(A/N: They are adults in this chapter.)

(Warnings: None)

They were about to bake alive, they were sure of it.

Any longer on this oven they called a ship and they'd be done for.

"I feel like I'm gonna pass out." Someone called.

Normally, any bad weather on the Grand Line can be easily avoided by sinking below into the inky depths of the sea. Unfortunately, the only thing they could not avoid was the heat. Having a dozen people on a ship with no reliable air conditioning made the tank into an oven real fast.

"Suck it up you big baby, we have work to do…" Ikkaku growled but was in a similar position on the floor so she couldn't really talk.

This heat can cause just about anyone to get stir crazy so the crew always cherish the times they spend in a climate that is below boiling. Winter islands are by far their favorite.

"It's too hoooot..." Shachi complained, slumped over an armrest miserably as the overbearing heat weighed down on him along with the rest of the crew that were all in similar positions nearby. With the temperature reaching a boiling point for the crew, it was deemed impossible to work so they were reduced to laying about.

By that point, a majority of the crew had lost a variety of their layers and were left to laying on either furniture or the floor. Law was the only one currently absent from this steaming pity party that felt like it was made of fire and suffering. They needed to resurface soon.

Shachi, Uni, and most of the others only went as far as rolling down their boiler suits to their waists, eternally thankful for its convenience. Penguin stubbornly refused to do anything other than roll up his sleeves even if the extra layers made him appear as if he took a quick dip in the ocean. Bepo was near naked by human standards but with his heavy coat of white fur, it still felt like he was fully clothed anyway. Ikkaku had no shame, rolling her boiler suit down as low it would go just at her hips with all but her bra gone to cover her top.

Jean Bart had a very strong will but even he couldn't resist the temptations of shedding a few layers to feel just a few degrees cooler. Then, somehow, Clione had convinced Jean Bart to open the freezer and stuff him inside-under close watch of course.

Since the crew was obviously not cut out to work, Law had no choice but to order Bepo to resurface the sub. Sure it was hot, but Law didn't see what the big fuss was about. All he needed to do was remove his thick furry coat and he was fine to work once more.

Warmer climates were more his thing, having come from Flevance - a warmer climate island unlike the rest of his crew, who mainly came from winter or fall climate islands. Law entered the main lounge room where everyone was currently lounging around despite the obvious disapproval from Law.

"All of you. Get up." With that order, the crew stood to attention, expecting to be told to get back to work immediately. Law hated slackers.

"We're about to surface. According to Bepo, we will find a winter island. Isn't that right, Bepo?" They all turned to Bepo and like usual, he curled at the attention, bowing his head.

"Yes...Sorry." The crew jumped up frantically. "SO WEAK!"

/

Within minutes, they reached the surface. At first chance, the entire Heart Pirates crew clambered out of a single exit door to reach fresh, cool air. It felt like taking a cold drink of water in an arid desert or getting a gasp of air as you're mercilessly drowning.

A few of them threw themselves over the rim to smell the saltiness wafting from the sea while others sprawled out onto the damp deck just to absorb the natural sunlight and feel the cool breeze on their sticky, sweaty skin.

"Thank you, captain." Bepo whimpered, the chill air feeling like a lifesaver for the naturally warm mink. At first word of them going to a winter island, they rejoiced and someone pulled Clione out of the freezer. Without the news, they probably would've just left him in there, too hot to retrieve him.

"I want all of you to get dressed for the weather. It's a winter island. Stay warm." Pointing back into the heated submarine they had just escaped from.

Many were reluctant to go back inside the hellish sub since it hadn't nearly been long enough for it to air out. However, Law promised that the quicker they were, the quicker they could get to the island. That promise was enough for everyone to hurry back inside to follow orders and dress warmly. Law didn't want their problem of heatstroke shifting to hypothermia. The second their attire was appropriate, they sped out of the sub before the heat threatened to crush them again.

Shortly after, they docked on the frosty island, finding just how appropriate dressing warmly was for this island. Turns out this island can reach temperatures of below zero or more.

Any normal person would avoid visiting a winter island if given the chance. They were cold and bothersome, ordinarily not containing any worthwhile materials. However, since they had all been on the brink of heatstroke, they welcomed the frigid island with open arms.

While most remained at the docks at first, two were selected from the crew to check out the island to see if it was safe. It was simple protocol to set out a scouting team just in case there was a massive threat that could possibly endanger the crew.

Several minutes after they had been sent off, Jean Bart and Shachi came back covered in snow but otherwise fine.

"Everything is fine!" Shachi had reassured, but by the look of uncertainty on everyone's faces, they were not. How had they managed to get snow on them? It's not even snowing.

Jean Bart stepped forward, putting a hand to his chest and turning his gaze to Law. "I promise, Captain. This island is safe." Not that Law didn't trust Shachi or anything but he felt more at ease when Jean Bart told him the island was safe than when he had told him.

