(A/N: They are teenagers in this chapter.)
(Warnings: None)
"You're trembling."
Penguin inhaled sharply and just about choked in surprise. He swung around to face his fiery redheaded friend that had somehow snuck up on him.
"What?" He said as a reflex, not having taken the time to process what he had said before opening his big mouth.
Somehow, he had gotten caught up in his own distracting thoughts while he manned the controls of the Polar Tank. That alone would normally be cause for discipline or at least a scolding from their shorter but horribly intimidating captain if he caught them. Thankfully, it was just Shachi though it was hardly better.
Suspicious of Penguin's spacy head and lack of self-perseverance, Shachi stepped forward to grab his surprisingly clammy hands to measure his well-being himself. The two of them could read each other like a book after all these years as friends, hence Shachi's suspicion. The unnatural clamminess of his toughened palms was enough to raise alarm on its own but his sluggish actions and interrupted focus made it all the more concerning.
"I said you're trembling. Are you feeling okay? I was calling you and you weren't responding." Had he been? Maybe he wasn't doing as well as he thought…
Seeing his best friend so concerned over virtually nothing made his chest burn with shame at being such a bother. Rather than Shachi's usual cheerful expression, concern was written all over his face. His hand moved just under the lip of Penguin's hat so he could feel his forehead, which just so happens to also be suspiciously damp and warm.
Sure, he didn't feel fantastic but he felt fine enough to keep working! It wasn't like they had a lot of members on their crew at the moment anyway so even if he wasn't fit to work, he couldn't waste time resting. With currently only four members manning the newly sanctioned Polar Tang, all hands needed to be on deck, meaning no unnecessary breaks.
It didn't make him feel any better lying to Shachi but if he let it slip that he felt like he was too weak to work, he'd never hear the end of it.
Pushing the ginger's hands away from his own, he slid his rickety chair across the floor with an appalling squeal that made his already terrible headache even worse.
"Don't touch me, dude. I'm fine." His breathing was labored, contradicting himself instantly but he smoothly masked it with a dramatic sigh. If Shachi took notice, he didn't call him out on it.
With a quick flick of the wrist, he shooed his friend out of his workspace, determined to be alone before Shachi became the wiser and caught on.
"Now, go on. Captain will have your head if he finds you away from your station." Within proper reason of course.
Once he realized he was right, Shachi paled, gulping in fear before scurrying off to somewhere further within the submarine. While he did know that something was not quite right with his Nakama, he didn't have the time to tortuously drag that information out of him. People are prone to thinking that Shachi is the most hardheaded of the two but when push comes to shove, Penguin will make you think otherwise.
Once the rushed footsteps of Shachi were completely gone, Penguin released all the tension he hadn't realized he'd been building. Running a hand under his hat thoughtfully, a part of Penguin selfishly hoped his friend would get in trouble so he wouldn't come back to check on him.
His hand came back wet from under his hat so he wiped it off on his pant leg. Damn, he guesses he is pretty sweaty. It wasn't uncommon to be sweaty in these hot boiler rooms at such a low altitude under the water but this was just excessive.
Wiping the sweat daring to run down his brow, he took off his beloved hat to air out his head, huffing as if he had just run a few laps around the sub. An eerily sudden overwhelming sense of nausea didn't help lower his temperature any, making his body feel the need to produce an exorbitant amount of sweat.
At this point, he wasn't even pretending to watch where he was guiding the tank, simply keeping his hands on the wheel and just praying that they don't run into a sea king. Licking his chapped lips, he forced his eyes open and attempted to still work even as it felt as if they were working against him to remain shut.
Fantastic. This was just his luck.
First, his hands won't stop shaking, then the ocean itself seemed to be seeping out of every one of his orifices, and now he was fighting these imaginary anvils forcing his eyes closed.
No! His crew needed him now. This was no time to fool around.
/
An unsure amount of time passed and by then, it had become nighttime at least according to the clocks hanging within the sub. It was particularly difficult to tell time down here since they were deep underwater a lot of the time while they traveled. Thanks to Law's precise schedule though, they all stayed on plan each day like clockwork.
Around now, they're all supposed to be finished with their daily grievances of chores and everything should be set up perfectly to pick back up tomorrow where they had left off. Unfortunately for Penguin, however, he had fallen asleep at such an unfortunate time and basically got nothing done all day. He was leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on the table and his hat covering his eyes.
"PENGUIN!" A scratchy, prepubescent voice broke his admittedly awful sleep. Penguin fell out of his chair, which he had been dangerously teetering on for the past hour.
"Wha-" Penguin was very delusional right now, his head almost as hot as the steaming machinery around him.
The atrocious nap in question made his already foggy head even foggier. Penguin felt like he was trying to see through a profuse cloud of fog with a match.
Glancing up from his new position on the floor, he saw Law looking down at him more pissy than usual.
"What in the hell are you doing? Penguin!" You'd think a pre-teen that was short for his age wouldn't be very threatening but oh boy - to Penguin right now he was terrifying.
