A/N: I am slowly but surely descending into shipping hell via Tumblr, and since I will ship Law with pretty much anyone (as long as I feel that I can make it not too terribly ooc) this happened (and it is obviously AU, but within the canon setting).

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece.

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Trafalgar Law returning to his crew was the highlight of the Heart Pirate's week, as they had not expected their captain coming back to them so soon. Nor had they anticipated that Law would inform them all that he was still in an alliance with Straw Hat Luffy's crew and as such, they were to meet up with the other crew in a month's time. No one argued the point, as Law was their captain no matter how long he had spent away from them.

While Law took a good deal of his hours aboard the ship making preparations, he also made sure to reconnect with his crew. That part was not so hard, as his crewmates all admired him, for whatever reason, and Law therefore had no trouble reestablishing himself as captain of the Heart Pirates.

There was, however, one man on board the ship who was not as welcoming.

Law had noticed on day one of being reunited with his crew that Penguin had not greeted him with as much enthusiasm as the others had. Bepo had, in fact, scooped him up into a tearful hug as the rest of the crew surrounded him with excited chattering. Penguin had held back, however, and had not said a word since Law's return. For the most part, Penguin avoided the dark haired captain and that was not something that Law was going to allow to continue for much longer, as it was rather out of character for the other man.

Since the Heart Pirate captain had nothing to do but wait for a few days to see if a plan he set up would go into motion, he decided that he would need to address his crewmate's reactions as of late. Law needed to find out why Penguin was giving him the cold shoulder, and whether or not his silent crewmate would interfere with future plans Law had for himself and the rest of the crew.

When Law finally did choose to confront Penguin about his behavior, the dark haired pirate captain honestly did not expect the kind of response he received.

-x-

Penguin reclined against the railing of the submarine as it sailed aimlessly along the sea. The breeze felt nice that day, and it was welcome after being stuck in the stifling confines of the sub for days on end. But that was not what was on the Heart Pirate's mind right now. Penguin's hat shaded his gaze, yet it was focused solely on his captain, who was currently speaking with some of the crew. The conversation topic did not matter right now so much as how at ease Law was around them all after being gone for so long.

The Heart Pirate crossed his arms and focused on the small group. He couldn't believe how easily the rest of his crewmates had accepted Law back. How none of them had asked any questions of what had happened, and had instead blindly welcomed Law back and did not so much as bat an eye over the idea of taking on an emperor in a months' time. Sure, there had been some concern, but not as much as Penguin would have expected.

Because they all trusted Law.

Penguin trusted Law as well, but the fact that his captain was completely silent on how he had survived on Dressrosa as well as those long months on Punk Hazard were concerning. Penguin's eyes narrowed on Law, who was currently saying something that made another crewmate laugh. Penguin gripped his forearms tightly as he gritted his teeth. He knew that he shouldn't feel resentful over Law providing no explanation. It was to be expected, since there had been little contact between Law and the rest of the crew. Penguin knew that he should respect his captain's decisions, including his silence on what happened in his absence, but found it difficult to do so. And then there was the other reason that the Heart Pirate crewmate felt resentful, and Penguin had not been overly aware of the fact.

Not until Law had left some months ago to go to Punk Hazard alone.

Penguin eased up on the pressure he had on his forearms and frowned. No, he had noticed it sooner than that. It was only when Law had been gone for a few days from the crew when Penguin finally realized it. Realized that he missed Law, and that he missed the captain in a way that was more intimate than the rest of his crewmates.

The Heart Pirate crewmate was fairly certain he was in love with Law at that point in time. Or rather, if not love, he found that he really, really liked his captain a lot and had hated being separated from him. Penguin knew that the rest of the crew had missed Law as well, but for him, Law's absence meant something more.

It frustrated the Heart Pirate, as he knew that he did not always feel that way. In fact, Penguin had tried his hardest to feel anything but comradery with his fellow crewmates. But in doing so, it left Penguin feeling lonely in an entirely different way, and some random whore on an island would not satisfy his needs. Some of which Penguin felt embarrassed by that he felt he would have to keep to himself. Especially as some of it pertained to Law and Penguin wasn't sure what his captain would do if he ever found out.

