"What's wrong with you?"

You were well aware, on some plane of existence, how shrill your voice was.

"How could you do something like this to me?"

You could feel your throat becoming hoarse as you shrieked at the target of your rage.

"What gives you the right to just swoop in and tear apart my life like that?"

Some other level of consciousness registered Sanji's mother handing Wendell a bowl of ice cream, which he calmly accepted without any qualms. The joints in your fingers ached from being clenched for so long, not to mention the marks you were no doubt carving into your palms. Yet, all he did was stand there and hold your wrists. You looked for remorse in his expression, but you found none. All your search turned up was a look of undeniable pity. You felt sick to your stomach, but you weren't sure if it was his pity or the horrendous sobbing you were unwittingly practicing.

"Maybe you should take this to your room," his mother suggested to him quietly, as though you couldn't hear her.

Sanji nodded and moved in closer to you, putting his arm around your shoulders and leading you back into his room. You couldn't seem to stop sobbing, even as he shut the door behind him, gently coerced you to sit next to him on the bed, and pulling you close to him. What made him think you'd want him to comfort you? What the hell made him feel entitled to 'dry your tears'? This was his fault. It was a very real possibility that you may never see your mother again, and all he did was pity you. He might as well have ripped out your still-beating heart and stomped on it maliciously. Just that morning, the two of you had been getting along swimmingly. You felt like you were at the top of the world - or, at least, as close as you could ever get. You should've predicted this shit. You should've known better.

"Don't worry," he had said. "I'll protect you. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again."

You were blinded, you supposed, by your longing for a friend. The need to feel loved was finally being fulfilled, and it turned out to serve no purpose other than tricking you into giving up your life. You didn't know how to live any other way. How were you supposed to get through life without a family? All you had was your brother, but you were hardly capable of taking care of him all by yourself. What did he think he was doing? Nothing bad would ever happen to you? Now you were homeless. An orphan. And so was your brother. You wanted to punch Sanji so hard all his stupid teeth fell out.

"Get off of me!" you shouted at him, shoving him off of you as forcefully as possible.

You wanted it very clear that you weren't very fond of him at the moment.

"[NAME], I only did what was best for you," he told you, his voice firmer than it had been before.

"You put me out on the streets, Sanji," you snapped. "Me and my little brother. We have nowhere to go because of you!"

"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than sitting back and letting you get used like that!" Sanji retorted, more venom in his voice than you were used to.

You froze, looking at him again.

"Is that what you think?" you asked shakily, your tears creeping back into your eyes again. "That I was being used? I wasn't being used; I was protecting my family!"

"You were being conditioned to think that, [NAME]," Sanji insisted. "Do you really think all fathers are supposed to hurt you like that?"

You wanted to argue with him, but you knew his words had merit. That was probably what frustrated you the most. So, you stayed quiet, seething and balling your hands into fists on your lap.

"And, how do you expect me to feel, seeing you come to school with new marks on you every day? Do you think you're the only one getting hurt? Your brother's seeing this happen to you. What does he think? He'll grow up thinking this is perfectly normal to do to his daughter, and the cycle will start all over again."

You covered your face with your hands as the tears fell again. Your throat closed up, and your entire body was shaking. You felt Sanji put his arm around your shoulders and pull you closer to him again. This time, you weren't so inclined to shove him off.

"I didn't know what to do," you admitted tearfully. "I just wanted to do the right thing. I just wanted to protect them. It's my job; I'm the oldest."

"You're very brave, [NAME]," he reassured you. "You've done so well all these years. You just needed someone to come in and help you; that's all."

"I don't feel brave."

You hid for so long. You kept yourself distanced from everybody. You took whatever the hell came your way without putting up a fight. All you did was float aimlessly through life. Everything was the bare minimum for you. This wasn't bravery.

"I know it doesn't seem that way to you, [NAME]. But...I saw you, okay? I've seen how you deal so well with all of this and manage to keep your composure. Not to mention how long you survived, knowing everyone was talking behind your back. You're something special, [NAME], and I hope you see that one day."

You sniffled.

"What'll happen to us now?" you asked quietly.

"Don't worry, [NAME]. Mom's got it taken care of. She made a few calls of her own while we were finishing up at school."

You relaxed a little against him, feeling guilty that you'd ever accused him of forcing you out onto the streets. You were beginning to have this feeling that you could trust Sanji. And, it wasn't just a frivolous little thing where you just arbitrarily decided to throw all your heart and trust at him, it was a gradual thing. It took years.

You were relocated into a foster home a couple of towns over. But, even being that far away, you always remembered to ride your bike(and, later on, your foster mom's car)back to Sanji's house to visit. He was always so happy to see you. And, with each visit, you grew happier and happier to see him. It was so strange to have the time to do this now, to not have to go home to another blacked out Monday night. Sometimes, you'd lay awake in bed at night and just cry out of the sheer disbelief of it all if nothing else. In fact, you cried a lot at first. Every little mistake could send you into a small tearful fit, but you eventually got over it.

You stole a lot of hearts. Many boys at your new school wanted you to come to dances with them or go out on dates with them. But, somehow, accepting their offers never felt right to you. That's why you only accepted and returned one love confession out of all of them.

He was a silly boy who teared up a little when he saw you in your prom dress. He was nervous in asking you to dance with him, even though you'd gone to prom with him eagerly.

He was a silly boy who tried to deny he was crying when he saw you walking down the aisle. Silly as he was, though, you owed him a lot. You would never have had a shot at a normal life without him. Yes, without the silent understanding formed between the two of you as teenagers, you never would have experienced the happiest day of your life, and you never would have seen Sanji losing his composure to pure happiness even in that nice suit of his.