Warnings: A list of all of the warnings for the story will be on my profile. Exceptional chapters will be listed as the story is updated.

A/N: This is a sequel to It's Complicated. Some parts of the story may be confusing if you have not already read that story. It is not necessary to read it, but it may clear up points of confusion.

Disclaimer: Eiichiro Oda owns all of the characters in this story. Anything that is recognizable or relatable to One Piece is his property. The lyrics to the song Darkest Part belong to the band Red. I own all of my words, my plot, my ideas, etc.

1: The Great Return

Day 1

The snow drifted down from the sky in a soft flurry, glimmering in the sun's soft evening rays like hot, burning fire. The sky was orange and yellow, and the rolling hills of clouds above colored white and gray slowly began to change colors, a vortex of water color, a masterpiece of nature. Natures head was reflected in the icy, silent, frigid water that moved below without a sound. No currents were made by wind and no waves were large enough to cause any sort of noise audible to human ears.

A stone of gray and brown shades, it's surface smooth and flat, glided across the glassy water. The water rippled each time the stone hit the surface. Once, twice, thrice, and on the fourth time it sunk. Bubbles drifted to the surface as the stone descended to the bottom of the river, into the dark abyss that could not be seen from the beach.

Ace was on the beach. The boy was tall and somewhat slim, yet he was also strong for his age. His forearms and biceps were slightly firm, his calves somewhat large. Despite the chill in the air, he wore shorts and shoes made of thin fabric. He didn't wear socks either, he didn't care for socks. A thin sweatshirt covered him, keeping out some of the snow. The white tank top below it masked his body and kept his torso somewhat warm.

Ace's breath puffed in front of his body. He knelt down again, sifting through the stones on the sandy shore. His fingers ran over the jagged edges, rough sides, and sharp corners of the stones, rocks, and pebbles that covered the sand. He found another that was smooth, smaller than the one he had just tossed. He stood, put his right leg behind his left, rubbed his fingers over the stone in his hand, dragged his arm back, and then tossed the stone out into the river. This time it skipped across the liquid surface five times. Ace grinned.

"Ace!"

Ace turned around once he heard the yell. He saw one of his younger brothers running towards him. It was Sabo. His blue shorts were covered in mud, just like his boots. Ace smiled and waved at his brother as he came running up to him. When Sabo was close enough, he shoved off the blond's black beanie to ruffle his curly locks.

"Ace, you'll never believe it! Guess who I saw today?"

"Pops?" Ace guessed with a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth, lighting up his eyes from the inside out. Sabo shook his head.

"No, it wasn't him, it was," Sabo got cut off by another yell, this time of both of their names. Ace waved at the man standing by the railing near the stairway leading to the beach. It was Marco. His hair was wild and looked like a haystack. Like the scarf wrapped around his neck, it was beginning to drift in the wind. Sabo smiled. He whipped his head back to Ace, mouth set in a grin.

"Thatch! I saw Thatch! Thatch is back!"

Ace spun his head back to Sabo. His eyes were wide and his mouth was gaping. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" Sabo yelled back, rocking back and forth on his heels. "That's why Marco and I came to find you, he's visiting! He's at home with Law and Luffy right now! C'mon, let's go!" The eight year old yanked Ace's arm, pulling him to the stairs. Ace followed easily, and then started to run ahead of Sabo to where Marco was waiting at the top of the stairs.

"Marco, let's hurry back!" Ace stared at the older man and grinned, pushing him in the direction of the truck. Marco nodded, smiling widely. The cold air had turned his cheeks rather pink.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you want to see him and he wants to see you. Let's hurry before rush hour traffic gets too bad C'mon, he's making dinner right now," Marco put his right arm around the young teenagers shoulders and his left hand rested on Sabo's back, guiding them to his truck that he had parked further down the street. They were all chattering excitedly. They walked down the crowded sidewalk somewhat quickly, avoiding the children running, teens skateboarding and bumping into others carelessly, and the adults chattering into their phones or to the person next to them quietly. Their voices drowned in the cacophony of city sounds, mingling in the falling snow.