Penguin's gaze lingered on Law, before he looked away and forced himself to quell any longing he may have felt. Penguin didn't want to ruin what he already had, and he wasn't even sure that Law would even be interested in any case. Penguin pushed away from the railing as he mused to himself over the fact that it would be inappropriate for a crewmember such as himself to become intimately involved with his captain anyway. Thinking that he would go get something to eat if Shachi and the others hadn't all wolfed it down by now, Penguin almost didn't notice that Law had begun to follow after him.

Penguin did his best to ignore the fact that his captain was getting closer to him, and when he realized that Law was most certainly following him specifically, the Heart Pirate crewmate made the decision to turn and head the cabins. Penguin would have normally stopped to see what his captain wanted, but as he was still distracted by his feelings he had for the man following after him, he kept walking. Penguin wasn't so sure he could restrain himself at that point in time, so he made an immediate beeline for his cabin. Penguin could only hope that Law did not insist on following him inside the small room to have a chat, because the Heart Pirate wasn't so sure what he would do and whether he would make things awkward.

Very, very awkward, especially in such close confines as a cabin.

Penguin knew that his plan had been dashed because as soon as he locked himself in the room, Law appeared. His captain had to have used his Devil Fruit powers to warp into the room, as one of Penguin's pillows had vanished, and in its place, Law appeared. Penguin stood rooted to the spot, one hand on the door as his eyes were drawn unwillingly to the sight of the man seated on his bed. The Heart Pirate crewmate felt that he should leave, now, but as soon as Law caught his gaze, Penguin was unable to look away.

That damn smirk coupled with the amused yet quizzical expression made Penguin unable to resist as much as he wanted to. Law looked too damn tempting right now, seated as he was on his bed in a rather lazy lounge. And since Penguin had, embarrassingly enough, fantasized about his captain being in that exact spot as he had wild thoughts about taking him and letting the whole damn ship know it, the Heart Pirate found himself acting accordingly.

Penguin let go of the door and crossed the room in a few short steps. He gave Law no time to say anything, and instead reached out with a hand to give his captain a rough shove in the chest. The force knocked Law over onto his back, and Penguin swiftly moved to rest over Law's waist. Penguin's hands went to pin the dark haired pirate's shoulders down to prevent him from rising, as he'd felt the other man twitch his muscles as if to do just that. The Heart Pirate crewmate took a brief moment to inwardly laugh at the thought of Law overpowering him in such a situation, and wondered if the thought crossed his captain's mind. Penguin was fairly certain that he was physically stronger than Law, despite their slight height difference. And whereas Law seemed to rely on his Devil Fruit powers in a fight, Penguin had worked out and practiced countless hours with Shachi and Bepo. In order to better use his body and his fists in particular in a fight that more often than not ended up being up close and personal with an opponent.

And as Penguin flicked his eyes to Law's, he was fairly sure that his captain could see his expression now that they were close enough. He could tell that Law was thinking along similar lines about how he had seemed to have forgotten how strong Penguin was.

Well, he wouldn't be thinking about that for much longer with what Penguin had in mind.

Penguin had one moment to see a startled look in Law's eyes over what was going on before Penguin leaned over and kissed him, regardless of any repercussions for doing so. Penguin felt that if he didn't do it now, he might lose sight of what he wanted to do and instead make some excuse to leave the room. And now that he actually had Law where he'd imagined him being in more than one instance, he was rather reluctant to let his captain leave.

Because Penguin hadn't realized how badly he'd wanted this until he was actually kissing Law.

How much he had wanted to kiss Law for at least two year or at the very least brush a hand against a shoulder or something. And the sight of his captain right there on his bed and wearing that infuriating smirk of his was the last straw at attempting any kind of restraint whatsoever. Law really should have known better than to tease him and sit there on his damn bed in such a provocative way, but Penguin couldn't exactly fault him for it because his captain had had no idea as to how one of his crewmate's felt about him.

