Penguin had thought that he had outgrown having nightmares, but as soon as he woke up from another troubling dream full of claws and blood and excruciating pain, he supposed not. The Heart Pirate let out a slow exhale before his sleepy mind alerted him that something amiss and that he ought to remain as still as possible.
Someone was in his room.
Penguin lay inert even if he could do nothing about how hard he was breathing from the rush he'd received from the nightmare. He also could do nothing about the lingering panic that still leapt in his throat and made his heart beat rapidly in his chest.
But he was safe.
He knew that he was back on the submarine and surrounded by his crewmates.
And Law.
So as long as whoever was in the room with him right now meant him no harm, Penguin would continue to be safe. Yet even as Penguin made the attempt to sense who it was that was in his small cabin, he felt himself overcome with another exhaustion that usually hit him after he'd had one of those nightmares. And as the Heart Pirate began to drift off into a completely different kind of sleep, Penguin could have sworn that he felt someone lightly wrap a hand around his own to give it a brief squeeze.
Penguin struggled out of the sleepy haze his mind was currently in, but by the time that he had his eyes open and was alert enough to take stock of his surroundings, the Heart Pirate found that there was no one there.
He was all alone.
Penguin reached up to run a hand through his hair only to find that he had his hat on still. With a disinterested grunt, Penguin dropped his hand and left the hat where it was as he turned and pressed his face into the pillow.
How odd.
Penguin could have sworn that he had sensed someone in his room, and as he began to drift off, he couldn't help but be confused and start to wonder if he'd imagined it. This time when Penguin fell asleep, it was to a nightmare-free rest.
-x-
Penguin should have made sure that he'd locked his door, until he remembered that he'd left it unlocked should one of his crewmates need him. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that one of the crew in particular would use the opportunity to drop in unannounced to pester him. And that morning was going to be one of those days that Penguin would be grumpy for most of until he got over being rudely awoken at what the fuck o'clock by someone who was far too awake.
"Hey, Pen, you awake?"
Penguin made some nonsense sound and used the pillow that had made its way onto his face as a poor barrier in an attempt to block out the person's voice.
"What are you doing?"
Penguin made some ineloquent grunt in reply, not quite awake.
"You're going to smother yourself and one of us will have to give you CPR to get you breathing again." The cheerful voice wouldn't go away and Penguin was too exhausted at the moment to shoo them away.
Shachi.
It had to be Shachi, and little did his fellow crewmate know that that comment made Penguin's thoughts stray to Law trying to give him CPR. Penguin felt that it would be the opposite and that he'd lose more air because he would be insistent upon a kiss instead of regaining normal breathing capabilities.
"Catch."
Shachi's comment broke the thought, and Penguin grunted as something dropped onto his chest. He flailed briefly as if whatever was on him was going to cause him some form of harm. The pillow was blocking his vision, so Penguin batted it away with a growl as he struggled into a seated position. His gaze fell on some bags and presumed that they were what had been thrown at him.
But that wasn't important right now.
Penguin was not in the mood to be ambushed when he was sleeping, and Shachi knew it. It didn't help that Penguin had gone to bed so late after puzzling away over their captain's confusing reactions to what he had done in the kitchen. That equaled not enough sleep, and coupled with the nightmare, Penguin figured that he had had about four hours of sleep or less. Not nearly enough to play along with his crewmate over being woken at odd hours of the day.
"Pen~guin." Shahci's voice was gleeful, and the cheer let the half-asleep Heart Pirate know that it was the other man's intention to wake him up in an obnoxious way. "You awake now?"
Penguin didn't give a verbal response. Instead, as soon as he heard his crewmate move, Penguin immediately swung a fist in that direction.
"Geez, you and Law are so unfriendly in the morning." Shachi stated with a cheerful grin. "Did you not get enough sleep?"
Penguin narrowed his eyes as his hand, where it was being held by the wrist in Shachi's grasp. He hadn't thought he'd actually land the strike, but figured that it would let his crewmate know that he didn't appreciate being disturbed. Penguin's gaze settled on his grinning crewmate, and relaxed marginally as he spoke.
"Maybe we do not like our sleep being disturbed because it is hard to come by?" Penguin tugged his hand, and watched as Shachi let go of it.
