Sequel to Saving A Child(Can be read separately)
Author: The Dark Crimson Blood
Story Title: Trafalgar D. Luffy
Warnings: Things get weird.
Summary: Luffy's found happiness with a new family. Unwanted events continue to occur, and he begins to wonder just how long this happiness will last.
Word Count: 2796

Dark, cold, and noisy over all all else.

A loud roar of thunder follows a crack of lightening that causes a child to curl up tightly into a ball on his new bed. His tiny figure shakes underneath the piles of blankets that covered him. Though he wouldn't openly admit it, he was scared. Terrified. Right now, all he wanted was to leave his bedroom and seek out the only person who loved him. Law. However, at the same time, the tiny child wonders whether or not he should leave the safety of his warm bed just to bother someone who was most likely studying for an upcoming test. It wouldn't be right. Luffy bites his bottom lip and simply decides that he'll remain.

He automatically inches his back closer to the backboard of his bed the very second another loud boom of lightning erupts from the sky. The blobs of water that fall from his eyes are hastily wiped away as the owner buries his head into his hands. Luffy has never liked storms, and he never will. He wonders when this will stop, when he'll stop being afraid of such stupid things, and when someone will care enough to tell him 'It's okay.' Luffy can't understand why he suddenly feels as if he wants to be around someone. The sound of the rain hitting against the glass window was worrying too.

Luffy feels as if he wants Law to come in the room, and he doesn't know why. He wants the door to his room to open the door and for Law to stand in the center with a smile on his face and his arms spread wide open, but it doesn't quite work that way. Pulling himself out of the bed and silently inching towards the door, Luffy realizes something that nearly makes him stop in his tracks. His breath hitches as he realizes for the first time in years that he's relying on someone. He's expecting someone to be there and comfort him when he's scared and the very fact that he's relying on someone makes him wonder how quickly he'll be let down.

The door opens.

His hand, having been centimeters from coming into contact with the wooden surface of the door, falls back to his side in silence. The dark figure that towers over the small child, arches his eyebrows and places a hand on the child's head. "Storms are scary, aren't they?" He crouches down as Luffy bobs his head up and down in silence. Much to his surprise, the young man reaches out to him and pulls him into his arms without a second of hesitation. Luffy doesn't reject it, and instead buries his head into Law's chest and before long his shaking subsides. The sound of Law's heartbeat comforts him.

"Actually, if you can keep a secret... I'm afraid too." He whispers as he rubs comforting circles along Luffy's back. "So how about sleeping with me tonight so we can get through it together?" It's so painfully obvious to Luffy that Law is not afraid of thunderstorms. The obvious lie doesn't bother Luffy, rather, it's comforting. The fact that Law would be able to make him feel so much better when no one else could was just baffling to Luffy. As he's placed in bed, he's tucked in gently and smiled at as he's joined bed. For the first time in years, Luffy realizes that it's okay for him to depend on someone. With a blinding smile, Luffy clings onto Law and enjoys the warmth that floods his system.

Luffy never lets go of Law that night.

OoO

Law is surprised when he wakes up to a face full of Luffy, a grinning little boy who continuously pokes his cheeks until his eyes had opened. Groggily, his eyes shift towards the neon clock towards the right of his bed and he realizes that he had forgotten to set his alarm last night. He feels somewhat grateful that Luffy had woken him up instead, but what surprised him even more, was how Luffy had managed to successfully pack his school back and make him a proper lunch. Though the thought of Luffy operating in a kitchen with no supervision whatsoever, was worrying to Law. The very thought of Luffy getting injured under his watch- or at all, was something Law would be happy to prevent.

As Law sits down to the breakfast of two simple eggs with a bowel of oatmeal on the side, he realizes that what worries him the most was the thought of Luffy cocking alone in the house he had lived in before this. Yet despite these feelings, he finds himself thanking Luffy anyway. Truth be told; being able to cook at such a young age was an accomplishment itself, though at the same time Law doesn't like how he's acquired these skills alone. Nonetheless, Law doesn't voice his concerns and instead tells the child that he should wait for Law next time. Luffy agrees with the same smile he always wears.