Well, Law knew for sure now how he felt, what with the sudden kiss and all.

Penguin moved one hand slowly from Law's shoulder in order to reach up and thread his fingers through the other's hair. Penguin ran his hand gently through the hair for a moment, before his grasp tightened. Penguin jerked his captain's head to the side toward him in order to better press his lips firmly against Law's. The Heart Pirate tugged again and boldly traced Law's lips with his tongue, intent on drawing some sort of reaction out of the other man. At one small gasp, either for the licking or the rough tugging, Penguin immediately went in to deepen the kiss, tongue quickly mapping the inside of Law's mouth. Penguin felt his captain shift beneath him but was too lost in the kiss to really bother to keep Law pinned down as firmly as before. Penguin indulged in the kiss for a few moments longer as he made sure to make it as thorough as possible to leave the other man breathless. With obvious reluctance, Penguin finally broke the kiss with a harsh exhalation over the effort.

Complete silence reigned.

Penguin was glad of the hat on his head because it cast a shadow over the faint blush that he was sure was there, as well as any lingering guilt that may have reached his eyes. Law could probably see his face, but shaded as it was the hat was able to hide, for the most part, his feelings over what he'd just done. Penguin felt further torn over his sudden actions when his captain didn't immediately react to the kiss he'd been given and worse, didn't even say anything to him.

Law remained frozen in place for a little while longer, before he used his powers to swap places with Penguin's pillow again.

Penguin stared down at the pillow before he slumped onto it with a sigh. Penguin pressed his face into the pillow as he sincerely hoped that he had not fucked things up by doing what he had just done. But Penguin did not hear any demand to leave and took that as a good sign. Just to be sure, however, Penguin waited a good two hours before he went out of his room and to a small mess hall. But when he arrived, Penguin found something a good deal more intriguing than food.

The sight of Law acting as if nothing had happened between them.

Penguin knew this for certain because as soon as his captain saw him, Law headed over to him without so much as a change in the faint smirk he wore over something he'd said to Shachi.

"Penguin?"

"Yes?" The Heart Pirate asked, still expecting a reprimand of some kind.

"Can you make sure that all of the supplies here are in order?" Law asked as he held out a sheet of paper.

"Of course." Penguin agreed automatically, his hand briefly brushing his captain's as he took the sheet of paper. "I'll go take care of that now."

"Let me know what you find." Law said as he turned away. "We'll need to find the nearest island if there is anything amiss."

"Aye, captain." Penguin immediately headed for the storage room on the submarine, immensely relieved that he was not being kicked off of the ship for stealing the kiss. As the Heart Pirate walked away, however, he missed the contemplative look Law had on his face. Penguin had no idea of knowing that in that moment, Law's eyes were focused on him alone and not any of the chattering crew around him.

-x-

Things on the ship went back to normal after that…incident…and Penguin was relieved that nothing seemed to have come from the kiss he'd given his captain. Law didn't treat him any any differently than before in any case, and that was what the Heart Pirate had been more concerned about than the possibility of being asked to leave the crew. Penguin felt that he had a better grip on his feelings now, and no further incidents would occur.

Penguin's restraint, however, was tested one week later during a hot spell in the New World, and the Heart Pirate blamed the sweltering heat for the actions he took one of those muggy and unpleasant days.

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A/N: While I toy around with The Klutz' sequel and figure out the Usurped and Ensnared plots, I decided to post this because it is about 8/9 chapters long and is going to be around 15K to 20K, give or take (it's on the shorter side). And as a side fact, Usurped was supposed to have some PenguinxLaw in it but I decided against it a few chapters in.

But in this fic, I imagine Penguin still to be some badass that kicks ass (like I sort of pictured him in Usurped) and is, like the rest of the crew, overprotective of Law. And for this fic, who knows about IC/ooc stuff at this point because this was done at random and therefore is likely to be utterly ridiculous yet it satisfies my urge to write something with this pairing (even though I normally steer clear of shipping crewmates with one another).