Luffy had attached himself to Thatch like superglue. Thatch seemed to have no problem with it. He held the boy whenever he didn't have to stir or chop for the dish he was making. The toddler's questions were baffling, and Law wasn't surprised they made even Thatch sputter. Luffy was definitely an odd soul in the sea of humanity. He grinned at Thatch, rosy cheeks bright. His eyes, one twilight and the other coal, shimmered like stars when he smiled. His smile radiated innocence and happiness. Law never wanted those two aspects of the child to be sullied by the evils of this world.

Luffy was asking this man, who hadn't held Luffy since he was just a babe, random questions to which the man replied with ease and laughter, coupled with a few stunned pauses. Law sat at the kitchen table. Between his lean fingers he held a spoon that he swirled in a mug of black coffee. He watched the pair out of the corner of his eye.

Thatch seemed to be the same person he had been when he had left. He knew this would kill Marco and Smoker. Nothing could change it though. It had taken Thatch years to act like he lived a normal life the first time he was thrown from the streets to a house, according to Marco and Smoker at least. Thatch could wear that mask when necessary, Law had seen it a few times in his younger years, but he sure as well wasn't conscious about it. The back left pocket of his pants bulged due to a pocket knife. When Law had helped him unpack for the weekend, he noticed Thatch had about seven cellphones. He hid them right away, tossing them beneath shirts and boxers, but Law didn't miss the lights reflecting off of the glass.

Luffy almost wrestled his way out of Thatch's arms, but Thatch's quick reflexes saved the boy from a painful fall. Thatch let him down, somehow managing to make sure the reckless boy landed on his feet. Luffy bounded over to Law and leaned on his knees, a bright grin spread across his face. Law blinked at the child, eyes focusing and lighting up despite the half-hearted scowl on his lips. The boy started to climb into the young man's lap. Law sighed and lifted the toddler up. He looked back to the computer next to the coffee mug. It was an application. College. It was asking him mundane questions requiring a few sentences of thought and effort. He sighed. Luffy looked at the glowing screen.

"What's dis?" Luffy smacked at the keyboard, causing a variety of letters and spaces to appear in a textbox. Law groaned softly at his loud voice and the minor disruption to his work. Law lifted Luffy's hands up and away from the keyboard. He did not want Luffy to accidentally hit the "Enter" button.

"Luffy, what voice do we use inside?" Law rested his chin on one of his hands, eyes staring Luffy down even if he knew that expression didn't phase Luffy. Luffy blinked.

"Quiet voices! I forgot!" His head bobbed with his exclamation. "I sorry!" Luffy continued to yell Law sighed.

"Say it using the quiet voice please," Law closed his eyes, shaking his head a bit. Luffy gasped and covered his mouth with his hands.

"I'm sorry," he tried to whisper, but it was a bit too loud. However, it was his quiet voice, so Law sighed with a smile.

"Thank you," Law replied to the toddler. He then pointed at his computer screen. "I'm trying to go to college."

"What's is college?" Luffy asked.

"Adult school," Law stated.

"You wants to keep goings to school?" Luffy gasped. Thatch chuckled a bit. Law gave Thatch a mild glare. He turned his eyes back to Luffy.

"I have to go to school to be a doctor," Law explained as simply and quickly as possible. Luffy opened his mouth to ask another question, but then they heard the door open. Luffy gasped and smiled. He jumped off of Law's lap and scrambled across the floor. His short legs carried him to the entrance of the kitchen. He looked left and squealed with joy, jumping up and down before running down the short hallway. The door closed. There were still a few flakes of snow gently drifting in the doorway. It crowned the heads of the three who had just entered.

Sabo was sitting on the floor, trying to yank off his boots. Ace was stepping down on the heel of his right shoe with the left, trying to pull his foot out of it. Marco, who had just closed the door, had just kneeled down to untie his boots.

"Ace! Sabo! Marco!"

