me never to be afraid of anything and I won't let that go to waste! I'm not going to be a burden to Big Sis by being a baby!"
And then it made sense to him.
Soma could never feel comfortable showing weakness to his older sister, too determined not to cause her pain or make her worry about him. In his eyes, Hitomi had to focus on other things besides him, and having to comfort him when he was scared was a waste of time and would only hold her back. He idolized his Big Sis, and would never do anything to stop her from progressing with her life.
In his twisted version of not causing her to worry for him, he was inadvertently doing just that. Zoro was willing to be he hadn't realized that part yet. But to a teen boy like him, he wasn't sure if he would connect those dots.
"Soma," Zoro started gently, trying to make things simple, "all this fear and tension has to come out eventually. You can't keep holding it back and telling yourself that you can deal with it all by yourself."
"I'm not-"
"Scared, I know." He reasoned, holding out a hand to stop any further interruptions. "But you've got all these things you want to say inside of you, and you can't tell me you don't. I'm not stupid. You need to talk about it, to get it off your chest. Right?"
Soma said nothing, just stared at him and took stuttering breaths.
"If you can't go to Hitomi, if you really don't want her to help you get through what's troubling you, then fine. Then let me take it all on and help you."
"I don't need help, I can deal with it on my own. It'll just take time." He finally said, admitting to at least a partial bit of what Zoro was saying. No use hiding what he was feeling if Zoro already knew it was there, he supposed.
Zoro shook his head. "And prolong both of your suffering? You need to let it all go. Cry, scream, whatever. Just let it out. Hell, throw a punch if you think you can hit me. You just have to get rid of it."
There. That's what he was looking for. A crack in Soma's stone composure. His eyes were growing glassy with as of yet unshed tears, just ready to spill over.
"It's not a weakness to be afraid, Soma. It becomes a weakness when you let it take you over, when you let it consume you. If you do nothing about it and let it fester inside of you like this, it'll just get worse." Zoro placed his hands on the boy's shoulder, lowering himself to his knees to be more in tune with the boy's height. He half expected Soma to push his hands away, but the boy did nothing.
"Accept that you were afraid. Accept that something scared you. Deal with how it made you feel. Let yourself feel afraid of it. Then move on and grow from it. And if you ever feel like that again, like you're afraid, just know that I'm here to protect you and Hitomi too. You don't have to take all that responsibility on alone now."
Soma sniffed, trying his best to stay composed, but obviously slowly failing the battle. "I…don't want Big Sis…to…to know…" He said, top lip quivering for just a split second.
"If you don't want her to know about it, that's ok. I won't say a word. What you say stays strictly between us." Zoro said, holding up his pinky finger. He looked Soma straight in the eyes, as if he would any other full grown adult he met. "I swear it."
Another moment passed, both boy and man sharing a moment of understanding, before Soma looked down and linked his own pinky with Zoro's. They squeezed them together, and suddenly Soma was a sobbing mess, throwing his arms around the older man without restraint, crying and sobbing hysterically into his shoulder.
Zoro pulled him tight against his chest, feeling somewhat proud of himself for helping the younger boy through his ordeal. Hitomi was sure to be pleased that Soma at the very least had someone to talk to about his fears and worries now. He wouldn't be left to fend for himself against his own mind.
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