"Captain's the only one who can have that excuse anymore. You haven't had any sleepless nights for at least eight years. Ten tops." Shachi offered another smile. "And I am only waking you up because it was Law that told me to."
"Captain did?" Penguin yawned sleepily, and wondered why that would be. The Heart Pirate froze in place, and wondered if the reason Law wanted to see him was because he was going to take issue with what he'd done in the kitchen after all.
"You okay? You went kinda quiet." Shachi asked, and the red head grinned as he reached out to lightly slap his friend's shoulder. "Hey, maybe you should ask Law for something to help you sleep if you're having nightmares." Shachi's smile slipped, and appeared to be concerned as he added. "I didn't know that you were still having them."
"It's nothing." Penguin said, but knew that the other man could tell that he was lying. So, Penguin decided he would just have to give his crewmate something else to think about. Penguin coiled on the bed and without any warning whatsoever, struck as he launched himself off of the bed and tackled the red head to the ground.
Shachi let out a surprised yelp before he started to laugh at Penguin's reaction.
The cabin was rather small for a mock fight, but it was good way to wake up now and then with a brief exchange of fists, if for no other reason than to get excess energy out.
Shachi finally had enough and after he had coughed a few times, the red head reached out to catch Penguin's fists as he wheezed. "Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone. Damn, you sure punch hard when you're surly."
"Why did Law want me up so early?" Penguin asked as he shook himself free of his crewmate.
"He wants you to meet him up on deck with the bags." Shachi said as he adjusted his hat and the shaded glasses that had slipped down the bridge of his nose.
"What, are we going to wear them on our head so we can avoid having the sunlight hit us in the face?" Penguin asked dryly. The Heart Pirate tilted his head so that he could better see Shachi. "Or did you just feel like throwing something on me while I slept instead of prodding my arm or something to wake me?"
"After what happened last time, I am not going to try and shake you awake ever again." Shachi said with a grimace. "I swear I still have bruises from the last time I attempted to do that."
"I didn't throw you too far." Penguin said, unable to hide a smile. "And you didn't even hit your head."
"Why the hell would you smile over something like that? That did hurt, you know." Shachi mock pouted at his crewmate. "You threw me out in the hall two and a half months ago."
"You remember how long ago it was?" Penguin asked as he sat stood up and stretched.
"Yeah, cause I still have a bruise." Shachi proffered an arm. "Want to see?"
"Anything from that time would be long gone." Penguin reached out and flicked his crewmate on the nose. "You're perfectly fine. Are you sure you didn't get bruised up from sparring with someone else?"
"Ahh! What was that for?" Shachi demanded as he clapped a hand over his nose. "And no, the only person I can spar with on equal footing and not holding back is you. And Bepo, but he doesn't want to hit me with any force cause he doesn't want to hurt me."
"You still didn't tell me why I am up so early in the morning." Penguin said unconcernedly. "Other than to say that the captain wanted me to be." If Shachi wanted to take issue with the way they sparred, it could be done some other time.
"We anchored near an island an hour so or ago." Shachi said, and with the hand not feeling his nose gingerly, pointed to the bags on the bed. "Captain is going ashore to get some supplies and he wants you to go with him."
"I thought we got enough supplies on the last stop at the island before." Penguin commented with another stretch.
"We didn't get medical supplies yet." Shachi said in return as he crossed his arms and leaned in the frame of the doorway. "You better hurry up. Law was ready to go fifteen minutes ago, and he wanted to get to the hospital before too many people were up and about and maybe setting marines on us."
Penguin silently dressed and grabbed the bags, before he made an internal decision after giving Shachi a look over something he'd just thought of, before he closed the distance between them and hoisted his crewmate over one shoulder.
"Hey! What are you doing, Penguin?" Shachi demanded with a gasp as he attempted to free himself. He found no purchase to aid in his escape so he went limp with an exasperated sigh.
"A certain someone blabbed to Law about one of us being hurt on Zou." Penguin said, hand firm on Shahci's thighs to prevent escape as he exited his room and walked down the hall toward the door that led to the deck. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"Ah, um, I don't know what you're talking about." Shachi hedged, before he slapped Penguin lightly on the shoulder as they emerged from the submarine and out onto the deck. "I can walk, you know."
"Aye, I know, and I also know that you will run off given the chance."