Luffy cheered, running at them. Sabo grinned at the youngest, holding out his arms to the child. Luffy ran to him first and jumped on him. The blond held him in a hug and ruffled the child's unruly black locks, ignoring the fact that he hadn't finished taking off his shoes. Luffy laughed. Ace kicked his shoes to the shoe rack and stepped over to his younger brothers. He put his hands on Luffy's sides and lifted the child up. Luffy laughed and looked back. Ace held the toddler in his arms and walked down the hall. Sabo yanked off his second boot and ran after them, leaving his shoes in the doorway.

Marco sighed as he placed his boots on the rack. He grabbed Ace and Sabo's shoes and tossed them into the basket next to the rack.

"They're not going to learn if you keep putting their shoes away for them," Law reminded Marco. He was standing by the kitchen entrance. His feet were in socks and slippers. He brushed down the wrinkles on his black sweatpants then tugged up the sleeves of his yellow long sleeved shirt. He had a bit of stubble on his jaw and chin. His hair was damp. A towel hung around his neck.

"I know," Marco replied with a sigh. He walked up to the teen and lightly punched his shoulder. Law gave a half hearted punch back before looking at his younger brothers. Thatch had come out of the kitchen. The stove was off, but whatever he had been cooking was covered to keep it hot. Ace stood to the side a bit. Thatch had his hand on his head. Sabo was hugging the man tightly, asking all sorts of questions but not leaving any time for Thatch to answer. Thatch laughed a bit at that. Luffy was standing by the TV, holding onto a console controller with his right hand and a game case with the other.

"When's Smoker getting back?" Law asked Marco. Marco hummed and then reached into his back right pocket. He pulled out his phone and unlocked it, simply swiping to the left. The chat was already open.

"He says he can't get out of work until about 6:00 tonight. Something about organizing information for a case," Marco replied to the teen. Law nodded his head. He looked at Thatch and his brothers. His phone beeped. He blinked and pulled his phone out from his pocket. Marco started over towards the rowdy group when Luffy started screaming about playing games. Law looked up, then down at his phone. He quickly unlocked it, pressing a series of buttons. It was a text.

Law opened the chat icon. It was a message from Killer. An image. He clicked on it and stared at the picture. It was a picture of a very tall man. He was wearing a white jacket, off-white pants, leather shoes, a pink dress shirt, and a bright pink scarf. He had glasses on the bridge of his nose. The lenses were tinted. His blond hair was cut close to his skull. Law stared at it for a few minutes. He took in the surroundings of the man. There were familiar buildings and signs surrounding him from another part of the city that Law rarely visited during the day. Another message came in.

/Someone sent this./

Law sighed. He felt a shudder run up his spine. He clicked in the messaging space, which brought up the keyboard. He typed with his left hand.

/Meeting tonight?/

He stared at it for a minute, but got no response. He locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket with a grimace on his lips. Luffy then ran up to him, smiling widely. He pulled on Law's sweatpants.

"Come plays Law!" Luffy exclaimed. Law ruffled the toddler's head. He started to shuffle over to the couch. Luffy cheered and ran back to Ace, jumping into the young teens lap. He was playing a game against Marco. Sabo was watching intently. Thatch sat on the couch, watching with a soft smile. Law sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a bit, watching their family play the game.

"I know what you've started doing Law," Thatch said quietly. Law glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and then looked back to the screen. He leaned against the opposite arm of the couch.

"And?" Law asked. Thatch heaved a heavy sigh.

"If things get out of hand, I'm going to tell Smoker," Thatch stated. Law's eyes narrowed. He glared at the older man out of the corner of his eyes. His lips pulled back tightly. Thatch didn't look at him. "You know exactly why. I'm not going to say anything for now because I can still step in. You haven't gone too deep yet. Stop before you go too far though, Law. You don't want to know what's on the other side."

"I already know," Law grumbled out in response. He slouched a bit. Thatch sighed and leaned back into the cushions.

"You only know a little about it Law. You don't want to know what lies beyond that boundary."