Sweat pooled around his armpits and made a roaring river run down his back. His face was very red whether from embarrassment or his fever he couldn't tell. Was it hot in here? The heat in the room was making him practically delirious.
"Captain. I-I can explain.." He whispered pathetically, clamoring to his shaky feet, having to hold the wall to keep himself held upwards. The truth was that he didn't have an explanation or at least not a good one.
Law tapped his foot eagerly, arms folded tightly against his chest. If that wasn't enough to ensure you how angry he had quickly become, his face said it all. Wow. If looks could kill, Penguin would be dead 100x over by now.
"I'm waiting, Penguin." Somehow, his captain seemed to be holding his temper below boiling, but just barely.
What was he even supposed to say? That he fell asleep on the job because he didn't feel that great? Law would just think he was intentionally slacking.
Penguin gulped, wringing his sweaty hands together instead of holding himself up.
"You-you see!-I was, uh..." He bit his lip, his breathing becoming more labored as his fever clouded his head and made his head pound to the pace of his panicked heart.
Dark spots began to dance around his eyes until he saw nothing at all. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to let go of that wall because now his body felt like it weighed a thousand tons. However, the floor felt freezing against his burning skin. Wait...When did he get on the floor?
"-nguin!" Someone was calling him but he couldn't pinpoint who.
"Oi! Penguin!" A barrage of footsteps echoed in his ears and blurry forms crowded his faulting vision. People were talking and he felt a pair of hands shaking him but he was only able to distinguish bits and pieces of the desperate conversation as he was hurdled into unconsciousness.
"ROOM"
/
…
…
...?
Where was he?
Was he in a bed?
What happened?
The only feeling he could distinguish was the oddly familiar rough cotton blanket rubbing against his bare arms; the only sound he could hear was an annoying, repetitive beeping that prevented silence from consuming him.
Swallowing the pooling spit in his mouth, he licked his very dry lips and shifted, attempting to open his eyes only to clench them shut desperately again at the blinding infirmary lights. Lifting an arm to block their agonizing rays so he could look around, he could definitely confirm he was in the infirmary now. When had he gotten here?
He put his arm down, now using both arms to support his weight but still squinting as he adjusted to the light. Panning his head to look at the rest of the room, he was shocked to spot his three crew mates sleeping nearby.
Bepo and Shachi were in a large leather chair curled up together, looking emotionally exhausted at least from where Penguin was laying. Bepo was the one actually sitting in the chair and taking up most of the space; his head was leaned back in an troubled rest based on the look on his face.
Shachi was sitting on his lap and clenching Bepo's fur desperately as he slept. The red patchiness of his face gave away the fact that he had tired himself out by crying and like usual when he cried, he had to be consoled by someone until he fell asleep.
Law on the other hand was in the metal infirmary chair next to theirs which was coincidentally closer to Penguin and their vast amount of medical supplies. This was a habit of his that Penguin had picked up on whenever someone in the crew was injured or sick. It seemed he liked to be as close as he could to aid his Nakama as soon as possible if need be.
Unlike the other two, his sleeping position was much stiffer like he was refusing to relax and instead, he slept completely upright with his arms folded sternly and his brow furrowed. If his eyes weren't closed with his breathing mellowed out, he would've thought he was just resting his eyes.
Sitting up, he hissed at the sudden return of his pounding headache, immediately regretting trying to get up at all. He had to assume that they brought him here after he blacked out; it had been such a pain to even stand that he couldn't possibly have moved.
Come to think of it, he felt a bit better than he had before, a majority of the itchy sweat that had been plaguing him was gone, and just laying down made his nausea lessen; doesn't seem there's much to do about the headache though.
He reached up to compare how much sweat was under his hat from before to now but realized it was gone. In alarm, he whipped his head around frantically to search for it, only able to truly relax when he found it laying safely on the table next to the bed.
Since he woke up and had been moving around, his heart rate had increased fractionally. That had been enough for Law's eyes to snap open in alarm and have him rush over to the bed to check on Penguin immediately, thinking the worst.
He stopped short of the bed, surprised that Penguin was conscious. Seeing the shock evident on his face, he offered him a tired smile.
"Hey, captain. You okay? You look as white as a ghost." Law sputtered momentarily before growling. Law placed his hand on Penguin's chest and pushed him back to lay down with such gentleness that even Penguin didn't know he had.
"Stupid. Asking me if I'm okay when you're the one who collapsed - with a fever of 104 by the way." Law was not in the mood for jokes and Penguin couldn't really blame him for that after what had transpired earlier. Law sat back down, pulling his chair up to the bed so he could examine Penguin further now that he was awake.
Checking his temperature and all of his vitals, he pulled out a bucket of cold water and a towel. It seemed like it had been used recently and that'd be correct. They had used it for hours while Penguin was unconscious, taking repeated turns to wring out the warm water and re-dip it into the icy water before folding it on his head.
"At least your temperature is down. It's down four degrees." At that news, he saw Law relax a fraction, finding Penguin out of any immediate danger as a relief.
Once the washcloth was rightfully placed back on his head, he sighed at its relieving coolness before the room fell into a heavy silence. Several moments passed before Penguin even noticed.