"Very well. Everyone is free to roam."

The crew spread out, keeping into little groups as they had been taught from previous excursions. Turns out though, thanks to the snow, nothing could really grow here and the minuscule things that did grow weren't enough to feed more than a few birds and rabbits. There appeared to be no humans inhabiting the island, which was weird because it was rare to find an island with no one living on it these days, especially on the Grand Line. Since there was no proof of human life, everyone was put at ease and let their guard down enough to have some fun. The less mature of the crew started a war of snowball fights, instantly counting everyone into the fight even if they hadn't agreed to participate.

Law had easily shut that silly game down real quick after a stray snowball pelted him in the back of his head when he had gotten caught up in the crossfire. Let's just say the perpetrator now has a real nasty bump on their head.

Since the crew was put down under a strict 'no snowball fights' rule, many took to just sitting in the snow to enjoy the cold nipping at their exposed skin. Meanwhile, a few braver members of the crew took to exploring further; past eye-shot of the sub to find something else to do while their log pose set. Thankfully this island didn't require long for the log pose to adjust. If it didn't, the cold they were so excited about would get old real fast after a few days here.

"Oi! Guys! We found a lake!" Penguin called from a slippery slope top, seeming particularly excited about this discovery. Shachi ran ahead of Penguin, who instead was helping those of his Nakama who were having a harder time climbing up the slope to reach the lake.

Why they were so excited in the first place wasn't just because it was a lake but rather because it was a frozen-over lake. Those made the best for ice skating, especially when it's so cold here that the ice will surely be thick enough to hold even the heaviest of the crew: Jean Bart.

Everyone(minus Law) was ecstatic at the discovery, congratulating the two best friends on their find as they caught up to Shachi who was currently testing his luck on the ice.

Being from such a cold island in the North Blue such as Swallow Island, the elegant sport of ice skating was a breeze to Penguin and Shachi in particular. They had spent countless hours racing each other on the frozen waters of their home island and even more hours perfecting their technique to be able to smoothly skate across the ice even without proper skates.

The rest of the crew joined in after them, some shakier than others. Jean Bart seemed to have done this before but Uni and Clione looked like baby deer on the ice; shaky ankles and big doe eyes bore into Jean Bart that silently begged their largest friend not to let go of them as he guided them across the ice.

Ikkaku was actually probably the best off of all of them behind the ice skating champions: Penguin and Shachi. Rather than falling or stumbling in any way, she was just casually gliding across the ice while humming a song to herself, enjoying the cool breezes hitting her face. Show off.

With everyone on the ice, Shachi wondered if it was appropriate for him to start really skating now. If anyone needed his help, he or Penguin needed to be there to assist them. What else was Nakama for if not to help each other?

Upon further inspection, Shachi found that not everyone was actually on the ice like he had thought. Standing several feet away from the mouth of the frozen lake stood Law. He was dressed in his long black coat that elongated but slimmed his form drastically. By the looks of it, he had no intention of joining the rest of them on the ice, displaying impatient mannerisms that he could identify even at this distance. He snickered, shaking his head in disbelief at his captain. If he thought they weren't going to force him to have fun with them, he was gravely mistaken.

Calling Penguin over, he pointed to Law, and without even saying a word, the two grinned and understood what the other was thinking immediately. The rest of the crew called it their 'Hive mind' ability.

Skating over to their lone captain, Law raised a curious eyebrow.

"What're you guys doing? Why aren't you out there?" Law gestured to the open ice, knowing just how much the pair loved ice and skating.

The two shared an eye-roll before each grabbing one of Law's arms, picking him up high enough so that his feet weren't touching the ground. This used to be much easier when they were teens and Law was a good foot shorter than all of them. Now it was just a pain to keep him disbanded in the air.

"What are you doing!? Oi! Answer me!" Law squirmed in their grip, shouting angry slurs at the two older men as they slid across the ice with him in their arms.

"ROOM"

"SHAMBLES"

Law appeared behind them back at the shore, huffing gently for having to use his power. Shachi groaned loudly in annoyance but Penguin just huffed and rested his hands on his hips. Not like they didn't expect their stuffy captain to object to what they were doing but this was just excessive, even for him.

"Seriously, captain? You'd use your power and drain yourself for something so menial?" Penguin scolded as if Law was still a child.

The two backtracked, repeating their previous movements with only a little bit of threatening and lots of force. Somehow, they managed to get their captain held securely enough that he wasn't able to squirm out and with having just used his powers, he was too drained to use his escape plan again for now.

Law's face paled when they got out to the direct center of the lake. He began bending his knees so his feet weren't even close to touching the slippery ice. It looked ridiculous and he was acting like if he touched the ice, he would die.