Law opened his mouth to reply, his head now turned to look directly at Thatch, when suddenly a pillow was chucked at his face. Law grunted. The pillow fell slowly. Law looked over to the group sitting before the television. Ace was grinning at him. Law stood with the pillow in hand. Ace grabbed another.

"Go to your room if you're gonna have a pillow fight, there's nothing important in there to break," Marco demanded. Law and Ace looked at each other, then took off running down the hall. Sabo laughed loudly and ran after them. Luffy jumped up and took off after Sabo as well, shouting in glee. Marco sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"How do they all have so much energy?" Marco complained. Thatch snorted and then laughed. Marco glared at him with a dull look in his eyes. Thatch shot him a thumbs up. Marco stuck his middle finger up at his cousin. It just caused him to laugh even more.

Day 2

The car sat in an empty parking lot of one of the local shopping centers. The lights to Walmart were bright. A few cars were parked in front of it. The old car, with a bit of rust and several scratches to give it character, sat far from the other cars and in a hidden space. The radio was on low volume, spewing late night tunes out. It was a slow song. The windows were open. Smoke was flowing out of it.

Law inhaled. The joint was in his mouth. He pulled it out, then exhaled. Smoke puffed around his face. He sat in the passenger's seat. It was pushed back as far as was possible for the old car. One of his feet was on the dashboard. The other rested along the open window. His foot nearly touched the side mirror. Killer sat in the seat next to him. His seat was leaning back. He stared at the ceiling of the car, breathing slowly. Law waved the joint in his face. It was nearly finished. Killer took it from his friend's hands and brought it up to his lips.

Law was staring at the screen of his cell phone. The picture was up. He breathed in and out slowly. Killer crushed the stub of the joint in the tray he kept in the back seat. He looked at his friend.

"Thatch says he knows what we've been doing," Law said after a few seconds. He tapped his finger to the screen, refusing to let the light dim. Killer stared at his friend. He blinked and shuffled a bit where he sat in the reclined chair.

"Do you want to stop?" Killer asked. Law's fingers tightened on the phone. He turned his eyes to Killer. A fire of rage was built up in his dark gray orbs. Killer continued to stare. He shrugged with ease. "Just asking you, Law."

Law turned away, staring at the image on the screen. He sighed. He relaxed in his seat.

He sat on the stone steps of the house. The falling snow continued to cover the ground in a pure white blanket. His eyes stared at the indents in the snow not to far away from where he had been dragged too. The bright red and blue flashing lights illuminated the red stains seeping into the snow, turning it pink and crimson. He looked at the metal he had dropped on the ground.

His cheek was sore. Someone was holding an ice pack to it. They were trying to speak to him, but he couldn't muster any words. He could see people moving, he could hear the sounds being made. He saw flashing white lights, like cameras flashing. Yellow caution tape was being put up.

He saw a flash of moving pink. His eyes flashed upwards. He watched as the figure appeared from behind an ambulance, from down the street. Police were leading him. His hands were behind his back. Law stared. He opened his mouth.

Law jerked a bit when Killer tapped his arm. He looked back at his friend. Killer stared at him. The corners of his mouth were downturned. He nodded at his friend. Killer lowered his hand with a sigh after a few moments of silence. Law looked back to his phone and found that the screen had dimmed and the screen was locked. He stared at his phone and then shoved it in his sweatshirts pocket. He licked his lips.

"When is he supposed to get here?"

Killer shrugged. "I dunno, he said he'd get here when he gets here."

Law huffed. The music droned on in the background. The two sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. They didn't talk for three songs. Killer's phone buzzed. Law looked at his friend as he lifted his phone up to check. Killer sat up then. He turned around, looking out the back window. Law followed suit. A man was standing against the wall of Walmart facing the woods that the car was parked near. Law and Killer looked at each other. Law opened the glove compartment and pulled out a pocket knife. Killer pulled out his brass knuckles from beneath his seat and put them in his jacket's right side pocket.