It's easy, to worry over Luffy.

"Bye bye Law!" Luffy calls as he enthusiastically waves towards his new older brother, who waves back with a lazy smile.

"See you later. Your babysitter will be here in a few minutes, so you won't be alone for too long." Luffy nods in reply, already perfectly contempt with the goodbye hug he had given the young man just a few seconds ago. So, he waves goodbye until he can't see Law anymore. With a smile still perfectly clear on his childlike face, he heads back into the house and closes the door behind him. The sound of bare feet hitting the floorboards echo through the nearly empty house as a child moves to wash the dishes that had been previously been forgotten about.

By the time he's a little more than halfway through, the doorbell rings, and he finds himself turning off the water and jumping off of the step stool. He runs to the door and slides to a stop seconds before whamming into the door. He looks out the window, and the moment he sees the person who's waiting outside the door, a look of recognition runs over his face. He moves to open the door. "Sabo?" he asks as soon as he catches sight of the curly blond haired boy with a toothy smile, who stands leisurely outside the door.

"Luffy?" The young man asks with a kind smile, he reaches down and ruffles the messy black hair on the little boy's head. "I'm glad that you're doing well. It's been a while since I've seen you." He pauses. "By the way, I'll be looking after you until Trafalgar gets back."

"Okay." Luffy replies as he looks upon the young man with a smile on his face. "I'm going to finish the dishes." Sabo watches Luffy run off towards what he supposes is the kitchen, and he soon follows after the young child. There's not really much for him to do, as the child denies him of anything he could possibly help with, so Sabo chooses to watch and make sure he doesn't harm himself.

As he watches, Sabo can't help but think that Luffy has always been mature for his age. However, for the rest of the day, Sabo watches Luffy act more as an adult rather than a child. He gave himself a limited time to watch television, he'd read books, and he even gave himself a small snack that was surprisingly healthy. Whatever Law is doing with this child, is obviously working miracles.

The only childish action Luffy shows, is when he cuddles up against Sabo during nap time.

To Sabo, Luffy is a great kid.

Trafalgar Law was used to coming home alone after school. He was used to a dark and empty house with nothing waiting for him and nothing to see. However as he comes home today, he's nearly tackled to the ground by a certain child who runs towards him like a light speed bullet.

A "Welcome home" Leave's the boy's lips, and somehow Law feels himself warm up from the inside out. His tiny fingers wrap around Law's and excitedly leads him inside.

This is the first time Law's felt loved in a while.

OoO

A boy with shoulder length black hair and a mess of freckles scattered across his face leans against the headboard of his bed with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips are formed into a scowl as he stares pointlessly at the wall in front of him. It's not until the door opens that he finally stops. "Sabo?" He questions at the sight of a blond haired boy who sends him a raised eyebrow in return. "You're late." The black haired teenager says in a bored tone as he swings his feet over the bed and jumps up.

"Sorry Ace, my friend called in a favor and I had to watch a kid for him." Sabo replies as he closes the door behind him and rests his back against the hard wooden surface.

"How'd it go? Was the kid a brat?"

"No, no, it was nothing like that... That kid was borderline amazing. Well behaved and really mature for his age, it didn't even feel like I was baby sitting him! Though I was surprised to find that he's afraid of thunder, but then again, most children are so it's nothing to worry about.

"You got off lucky then," Ace says with a smile on his face, "My little brother wasn't afraid of thunder, Luffy wasn't afraid of anything! He must have been a special case or something..."

"Luffy? Did he have dark hair, dark brown eyes, and a scar underneath his left eye?" Sabo asks without much hesitation, and for a brief moment he wonders if they're actually talking about the same person. The name 'Luffy' was really, really uncommon. Sabo was sure he hadn't even heard the name before he actually met the child. Ace nods his head and immediately, Sabo's suspicions are proven.

"Yeah, that's him. His full name was 'Monkey D. Luffy' but when we adopted him, it was changed to 'Portgas D. Luffy." Ace pauses, thinking for a brief moment at the thought of the child he called his little brother. "I don't remember introducing him to you, have you met him somewhere?"

"That's the kid I'm babysitting!"