"C'mon, Law. We just want you to join in the fun." Shachi offered to his clearly bothered captain. Normally, they wouldn't dare to force him to do something he didn't want to but they felt so guilty watching him stand there alone that they had to do it just this once.

"I do not want to join in the fun. I order you to take me back to the shore this instant." Law growled angrily but his voice trembled when he glanced back and saw just how far away they were from shore.

"Sorry, cap. Can't do that." Law glared fiercely.

"And why the hell not?" Whoops. Better distract him before he gets too steamed and melts all the ice with that temper of his.

"Because we're already too far out. I mean, we could just set you down. Then you could skate easily back to the shore yourself. Right?" Penguin grinned, holding back his snickers way better than Shachi, who was currently giggling up a storm next to him.

They knew Law couldn't ice skate. If he could, he would've been nonchalantly showing off his skills like they were nothing minutes ago. The two of them then proceeded to set him down ever so gently so he was forced to stand on the ice or he'd fall.

"NO!" Law shouted, grimacing as they set him down and pulled their arms away, leaving him a wobbly mess.

"I will personally cut you up, spread you across the ocean floor and leave you there if you do not come back here!" He clenched his fists, snarling in embarrassment while threatening them with Kikoku.

Shachi and Penguin skated flawlessly around the younger man, their hands folded behind their backs as they pretended to be oh-so threatened by the currently powerless and red-faced Law. There wasn't anything of use out here for his 'shambles' even if he did have enough power to do it again. For now, they were safe.

"Why? Can't you skate?" Oh, these two were so gonna get it later.

"Of course, I can skate! I'm just not very practiced in such an activity." Penguin leaned forward with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"That's just saying you can't skate with more words." Shachi nodded, snickering along with his best friend. Law attempted to take a step forward to prove it to them and just about broke something trying to regain his balance after he slid out of place.

"We can help you Law, you just gotta ask. That's it." Shachi was saying that like it was the easiest thing in the world. If anything was difficult for Trafalgar Law, it was asking for help.

For several moments, Law debated his options. Either he'd be stuck here until he could shimmy back to the shore or he could just let these simpletons help him. Neither seemed like appropriate options. No matter what he chose, he'd still be on this god-forsaken frozen lake either falling on his ass or being held up by his Nakama.

Growling, Law held out his hand.

"Fine...help." He growled behind gritted teeth. Extending his hand, he reached for Shachi's assistance, who took the gloved hand instantly when it was offered. Penguin took hold of the other and Law was finally able to stand on the ice without worry.

Slowly and without warning, the three of them took off on the ice. Law tensed up but said nothing since his hands were both occupied by two of his most trusted friends; he trusted them enough to not just let go. However, even though he did trust them, the second one of them readjusted their grip on his hand, he grappled for it back.

"Don't you dare let go. He glowered, his glare piercing through the two of their souls. Any speck of hesitance to mess with Law by letting go was diminished in an instant.

Squeezing his hand tighter to reassure him that they were in fact NOT going to let go, they moved a bit faster along the ice, watching Law's every move to absolutely make sure that he was keeping up.

"What's wrong?" Penguin asked upon seeing Law's clearly unhappy expression. His face was all curled and he was looking down at his feet, glaring at them as if they fed him bread.

"This is embarrassing. I'm a grown man. I shouldn't need help to slide on the ice." Well, when he put it that way, they could see how he could be ashamed. It wasn't like they were kids anymore where he needed his friend's help getting things from high places. He was an adult - their captain; they should need him and not the other way around.

In the meantime, they passed their crew-mates, who all seemed to be enjoying the ice as much as they were. Jean Bart was still assisting Uni and Clione, who seemed to have gotten the hang of skating enough that just having him nearby was enough rather than holding their hands. Some of the others were doing decently well but some were clearly falling a lot while others around them laughed at their fumbling.

"See Law? You're not the only one who doesn't know how to skate. It's nothing to be ashamed of. People need help sometimes." With a hefty sigh, he nodded reluctantly. He needed to drop his childish worries to think more clearly in order to stay balanced. Even if he could admit he needed help, he did not want to fall in front of his whole crew.

Now that he had been out here for quite a while, feeling safe within Penguin and Shachi's grasp, Law found himself having...fun? While he hated to admit it, he was enjoying himself. Sliding on frozen water felt almost like a dream. It was quite fascinating that if this had been a warm climate island, this large lake would be water rather than something he could skate on with his Nakama.

"I..." The two turned to him. "Thanks. This was..more enjoyable than I thought it'd be." They couldn't fight the goofy grins rising to their cheeks upon hearing something so genuine from their captain.

"We knew you'd like it if you just tried it! Maybe next time you could skate without our help." Shachi offered.

"Don't push it."