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It’s ironic really, Law thinks as he lays motionless in his bunk. His disease had begun to progress at an accelerated pace these past couple of months. New patches of skin began to blister and slough away, leaving pale painful splotches behind. The effort to maintain his aloof façade left him drained and exhausted, and yet the pain of the disease and the crippling fear of what horrors await him in his dreams, often worked in tandem to keep him up into the wee hours of the night. Tonight seemed to be one such night, as even Buffalo seemed determined to keep him from dozing with his thunderous snores.
It's a wonder he was even able to hear her over his noisy roommate.
“Law? Are you still awake?”
Law opens one eye and rolls his head towards the door, grunting irritably to find Baby 5 standing nervously in the doorway. “Yes.”
“Can we talk please?” Baby’s eyes flit nervously to Buffalo where he sleeps in the top bunk. “In private?”
That request has Law on edge almost immediately. If she wasn’t here for comfort and a pat on the head, then what on earth was she here for in the middle of the night? It was not uncommon for Baby to find her way into the boy’s room at night – the three youngest members of the DonQuixote pirates each had their own demons that plagued their sleep, and Baby seemed to take the most comfort from close proximity when the nightmares came calling. Some nights, Baby would wake them both up climbing into whichever bunk was easiest to access. Usually Law’s. The trio would talk about some of their darkest fears without shame - or well, the duo. Law was not forthcoming with the specifics of his own sleeplessness, but really it wasn't any of their business! Baby trusted Buffalo like a big brother - what could she possibly want to share with Law that she couldn't share in front of the slumbering oaf above him?
“What do you really want Baby? We both know Buffalo is your real friend. Why do you need me?” Laws hauls himself upright to give Baby a mean sneer. “Or are you finally gonna take out your competition for the title of Doffy’s Favourite Brat?”
To Law’s horror, that minor taunt was enough to have tears welling in Baby’s eyes and the young boy was mildly perturbed as she began to cry.
“Why are you always so mean Law! All I’ve ever done is try to be your friend!” She sniffles pathetically as big fat tears roll down her face and Law feels an unwanted pang of guilt that he immediately smothers. “This has nothing to do with you or your weird obsession with death either! I’m just scared, and I need help and I don’t know who else to ask but I should’ve known better than to ask you-”
Law cuts her off with a panicked look towards the top bunk where Buffalo’s snores had become a fretful staccato and he seemed to slip into partial wakefulness for a tense moment. If Buffalo woke up and found that Law had yet again made Baby cry… “alright I’m coming!” he whisper-yells, gesturing for Baby to lead the way as he slips out of bed. “Just don’t wake up chainsaw-bucky over there!”
Baby is still sniffling every moment or so, but the tears seemed to have mostly stopped -gone as quickly as they came, the crybaby – and she leads Law silently towards the small ‘laundry room’ that was set up in the back of the warehouse.
“Why’d you take me all the way back here Baby? You really aren’t inspiring confidence here…” Law snarks half heartedly, but tenses when he see’s the slightly bloody bedclothes soaking in the washbasin, “… what… happened…?”
Baby shuffled awkwardly for a moment, staring at the far wall. “… you’re learning how to be a doctor right? Like… Doffy has Lao G helping you to learn that… again?”
Law can’t help but pick up the awkward air, and tenses further in response. “Yes… if you hurt yourself then you should go see Lao G – not me, I’m not a doctor yet and really I – “
“I can’t go see Lao G for this!” Baby cuts him off with a shriek, face flushing practically scarlet.
Law blinks once, twice at his friend before crossing his arms over his chest and shuffling on the spot. “I don’t know how you want me to help Baby.”
“I just- I can’t - …. Do you know… like hypothetically… if it’s normal to bleed… down there?”
Law’s own face ignites a splotchy crimson at her stammered question, and he can only splutter nonsensically under the weight of his sudden embarrassment. When he comes back to himself, he finds Baby clutching the bell of her nightgown in both hands, shaking faintly where she stands and Law, for a moment finds himself reminded of his own little sister. Still though… “I – erm, you mean without any injury?" he asks, in a rush, looking anywhere but her direction. Baby makes a small noise of confirmation and Law feels his cheeks burn even brighter. "Um... it can be. Sometimes. If you can’t talk to Lao G about this then you should definitely find Giolla, I don’t know if I’m the best person to-”
“Are you dumb?! That crazy old bat couldn’t keep a damn thing secret if she tried!” Baby interrupted again, and Law felt his irritation spike.
“Well she’s all that you’ve got Baby – I’m not a girl so I can’t help you, find someone else!” He snaps, tired and embarrassed and feeling so very out of his depths.
“what’s being a girl got to do with anything, stupid?!”
“Everything!” Law’s vision whites out for a second as sickness and exhaustion war within him. The wind leaves his sails, and he can only stare tiredly across the dim room at Baby’s angry form. “You really don’t know anything about your own body?”
She seems to wilt at the question. “Who’s going to teach it to me? My mom?” she wilts further, curling in on herself as her short-lived anger once again turns itself to sadness.
The pair let that statement hang in the air a moment, both acutely aware of its weight.
“…my parents… sat my sister and I down to learn about how different bodies begin to enter maturity before… before.” Law states awkwardly and feels the pain of their loss like a brand on his skin. More painful than the lesions from amber-lead disease. Baby, thankfully remains silent. “look, I don’t know a lot about this because I’m a boy and boys don’t do … that” Law waves toward the wad of soiled bedding and feels himself flush deeper at how dumb he sounds. “but if you talk to Giolla she can help you. You ask Giolla and I’ll see what information I can weasel out of the old coot Lao G… okay?”
"But what is 'that '?" She presses, brows still scrunched in frustration.
Law sighs and draws on a forgotten well of tolerance to avoid snapping at her again. "If I'm right, it's a completely normal 'girl thing' and Giolla will help you way better than I can."
Baby seems to relax a bit, and Law feels the atmosphere begin to lighten.
“So… I’m not dying?” She asks, hesitantly.
Law rolls his eyes, falling back into his snarky banter easily. “Probably not, I couldn’t be that lucky.”
A fuzzy slipper promptly smacks him in the face with a call of ‘jerk!’
--
The next day, when the DonQuixote family sits down to lunch, Giolla and Lao G seem to be having a hushed conversation on one end of the table, casting conspiratorial glances at the two youngest members as they eat their fill. When Law points Baby 5 towards a fresh pot of ginger tea with horribly feigned indifference, Lao G, at least has the decency not to chuckle.