Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All characters and concepts are the intellectual property of Eiichiro Oda. I am but a simple fan spinning tales about Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates crew.

Characters: Trafalgar Law, Heart Pirates Crew

I

Trafalgar Law awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible craving for food. That in itself was unusual as the Surgeon of Death was more likely to skip meals than to want them. However, two skipped meals and a breakfast consisting mostly of coffee drew the line for his stomach. It wanted food and it wanted it now: the 200 million beli bounty head had absolutely no say in the matter.

Begrudgingly, Law dragged himself out of bed and trudged to his door. It took a few open-handed slapping of his palms against steel walls before he found the handle, then he bowed his head against it, mustering as much strength as his half-asleep state allow. He slid his door open soon after, only to hiss and wrinkle his nose at the air that flooded in. It was warm and musty, smelling faintly of grease and sweat: not entirely uncommon in their submarine but unpleasant when one was long unexposed to it. A few seconds out in the hall and his discomfort faded, taking with it the last shreds of his lethargy. Once more, his stomach commanded his full attention; Law absently scratched his midsection as he marched to the galley.

The click of the light switch resounded loudly in the room as lights flickered to illuminate empty countertops. The hungry man felt an uncharacteristic pout pull at his features: the meal usually left out for him had been kept away for the night. Every bit of satiating food in the galley was now stuck somewhere inside the Heart Pirates' fridge. He sighed at the thought of cold food, but it wasn't the time to be picky.

And so, Law ventured a look. A wall of closely packed glass jars and bottles met his eyes, their contents coloring it in a rainbow of hues. The lowest compartment, crammed with various leafy vegetables, provided a solid green base. Right above it were jars of sweetened fruit preserves; the little the pirate could see of them were many shades of reds, purples and oranges. Stacked in the next layer were bottles of alcoholic beverages, water and what he assumed was milk, with the first and second topped by a very thin layer of the third. Amber and green-tinted bottles were flanked on both sides by clear ones; Law guessed one or the other was their water supply. The door was equally as filled, with eggs, medicine and even more bottles precariously balanced in its compartments.

The captain of the ship stared for a good minute at the whole thing, trying to decide which item, if taken out, would not send the whole food supply falling on top of him. He closed it soon after, and his stomach grumbled in protest.

Rolling his eyes, the young man opted for the next best thing. He activated his devil fruit ability and stole all of his sleeping crewmates from their beds, transported them into the kitchen. The resulting thud of half a dozen bodies at his feet would have normally put a smile on the supernova's lips, but it wasn't the case that night.

"Crew," Law called amid groans of pain and indignant cries of untangling bodies. The group fell silent and looked to him, on the alert for his next order. "Food."

The group of young men stared oddly at him in the silence that followed. Whether they were wondering if they were still asleep or deciding if their captain was exercising some form of ungodly 3 A.M. humor, the brunet couldn't find it in himself to care. He tapped his foot impatiently and regarded them with a scowl.

"You heard the captain, guys," the cook ventured. "Time for breakfast."

With small, confused grunts of agreement, as if the clockwork in their heads were just barely starting to run, the crew scrambled to their feet and scattered to take care of preparations. Law stepped out of their way and leaned against a wall, watching the group with no small measure of curiosity. The cook had started giving orders to his crewmates, enjoying this unexpected opportunity to command them. Some he asked to retrieve meat in the freezer and vegetables in the pantry; others he told to prepare kitchenware; and a pair he sent to set the table. Meanwhile, the man himself inspected the contents of the refrigerator.

The supernova cast him a sideways glance, wondering how he planned to get anything out of the giant ice box. The cook took a step closer to the fridge and signaled for a crewmate to stand by him. With casual confidence, he reached inside and started pulling items one after another. One hand freed what he needed from its niche and the other adjusted whatever had been displaced. The foodstuff were all passed on to the person behind him, who in turn, passed them to the people at the counters. All the while, the cook gave instructions on whether the items were to be washed, peeled, sliced up or have whatever other food-preparation process done to them.

Law raised a brow, intrigued by their system: no help was required from his part. With a shrug, he left the room and settled in the now-prepared dining table. He had not waited for very long when a pot of black coffee was brought out and poured into each of the Heart Pirates' mugs. Eggs and baskets of bread came not soon after. By then, some of the men had settled into their usual places around the table, chatting noisily. Various other light meals were brought in, but not one of the crew made any motion to touch the food.

Not until he started eating, Law mused absently.

Just as the last of the early breakfast was taken to the table, the crew's resident kung fu expert peeked into the room. The smell of food had the polar bear investigating from his watch post.

"Care to join us, Bepo?" the captain asked as he reached for the closest viand before him.

"What's everyone doing up?" the addressed replied as he stepped inside.

"Cooking for captain," Shachi bragged with a grin, already engaging in a tug-of-war for the plate of bacon.

"When he called us out," Penguin added as he inspected the contents of his sandwich.

"And me?"

"Well, you don't have opposable thumbs."

"And you were on watch, weren't you?"

"Sorry…"

Law shook his head and pointed to an empty seat with his fork. With the same utensil, he scooped up his first bite of a very early breakfast. The Heart Pirates exchanged smiles and followed suit.

A/N: I thought I'd start this little series off with something lighthearted. Hopefully, it also sets my general perspective on the workings of the Heart Pirates, with the line between captain and crew clearly defined. I dunno; I just get this impression Law isn't as close to his crewmates as certain other captains, like Luffy or Shanks and maybe even Kid.

EDIT: [2-13-13] Version 2 finished

I had deleted my review replies before, as I tend to reply to them via PM, but there are a number of guest reviews now that I can't address the same way. :( Therefore, I will now have a reply section for reviews according to chapter.

Also, a link to the cover art can be found in my profile.

REVIEWS REPLIES:

To 10th Squad 3rd Seat:
I find them, indeed, cute, but I hope my bias wouldn't be too taxing to read. ^^;

To Raventail
Indeed, even now in the manga, Law seems to be a person who flies solo. Hopefully, his interactions with his crew in the future would still indicate a level of closeness.

To CherishCherries:
I'm glad to know the mental image got through. Thanks for letting me know. :)

To Seis Fleur:
I hope you've enjoyed the rest of the chapters as well.

To Monkey D. Writer:
Congratulations! I didn't think I'd get so many in a year's time. In any case, you know what they say about doctors being the worst patients. XD