Ace's eyes widen drastically.

"You're babysitting Luffy?" Ace nearly shouts as he takes hold of the poor blond's shoulders, roughly shaking the boy for an answer. "Seriously?"

"God damn it stop shaking me!" Sabo yells back and pushes him away, Ace stops and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Didn't I tell you I was babysitting him? Why the hell are you asking me again?" Sabo questions with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a few steps away from his best friend. "He's your brother. Why the hell don't you know where he is? Besides, didn't we agree to stop keeping things from each other?" His eyes narrow suspiciously.

"Yeah, sorry." Ace replies as he runs a hand through his hair, having finally calmed himself down enough to speak at a proper tone. "It just never crossed my mind. I don't think about him much, so you can't really blame me."

"Whatever," Sabo breathes, dismissing the subject completely. "Anyway, is he not living with you anymore? While is he living with Law?"

"Long story short, Law showed up and started treating everyone like shit. After that he took Luffy with him and all of his stuff. Luffy was so happy here too..." Ace clicks his tongue in annoyance as he remembers just how smug the bastard had been when he entered the house and left with Luffy. Somehow, the guardian privileges were transferred to Law and then he left after yelling at all of us." Ace frowns.

"Was Luffy really happy here?" Sabo finally questions, leaning against the door once again the moment he was sure that he wasn't going to be mercilessly shaken again.

"Yeah, he was perfectly happy here." Not even taking a second to think about Sabo's question properly, he answers automatically because in his mind, Luffy had been truly happy here. At this point, Ace himself was so far into his own lies and self deceit that he didn't even notice the hesitation or awkward tone of his own voice.

Sabo noticed.

Like most children, Luffy loved learning new things. Whether Law explained simple math problems or what simple words meant, Luffy would sit with his legs crossed and listen as if he was actually recording the new information into his head. Luffy was a fast learner; Law had figured this out a while ago and had already begun teaching Luffy multiplication, as addition and subtraction had been too easy for him. Law wanted to teach him division too, and he couldn't wait until he'd be able to.

"Done!" Law turns his attention to Luffy, who smiles as he closes a second grade math book while finishing his adjustments to a once messy pile of papers. He yawns and cleans up his work area, turning and leaving the room in favor of finding the kitchen. In silence, he pulls a chair towards the cabinet and reaches for a cup that's only centimeters out of his grip. Before his fingers can even wipe across the surface of the cup, he's picked up and placed gently on the ground. A small blue cup is placed in his hands and he looks up to see the figure looming above him. "Feel free to ask for something when you need it." He places a hand on his head. "We're family, aren't we?"

"Of course!" Luffy replies, the grin on his face lights up his features again as he graciously accepts the cup. "Um," He begins.

"Do you want me to warm up some milk for you?" Law asks, registering the small nod and the slight blush of embarrassment he receives as a reply. He takes the cup from Luffy's hand and proceeds to pour milk into it. He places it into the microwave for a short period of time and finally returns the cup to Luffy.

"Thank you"

"It's not a problem." The man pauses. "Are you going to bed, Luffy?" The youngest of the two nods in reply, chugging the milk and placing the cup in the sink. He runs off to brush his teeth, and Law only smiles in return. It was nice to have someone else living with him, and to top it off, it was someone he actually liked. It's because Law was a type of person that is hard to get along with. It's rather surprising to find that the first person he can actually put up with is Luffy. Luffy was a number of things, good and bad at the same time, but annoying was not one of them.

It was nice to be an older brother.

It was nice to have a proper family.

"Good night, Luffy!" Law calls as he watches Luffy run from one room to another. This room was different, on the door was a sign that said 'Luffy'. It was something small, but yet it made Luffy feel as if he belonged there. As if he actually had a place to belong in. There was a whole room in this house that belonged to him; it made Luffy happy just to think about it. He couldn't be happier to live with Law in such a warm place, but out of everything else, Luffy was just happy that he belonged.

A pitiful voice in the back of his head asks a question.

"How long will it last?"

A/N: Rewritten. Consolidated chapter 1 and a part of chapter 2.

Leave a review! Let me know what you think :)

~Crimsy