After removing the keys from the ignition, the two stepped out of the car. The music died out as the doors opened. They closed their doors rather loudly. The man watched them approach from his vantage point against the wall. They walked with their backs straight and their shoulders at ease. They moved to stand in front of the man before them. The two teenagers stared at the older man. They couldn't see much of his face, but they assumed he was in his twenties. He had a scarf covering the lower half of his face, and a hat covered most of his forehead. Only his eyes were visible. They felt a bit bare having come dressed as they normally dressed during the night. Maybe scarfs would've been a good idea.

"Cash first, then info," the man spoke gruffly. He was tense from the cold. His eyes were filled with suspicion, roaming over the two young men and lingering on every detail, every scar he saw. Killer reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He waved it in the man's face. As the man went to grasp it, Killer pulled it away and slipped it into his shirts sleeve.

"You've seen it, you're not getting anything till you tell us what you know," Killer told him with a deep voice. The man's eyes narrowed a bit.

"What exactly do you want to know?"

"It depends on how much it costs," Law replied. His arms were crossed. He stood straight, eyes boring into the stranger's own with a fierce intensity. The man huffed.

"Depends on what you want."

"Why is Doflamingo here?" He asked. The man whistled a bit. Killer stared at his friend from the corner of his eye.

"I'm surprised you know he's here," The man's voice was lilted now. He was excited about this. Law's shoulders tensed. The man snorted. "Relax, it ain't my business," The man replied. He looked Law dead in the eyes. "It ain't gonna be cheap," The man stated.

"Name a price," Killer demanded.

"Seven hundred. Lucky for you only a few people know about him, he faded out of the blacklight after his arrest," The man smirked.

"Fine. We'll pay it. Just answer the damn question," Law snarled, taking a small step forward. The man glared. He pulled out a knife from behind.

"Take another step forward and you're gonna pay," The information broker threatened. Law glowered and took a step back. The broker stared at him for a second before shifting where he stood. "He's going by another name now, Smile. He's into some nasty shit, illegal drug trade n' all. He's got several people with him, their own gang of sorts. Rumor has it they're looking for the one who got him put in jail in the first place."

Law said nothing. He turned around and started to head for the car. Killer pulled out the cash. He handed the man seven hundred dollars. The man grabbed it and shoved it into his jacket inner pocket. Killer then handed him another five hundred. "Don't say our names," Killer told the broker. The stranger nodded. He pocketed the cash. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He started to walk away, leaving the strong smell of nicotine in his wake.

Killer returned to the car after a few moments. He readjusted his seat and sat down. He breathed in and out. Law sat in the seat next to him. He stared out the window. His eyes were closed off, and he felt a distance between the two at that moment. Killer looked to his friend. Law didn't look at him. Killer sighed. He put the key in the ignition and turned it. Static blared from the radio. Killer reached out and changed the station until he could hear something clearly. He put his foot on the break and started to pull out of the parking spot. Law let the snowflakes land on his hands sticking out the window. The radio came on with a rumble of lyrics and drums, guitars and violins. The local alternative channel run by cranky college students.

So afraid to be alone

I tried to let you go

Still I find you lost inside the darkest part of me

Am I the black stain of your perfect life?

Am I the darkness that you need to hide?

It covers you

It spills over you

I never wanted you to see-

Law changed the station just as they pulled out of the parking lot. Killer's lips twitched. He drove past the other cars driving on the streets at the outskirt of the city at a high speed. Law never pulled his other hand out of the window.

A/N: Hello! I know it's been a long wait for some of you, and for new readers welcome to the new, first sequel to It's Complicated. Thank you very much for reading this chapter! I have a lot planned for this story. I am going to attempt to update this at least once a month, but I don't know how well I'll be able to stick to that schedule. However, I'll try my best to uphold it!

If you have already read some of my stories, you probably know my stories tend to be dark. I'll be posting a list of warnings on my profile as I stated above and updating that regularly. I will be marking the beginning and end of moments of violence in particular with asterix (*).

Again, thank you for reading this story! I truly appreciate you guys reading this, it makes me super duper happy! :)