•We're finally here. Hope you all enjoy the finale. C:•

—The seeds, finally comfortable and situated, sprout fruitfully, unafraid of the future, confident in the world. Through rain, snow, sleet, or hail, through nature and life and ups and downs; the lake– a heart; the seed– people; and the nature– temperament, would all live in blissfully in peaceful harmony.—

13. Our Calendar

As the duo reaches Sabo in his office, the initial sight wasn't pretty.

He's there, pacing, talking rapidly on the phone using code words so intricate it sounded like a different language; a hand was dug deep into the hills and valleys of his wavy hair, scratching the scalp for clues, for hints, for any sort of lead. At one point in the mesmerizing process, the blonde stops, withdrawing his hand, and angrily cuts off the person on the phone, flinging the useless piece of tech to his chair. He misses, and the dark rectangle lands with a ominous thump. Cursing, he finally faces the two, wipes his eyes with one hand, and slowly fixes a strained smile upon his features.

"Tough day?" Law asks quietly, taking a seat in front of his cluttered, paper stacked desk, with Luffy plopping down right next to him in silence. The man before them grunts, busying himself with a cup of brewing coffee. "I'll say," he mutters, shrugging his shoulders. "But like I said, I did find a lead. The idiot detective they sent us doesn't know anything about anything...why the hell did they think a new recruit would work the case well? They don't know shit."

The men sitting opposite the police officer watched on quietly as Sabo angrily removes the cup from the maker, hastily pouring the dark liquid into a mug before raising the cup to his lips, nursing it gingerly. "We've discovered where this Blackbeard holes himself in. Some cave concealed feel in the mountains off to the Far East. The fact that he targeted this town out of the hundreds on the way here just goes to show how fixated he is on the assassination."

At the word, throats constrict, eyes blink rapidly, and deep breathes are taken, but it's okay, that's okay, because it's over, it'll be over, it's fine now, they have each other, and they can manage.

It'll be okay.

Because it's already getting better.

"Due to your description of the man you gave me earlier, from our talk," Sabo begins, flicking a pair of glasses and placing them delicately upon his face. "We've been able to track down another on the streets who worked under him. We dragged their location for him, which then led to the hideout I previously mentioned."

"While that's good and all," Law begins clearing his throat and casting a side glance at Luffy. "What is the purpose for calling us here?"

Luffy's mouth straightens into a line at that.

Sabo notices the tension about the lips of the younger, and he flashes the teen an easy smile. "Don't worry, I called the two of you to accompany me to the site. We thought it was right for the both of you to be involved, since another one is involved, also."

A bubbling hope rises, a feeling soars, and a guilt is lifted ever so slowly. Things are better. It was going to be alright. The two look at the each other, exchanging smiles, and glance back to the blonde, who stands to answer an incoming phone call. "Hold on," he says, picking up the device with a stressed sigh.

Throughout the duration of the conversation, Law and Luffy look at each other's, and there's smiles and twinkling in the eyes, and there's little bursts of laughter. They were so near to the end. So near to the conclusion of it all, for the constant restlessness in their souls and hearts to terminate once and for all.

Though it might never disappear, at least it could give them some peace of mind, some healing of conscience. And it's this final exchange of internal thoughts that ends the call between Sabo and the other on the end of the phone. "They have found Akainu at the site," he announces, blood draining from the chiseled cheeks upon his face. Slamming the desk angrily, he puts the phone into his back pocket and shrugs on his coat in one graceful movement. "Let's go," Sabo grunts, his wide stride already reaching the door and holding it open for half a second to allow his frame to exit through. The two sitting at his desk are quiet as they slip out after him, hearts in their throats.

—•—

The mountain towered large and prominent over them, casting the entirety of the east into dim shadow. Cool was the breeze that blew, that entangled its invisible grasp into their locks, tugging them behind the bodies they were attached to. A large cave engraved into the mountainside was concealed by the greenery of the leaves and the bending of the trees. Nature lent her beautiful hand in the convenience of such a place. Luffy and Law both swallowed what they could inside their dry throats upon seeing the large uprising of land. Having the reality thrown in their faces, after entertaining the imaginations of it for so long, was, in a word, astonishing.

Inside the cave swarmed many a person donned in dark police uniforms, inspecting the walls, coming out with various objects, huddled in groups discussing their findings, or loading such finds into a black truck with a police logo plastered on its side. Sabo had driven a vehicle similar in size and shape and design, and when they finally alighted upon land, a girl from the side took notice of his arrival. She stopped, faced him, and saluted with a wide beam. The other member of her party paused to copy the action. They turned back to their consuming work, but the girl walked up to Sabo, casting weary glances at the company beside him.

