Title: Weakness

Genre: Angst/Family

Rating: T

Characters: Trafalgar Law, Bepo

Summary: Law has a weakness. Bepo's the only one who knows it. Copious amounts of OOC.

It was a nice day to be out on a walk. No, scratch that, it was a beautiful day to be on a walk. The Heart Pirates had docked just last night on a spring island that was currently going through it's summer cycle. The sky was clear with only a few wispy clouds about. The breeze was mild at best, giving relief from the sun beating down on the island. Shoppers shopped, workers worked, children played, all was as it should be.

There wasn't even a marine presence on the island. Law quite liked that. It was rare for them to have a peaceful respite like this. As far as he could see, there wasn't any malicious or hostile air about the island. He'd given his crew permission to do what they wanted if they didn't cause trouble, and decided to go on a mild walk himself. So he'd convinced- read: bullied- his first mate, Bepo, into going with him to the nearby park.

Thus, where the two of them were now. The happy shrieks and squeals of kids having fun would bother most normal pirates. But Trafalgar Law wasn't a particularly normal pirate. He welcomed the gales of laughter. It reminded him of better times, before he started the Heart Pirates. Law's gray eyes became unfocused as his mind drifted away...

The scene disappeared around him. The leafy trees turned barren and lifeless, icicles glistening in the rare sunlight. The grass was covered in a thick sheet of snow, the kind you had to power through when walking. Multiple laughs changed into only one, an angelic giggle that made him smile and look down. A black-haired girl, barely four years old, beamed up at him with shining gray eyes. "Daddy!" she cried, lifting her arms to be picked up.

Bepo looked at his captain, knowing where his thoughts were by the soft frown on his face and the far-away look in his gaze. He turned his head away from Law and looked at the ground, wishing more than anything that he could erase that darkness from him. It was at times like this that he knew. He knew that Law's past still haunted him and that there was nothing he could do to help. Marines? Sure. Bounty hunters? Sign him up! But there were some demons that Law had to fight off himself.

The pair wandered further on the walk way. Something could be said for the citizens of this island. They didn't give the seven foot polar bear carrying an equally long nodachi a second look. A happy couple, a pair of young adults, barely spared them a glance. Bepo half-wished they'd run screaming in the other direction. Maybe then Law would be drawn back to reality...

"Are you reading her those silly old stories again?" The teasing scold made Law turn away from his daughter to face the most beautiful creature in the world. He might have biased though. She was, after all, his wife. He smiled, truly smiled, at the brunette who looked to be very pregnant.

The child giggled from her bed, all nestled up in her blankets and pjs. "They aren't silly, Mama! They're the best bed time stories ever, and Daddy and I love 'em!" She smiled up at her father innocently, blinking for him to agree. "Right Daddy? Don't you love 'em too?"

Law laughed, a relaxed and happy sound that showed just how content he was with his life. A beautiful wife, an adorable daughter, and a son on the way! "Don't listen to her, sweetie. Mama's just jealous because she can't come up with any good bed time stories like Daddy can."

He was so deep into his memories that when a youngling suddenly cried out in pain, Law was already moving before his brain could catch up. A boy had fallen down a hill and now had a deep scrape on his knee. It was bleeding while he clutched at his leg and sniffled. Law's shadow made the boy look up to meet his exaggerated grimace. "Ouch. That looks bad."

The pirate crouched by the child's side and looked at the scrape more carefully. It was deep enough to need to be cleared out. Luckily, he always carried a bottle of disinfectant and band-aids. The boy's lip quivering caught Law's attention when he reached into his pocket. "Who are you?" he whimpered. Whether in pain or fear of a stranger, Law couldn't tell.

He gave a disarming smile and took the bandage and alcohol from his pockets before showing them. "I'm a doctor. I promise, you can trust me!" One of the biggest loads of bullshit he'd uttered in the past year. At least it was the truth in this instant. "I'd like to clean out the wound for you, but it'll hurt. So I need you to be a big boy and not cry. Can you do that?" The child nodded slowly, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Law screwed off the top of the alcohol and took a firm but gentle hold of the child's knee.

When he poured the alcohol over the scrape, the boy winced but didn't cry out again. Law smiled when he was done and wiped away the excess alcohol. "There you go! I'm impressed. I once knew a little girl about your age who would be sobbing her eyes out right now. You must be a brave one."

The tears were drying, and the boy looked at up in a mixture of bashfulness, delight, and hope. It was an expression Law had not had directed at him for a very long time. "Brave enough to be a pirate? That's my dream: to sail the ocean one day under a flag of my own!"

Law chuckled and mussed up the child's hair when he stood. "Pirate, marine, bounty hunter, whatever. As long as you chase that dream of yours, you're brave in my eyes." Which was the truth. Anyone that did what they wanted without worrying about the repercussions was brave in Law's eyes.

The boy grinned and thanked him before running to his friends. "Did you hear that, guys?! I'm gonna be a pirate! Doctor-san said so!" He turned and waved goodbye to Law before they all went running away.

He returned the wave. Once the group of kids was gone, his face flattened into a dark, expressionless look. If that child survived long enough to be a pirate, it would be lucky. Law knew better than anyone that all good things came to an end.

"Daddy! Help us!"

"Law, where are you?! Please!"

The glow of the flames seared his vision, but he couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't move at all. The horror kept him rooted just as easily as his powers did. He could barely see the man in the treeline, usual coat gone for favor of blending in. "Do you understand now, Law? No one escapes me. No one."

The screams of his wife and daughter slowly died out. Law could only move when they were completely silent. Instead of rushing into the building, his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. He stayed like that until dawn, when the flames finally faded into embers.

Law gulped, his throat suddenly tight. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steadying himself. If he was going to break down, he was going to do it in the privacy of his quarters. "Come on, Bepo. Back to the sub." he said blankly.

The first mate watched him go sadly, not following immediately. Back to the sub. Law never referred to the submarine as home. For him, his home was burned to the ground two years ago.

Words: 1299

Pages: 2

Me: The shortest thing I've ever written, and also quite possibly the saddest.