"Come on, Pen, set me down already." Shachi said, nearly whining, before he let out a gasp as his crewmate did as asked, although the red head hadn't expected to be pushed up against the railing.
"There's something else I was wondering about, now that we're outside and all." Penguin stated smoothly. Even though his hat hid his expression, Shachi seemed to have noticed the change in his friend's expression.
"Yeah, like what?" Shachi asked.
"Law's not out here, is he?" Penguin waved the bags under his crewmate's nose, his voice raised in warning. "Why would that be?"
"Oh, um, well, that's-"
"You wouldn't perhaps have been hoping that I would tell you to go instead, would you?" Penguin asked, intruding on his crewmate's personal space further. He wasn't sure why he was getting so upset over the idea, but he was, because now that he thought about it, Shachi had seemed surprised that he had gotten dressed instead of remaining in bed.
The red headed Heart Pirate held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Well, you see, I was kind of wondering about that actually. Because, you know, this island's supposed to be known for its nice beaches and-"
"Unfortunately, if it's for a supply run, I doubt we would have time to go and gawk at the swimmers." Penguin got in Shachi's face so that his crewmate could see his shaded eyes and no doubt livid expression for being woken up for something so dumb. "And besides, it is very early, seeing as it is still dark." Penguin narrowed his eyes at Shachi, unamused. "Law isn't even up, is he?"
Shachi discreetly began to inch toward the cabin, before he shot off with an unintelligible sounding and rapid apology.
"Shachi!" Penguin snapped irritably as he turned around as if to go after the other man.
"I didn't think you would actually get up. I thought you were just going to go back to sleep!" Shachi called back from behind the half open door to the cabins, before he disappeared into the submarine.
Penguin glowered at the empty space for a moment before he let out a sigh and shook his head as he turned to lean against the railing to silently stare at the island. It was true that they were anchored but it seemed like it would be some time before-
"Ah, Penguin. Good. I didn't think anyone else would be awake at this time, but I think this will work out just fine."
Penguin lifted his head up sharply at the sound of Law's voice, and found his captain walking toward him at a laidback pace and looking as if he'd been up for hours. The Heart Pirate had the sudden thought that his captain looked very attractive right then, and had no idea why that would be, other than the fact that Law seemed to have forgotten his hat that morning. Penguin stared at the tousled hair and decided that he liked it. As much as he wanted to go over and run his hands through that messy hair for no other reason than to see what it felt like, Penguin reigned himself in and gave his captain a polite nod and spoke in return.
"I was asleep a short time ago, but Shachi thought it would be amusing to see if I was woken too early if I would prefer to go back to sleep and let him go with you on a supply run instead."
"And look at the woman in town as we go?" Law finished with a faint smirk, hand reaching up to absently run a hand through his hair.
"Something of that sort, yes." Penguin agreed before he cursed internally when he realized that he was watching his captain too closely. It was too early to even think about doing anything, and it was just his luck that Law noticed him avidly following his hand's movements.
"I seem to have misplaced my hat." Law said off-handedly. "I asked Bepo to look for it. I think I can handle being parted from it for a few hours."
"I have these, so if you were actually going to get supplies we can go." Penguin hefted the bags in one hand. "I doubt I will be able to go back asleep now that I'm up and about." The Heart Pirate had to work very hard to not say anything about how it would be perfectly fine if Law never wore his hat ever again, because it was a very nice sight.
"What's a nice sight?" Law asked, his smirk deepening as if amused by something only he could see.
Penguin knew that he had to have blushed because damn he hadn't realized he had said anything aloud. Flustered, the Heart Pirate searched for something to say. "I meant that the beach is a nice sight when there are people there. It looks rather deserted right now." Penguin hated that Law seemed to not believe that was what he was alluding to, but was glad that his captain did not pursue the topic.
"You won't be as distracted as Shachi when we're on the island, then?" Law asked with a bemused expression.
"It's early on in the day. There won't be anything to see and besides, we wouldn't want to linger and give the marines an excuse to follow us back to the ship and ambush us." Penguin said, and that much was true.
"Then we will go now before everyone else is awake." Law said after he gave Penguin an assessing look, before he turned away and headed further along the side of the ship. "Over here."