Law returned the look with one of deep-sated annoyance, for this was the woman who interviewed him from what seemed like forever ago. The recognition lighted her face too, as she glanced him over once more before addressing her boss. Luffy leaned over, taking a dislike to the conduct between the two, and whispered, "Do you know that lady, Law?"

Nodding his head, he cuts his gray eyes back towards the animated woman, who chatted with a distinction in her voice. "Unfortunately," he growls, earning yet another glower from her. The look was sharper than her words, for when Sabo inquired her for her dirty study of the men behind him, an awkward smile spread her lips. "Nothing, sir."

Sabo narrowed his eyes in thought, then relented. "Alright, then. Please focus on me. As I was saying before, the Akainu was found half a mile below ground you say? And it was being mass produced?"

Fidgeting, as if such information shouldn't be spoken of in front of the innocent public eye, she sighs, and begins her report. "Yes, sir. As you see, we are in the middle of brining up the remainder of the dangerous drug. I would estimate that about 80% of it all is now above-ground."

Grunting his approval, he places a delicate hand upon his chin. "And what about the people whom inhabited the area? What had become of them?"

"All seen criminals have been arrested and taken to holding cells at the station, sir. We have questioned many of them, who have said there aren't any other members. Once their leader had been captured, many have become compliant and docile."

An easy smile smoothies itself onto Sabo's mouth. "Though I am glad that is what they claim, that might not necessarily be the truth. We shall be on guard for any attacks, or any we encounter. But for now, let us assume all were captured. Continue to explore the area, and bring forth any more Akainu."

As the woman saluted once more and walked away quickly, relaying the information to the other members of the police force, Luffy tugged quickly and softly on the shoulder sleeve of his older brother. "What is it?" Sabo asks gently, though tired.

Luffy doesn't look at the boxes behind his brother being moved as he inquires, "What is this Akainu you guys are talking about?"

Sabo turns to me with wide eyes, eyes which say, 'You never told him?' And to that Law responds with a swift, 'How was I to?' of the eyes. Luffy's open, experienced orbs now landed on the large quantities of boxes with confusion, and Law fought an internal battle of informing him of the happenings, or letting him figure out the sad truth himself. Would Law even entertain the second option? Should he? Could he? Such seemed too wrong, too much for one grieving teen to handle alone. And they had finally gotten closer; ever much closer in the last few hours than in the last few months. Law had a right to tell him, and Luffy had a right to know, he has a right to know everything. And it's this bullshit starting all over again. Law withholding information, and no, never again was he going to go through that hell. He would tell Luffy, and damn the consequences. Law would simply have to be his shoulder to cry on.

But he has paused too long, and Luffy has now gotten nervous. Blinking rapidly, he clears his throat. A darkening of the air around them squeezed the teen's heart, and though he knew to stay strong, this had something to do with his brother, he knew that. He had to stay strong.

But Ace.

"Well?" he continues, and the blonde and black haired don grim faces, until finally, finally, Law broke the nerve racking silence. Nodding once to the police officer, Law took a hold of the smaller boy's wrist and dragged him away from the ruckus, away from the hubbub, and sat him down on a smooth stone near a dead bush. Luffy locks eyes with the man, hoping to read something in those eyes again, but they were that weird stormy gray, when Luffy couldn't make out one damn thing in the mess, and from then he knew, he fucking knew, it was going to be bad.

He steeled his heart for the worst.

Crouching down before him, Law begins. "I don't want to hurt you any more than you have already been."

"Then what about you?" Luffy snaps. "You think it's okay for you, then, to keep it bottled up and not tell anyone else to share the pain with? You're equally at fault here, and you then will equally be in pain. Don't tell me only because I have a right to know. Tell me because you yourself are fucking suffering because of his death, too, and not just me. Tell me because you need someone else to carry the load with you. Tell me because you trust me after all the shit we've been through."

At this Law was shocked. He reeled back, letting the words of his lover sink in, allowing for the terms to finally find their place in his heart, in his soul, in his mind, and after a good minute of sitting and staring into the space of oblivion, Law cracks a small smile.

"You've grown."

"Have I?" Luffy huffs, crossing his arms and glaring at the man. But the action was softened by a small smile of his own, he wasn't grown at all. He was just mirroring the things Law has told him over the course of their time together, just repeating things he's learned about him and about their situation. It wasn't Luffy that was grown. It was Law. And, surely, Law would say the opposite, and, vice versa like that, they fit together in perfect harmony.