"I should have noticed." Penguin blinked rapidly in surprise, turning his head to face Law. He was hunched over in his chair, his hat covering his eyes but with the way his lip was quivering, Penguin guessed that he was trying not to cry.
"Noticed what? That I was sick? You were busy, captain. That wasn't your fault." With a kind smile, he reached over to rest a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. For some reason, all that only seemed to make Law more upset.
"That's the point. I should've checked up on you. I should check up on everyone but I don't. Then I would've noticed your symptoms before it got this bad." Law wrung fingers through his hair and tugged, his teeth clenched together as tears pooled in his eyes. Just how many grueling hours had his captain been torturing himself with the idea that this was his fault?
"...If it makes you feel better, Shachi came to visit me and he didn't even really notice." Law pouted gently, his gloomy gaze raising enough from his lap to meet Penguin's eyes.
"Why would that make me feel better?" Penguin chuckled but shrugged, closing his eyes before he turned his head back to face the ceiling.
"What I'm saying is that people make mistakes. And even if you did check on me, you can't know for sure what you would've thought or done."
Law opened his mouth to argue but it was snapped shut when their other two crew mates awoke thanks to their not-exactly-quiet conversation. Shachi practically bounced off of Bepo to barrel over to Penguin, sniffling in his lap as his thin arms tightly wrapped around his waist.
"You're awake! Thank god." He gasped, wiping his running nose on the sheets as Penguin returned the hug. Bepo caught up quickly, shuffling over to kneel near Law, resting his big head at the foot of the bed.
"You really scared us, Penguin." Shachi nodded in agreement eagerly.
"Why didn't you say anything? We could've helped you!" Shachi demanded, gripping the sheets; his face showed that he clearly was expecting an answer. Just by looking around at them, it seems it wasn't just Shachi who wanted an answer to that question. At that point, all three were staring at him, each with some form of expectation and concern etched into their faces.
Just as before he passed out, he didn't know what to say when faced with questions of concern from his Nakama. He debated pretending to pass out again to avoid answering but then again, he couldn't do such a thing forever.
"I dunno.." He shrugged, hoping that somehow, that would be enough of an answer for the three of them. If it was just Bepo maybe it would've worked, but law and Sachi were both much more demanding. Law groaned, clenching his teeth, his arms folded tighter only because he would be fidgeting otherwise.
"You know that's not good enough." His leg bounced in agitation.
"Can you please tell us the truth..?" Bepo begged gently, nudging Penguin's leg with his head while giving him the puppy-dog eyes.
Penguin knew at that point he was going to have to tell the truth. No way were they going to let him ever leave as long as he kept his lips sealed. With a sigh, he shrugged again.
"I mean…truthfully, I didn't think it was that big of a deal until I passed out. By then though it was kinda too late."
Penguin - like Shachi - was very stubborn but unlike Shachi, he didn't actively jump for comfort or coddling from others when he didn't feel well. He preferred to ride it out in solitude much like Law tends to prefer as well.
"Even if you thought it wasn't a big deal, you HAVE to tell us! That's a captain's order." Law raised his voice, which he didn't do often unless he was absolutely serious. He hadn't considered that everyone let alone Law would get so worked up about this.
Penguin winced, chewing his chapped lips habitually. "I'm sorry."
He paused, looking at how sad he had made his closest friends just by hiding such a stupid illness he thought he could ride out by himself.
"Sorry doesn't cut it." Shachi butted in, sitting up.
Penguin pushed his way back into the conversation, overusing his throat to talk over the loud-mouthed ginger.
"I know it doesn't but I can't change what happened. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys. Really, I am. I guess..." He sighed, clenching the rough blankets nervously.
"I guess I was worried that you guys would tell me to suck it up. I didn't think it was a big deal maybe because I thought you guys would think so too." He gulped down tears, easily blinking them away as his voice deteriorated from fierce to pathetic.
Bepo moved to the other side of the bed so he had more room to hug his ill Nakama while Shachi could occupy the other half of the bed. Law didn't bother to get out of the chair he had folded himself into, never having been too keen on hugs.
"I apologize if I ever did something to make you feel we would do that." Bepo's apology (and tears) flew out of him seamlessly while Shachi's apology came out a little less so.
"Dude. I'd never do that! I'm sorry that you thought that." Shachi buried his face in his lap as he got comfortable, likely to fall asleep not long thereafter.
Penguin looked to Law, who seemed awfully quiet, especially when he had just been chewing him out a minute ago. He found Law staring intently at him, his eyes glossed over with regret.
"You are not allowed to think that anymore." It was a demand rather than an apology, but Penguin would take it.
"Sorry..." Oh, there it is.
"...but from now on-everyone will receive a daily check-up. Understand?"
Law had already lost everyone else important to him; he wouldn't lose someone else for such a trivial reason as not being as attentive as he could have been. Bepo and Shachi nodded, overly satisfied with that agreement at the moment; however, over time, they'd probably grow to regret agreeing to it. Penguin chuckled, closing his eyes again.
"Yes, captain."