Turning towards the finishing of the removal of boxes from below, Law takes a deep breath. "That, over there," he begins, "is Akainu. What killed your brother."

Luffy takes a sudden hold onto Law's hand, wishing and hoping and praying for some stability, and thank God, his world doesn't tilt and fall and break altogether. And then he takes a deep breath. And then it's done. It's over, the information has been sent through his mind, and the worst of it is over. Law calmly waits for the normality to return to his shaking arms, for the wrinkles in his scrunched face to smoothen, and for the deep frown he occupied to vanish. All these occurred within the minute, and Law smiled. He is healing, he is healing!

"Okay," Luffy says confidently. He gave Law permission to go on, which he does.

"According to what my memory serves me, he died the day after I freed him from jail," Law murmurs softly, eyebrow wrinkled in thought. "And seeing as Akainu takes around, oh, twenty four hours to manifest itself and kill the host, the only time it must have been injected into him was—"

"Right after you left him," finishes a voice above them, belonging to Sabo, who brings a hand up in greeting. "Hey. I only caught the last few sentences or so, and I'm here to fill in any missing blanks. We just discovered a sniper gun within the premises, and, after analyzing it, we uncovered its last use the day of your freeing Ace, Law. Fingerprints have been expertly erased from the machine. As to how they accomplished that feat, we've no clue. It must have been shot from a high angle, like a tree, and, with Akainu in, hit him in the chest. But-"

Here he pauses. Takes a deep breath. Continues.

"It's done. We're done. The rest of the place has been cleared out. There are 483 boxes of Akainu. We will take them to a special plant to have them destroyed, and any traces leading to such manufactured items destroyed also. This place will soon be condemned, and another team will come to clean and lock up. Those who have been in cahoots with this Blackbeard are already in jail, and the gang leader himself is doing time for life at Impel Down."

A collective sigh ripples through their beings, for it is done. The power of the police, of those who work together, is brilliant, burning brighter and better than any candle.

"Lastly, there is someone who would like to talk to the both of you," Sabo mentions off handedly, looking behind him with a small smile. Stepping out of the way, a blonde comes forward.

"Marco!" Luffy marvels wth a hint of a grin. Though the teen more than likely forgot their quarrel, Marco has not, and does not greet the smaller with as much enthusiasm. Law narrows his eyes at the man. Sabo urges him to speak, for Marco looked at him uncertainly. Clearing his throat, Marco finally articulates his feelings. "I'm sorry," he confessed condescendingly. "For all I did and what happened in the past."

Silence encompasses the four for many a second, and a sudden tinge of red peeks out from under the light tone of Marco's skin, and to save the man from losing his dignity, Law replies. "It is okay. It is understandable." Luffy nods beside him. "If my lover was dead," Law continues, chuckling at the deepened hue of Marco's cheeks, "I would do the same thing in your position."

"How the hell did you know?" Marco said, awkwardness lifting his voice an octave.

Law shrugged. "I didn't, until now. I had a strong feeling, I could say."

Sabo, who watched the situation unfold with an amused eye, finally clapped his hands in conclusion. "Now that that problem has finally been solved..."

Luffy made a squeak as he found himself head deep inside Sabo's warm embrace. "I love you lil bro," the blonde murmured against Luffy's ear. "And everyday I'm grateful am able to see and talk to you after all these years."

Luffy wraps his arms around the older sibling, a wide grin splitting his face nearly in two. They've been so busy in their lives, they needed something like this once in a while, some break, some relief. "I love you too," replies the younger, and it seems like decades until they split.

Waving their goodbyes, Marco returns with the rest of the group, for he had arrived in a different van. Sabo, Luffy, and Law took one last eyeful of the place, now abandoned, now empty, now without schemes and now without ploys. Devoid of evil and devoid of compliance to the wicked. And with a final bat of the eyelash, the three leave, boarding their van. Not one glanced back, for one does not look to the rough past while at the same time planning for their bright future.

—•—

"You're happy," Law notes plainly, puzzled at the strangely positive behavior the teen was emitting, bouncing around his apartment like a crazed hyena.

From a jump into the air Luffy pauses, turning around slowly, and with wide, open arms. "I don't know why myself, it's like a weight has been lifted off my chest and it's finally letting me live, not just exist."

"Like, you've done to terms with your brother's passing?"

A nod. Another smile. "Something like that. Though something tells me I'll never quite forget him."

"And neither can I," Law says with a form of finality, as if it were a pledge.

"I guess," Luffy starts again, plopping down on the couch and staring at a wall, away from Law. "That it could have something to do with Sabo. Him just, like, reappearing into my life, I guess."

"He came at a good time," Law agrees, sliding down next to Luffy and enjoying his company. Enjoying this talk.

Humming at the statement, the teen opens his mouth once more. "And, well. I guess part of it is because of you."

A warm feeling spreads through Law's chest. He takes the bait, seizes it, makes it his own by asking, "How is that?" in low, gravelly tones.

"Don't make me explain, you ass," Luffy mutters, cheeks burning at the thought of telling Law why him being there made him happy. Why he made Luffy take his mind off things. Made him forget, made him smile. Made him human, made him Luffy.

He was suffering just as Luffy suffered, if not more, and would easily be the crutch for Luffy to lean on, for he was a solid and as hard as a rock. He would look after Luffy, but no one would look after him, and that would fall to being Luffy's job, and oh how they fit. The thought birthed a smile to his countenance, and when curiosity aroused about the expression from Law, the teen shook his head.

A thought came to the younger.

"Let me show you something."

A tug, a pull of the wrist, up from the couch, away, to the kitchen. To the wall. Near the counter where he always kept his pen. Yes, he speciality. Yes, his regularity.

"Is this your calendar?" Law asks, and Luffy nods, all proud.

Luffy takes it down for the first time since he's put it up, and he flips back, back, until February. He allows Law to take in the scribbled handwriting in the dates, and Luffy explains. "Ace and I, we would write down whatever significant happened each day. Because life was too short, and because we should live life to the fullest each day."

Law nods, tracing a finger over the handwriting of his deceased best friend, and Luffy does the same over a different date, feeling the penmanship of a dead brother. Minutes pass.

"What's this one mean?" Law whispers, pointing to the 27th. And Luffy's mind travels back to the time, to the innocent times, when he had only wanted to go for a walk, but came back to the trees in the back being burned, and the hurried rush to go and extinguish the fire. As he tells this story, a laugh bubbles up from inside the both of them.

"Ace must've been a handful," goes Law, wiping a hearty tear from his eye. "Sounds just like him."

"You have no idea," Luffy shakes his head. "The type of shit he put me through back then."

They make it back to the couch, and from thence commenced the swapping of stories about the man who now stays six feet under. Starting from the brother of the boy to the friend of a man, laughter filled the silence and overtook it, until no more of the bright sun shone through the windows. And only until the yellow beam was tinted a warm orange did the laughter begin to fade, leaving two happy smiles in their wake. This was what Ace wanted. Happiness. They've cried enough, they've died enough, they've fought enough.

But as the evening approached so did the darker months of the past, and Luffy seemed calm as he explained what he felt and what he experienced to Law. He was hugging the smaller through the whole reiteration of the ordeal, hushed apologies rolling off his tongue. Luffy shook his head, because it was okay now, and he was better.

Law hums for a little, in thought, then gets up. He goes for the pen Luffy kept safe and brings it over to the calendar on the couch. Turns the calendar to the current date. June 13th. A Saturday. With a careful hand, he draws a heart. "There," Law mutters.

Luffy turns to peck him on the cheeks, eyes glowing. "Thank you."

"Now you know from now on you will never be alone," Law promises, taking a hold of Luffy's hand and kissing it, locking his fiery gaze with the teen's. And what passion, what devotion, what loyalty lay there!

"Ace may be gone, but Sabo is here. I am here. Hell, even Marco is here." Law bites his lips to keep yet another grin down, and his eyes are big and dark and beautiful and blissfully gay. "And it's going to be okay. It is going to be alright. We're going to be okay. We're going to be alright. Yeah, Ace taught me that long ago...but regardless. With Doflamingo and Koala and Marco, with Shachi and Dr. Chopper and those people in your class, with everyone, we can and will pull through."

"Together," Luffy restates firmly. Law nods.

"Then, it can't be my calendar anymore," the younger notes, "it has to be our calendar. We can both start it up again."

"That'd be wonderful," the older says. And together, with each taking his own turn, they sign their name in the heart on the current date. The inscription read:

Law

Luffy

Our Calendar

Living life anew

to the fullest

•I was on a mission today to deliver this ending and wowowow I finished! Sorry if some sentences sound weird I finished reading Jane Eyre yesterday. I'm going to miss this one a lot I loved writing it and the emotion and I hope you all liked the ending! Left it kind of up in the air for you all to decipher in your own delicious ways. Hope you all enjoyed that story and look forward to my others!•