Penguin walked automatically to where Law was nearly pressed to the railing, and just barely managed to not outwardly react to his captain touching his closest arm. He didn't think that Law needed to actually touch him to use his Devil Fruit powers on him, but Penguin chose not to comment on it at this point in time.
"Room."
It would always be bizarre to Penguin to be on the receiving end of Law's Devil Fruit powers and he doubted he'd ever get used to the warping power, where he'd be in one place one moment and then another place the next.
"Penguin?" Law asked, a few paces down the paved road to the hospital.
Penguin gave his head a shake and broke into a jog to catch up with his captain, and as he slowed to walk alongside Law, the Heart Pirate crewmate began to think. He had always wondered why Law seemed to want to have only one person go and assist him. That wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, but considering the fact that their captain let them go all over the place gathering every day supplies like food.
The Heart Pirate had begun to wonder if it was because his captain didn't want to go alone. Penguin let out a soft laugh. It was an absurd notion, especially if one considered how confident Law always seemed to be. It seemed like it would be a simple thing for his captain to go and get what he needed and leave. It wasn't like the hospital staff would prevent some pirate from raiding their supplies. In fact, more often than not, there weren't any people in sight when Law happened upon a hospital with one of his crew. And Penguin, who had gone on these trips with his captain before, wondered why Law acted as he did at times. What with the way that he was always looking at a hospital with utter distain came as something as a shock to the Heart Pirate crewmate, considering how wrapped up Law could get in his medical work.
This time around, as Penguin waited outside the hospital's front door, he knew that something had gone amiss because Law's Devil Fruit powers suddenly manifested in a nearly transparent dome, and the hospital broke down into large chucks. Penguin was about to run into the hospital when he heard terrified yells coming from within the hospital, and heard a term that he hadn't heard in a long time.
Amber lead.
But he'd thought that it was gone because everyone who had been struck low by the disease had died. At least that was what the papers had said all those years ago. Penguin remembered it because he'd wanted to keep up with what was going on in the world, before he'd joined Law's crew.
Just as Penguin was about to enter the hospital to aid his captain, Law suddenly appeared before him, weighed down with two bulging bags of medical paraphernalia and his nodachi. Penguin felt relief, and was about to ask his captain something when Law abruptly thrust one of the bags into his arms. The Heart Pirate crewmate couldn't help but notice that the other man appeared to be rattled over something.
"We need to leave. Now." Law's voice was breathless and carried a hint of urgency.
"Why? Is it something to do with amber lead?" Penguin saw Law flinch but continued to speak. "There wasn't anyone there that had that was there? I heard that it was contagious, but the sources weren't very reliable-"
"It's not contagious and there isn't anyone in there with it." Law's voice was barely controlled as he shoved his crewmate firmly in the back. "We're going."
Penguin frowned at the abrupt and forceful way his captain had spoken. He was about to run as asked when he saw Law turn back to the hospital with a nasty glint in his eyes as his hand settled onto the hilt of his blade, the second bag of medical supplies on the ground. Penguin was able to reach Law in time to seize him by the arm to prevent his captain from drawing his nodachi.
"Let go of me, Penguin." Law's voice was firm and hard, his eyes narrowed on the hospital, his powers still active.
"We're here for supplies, captain. Not to start a fight." Penguin didn't know what was going on nor was he even sure why Law was reacting as he was. But whatever it was that had happened in the hospital had clearly triggered something in his captain, and Penguin didn't like seeing the loss of control. "We don't want them to alert the marines while we're away from the ship."
Law seemed to get a hold of himself with a jerk of his head; he eased his grasp on his nodachi's hilt soon after. Without a word, the dark haired man dropped into a crouch to retrieve the bag that he had dropped.
"I forgot myself in the hospital over some drivel a doctor chose to spew to me while I was packing the bags. He unfortunately had some information from another hospital about me and thought to blackmail me with it." The Heart Pirate captain said by way of explanation, with a humorless smile.
Penguin felt the doctor was probably in pieces and scattered all over the hospital if that was the case. Trying to blackmail a pirate, and a captain, at that, was a rather stupid idea. Especially with Law's reputation as the Surgeon of Death.
"There's no need to get upset over the ignorance of others." Law finished with a shrug as he shouldered the bag and gripped his nodachi's sheathe.
"And what happened to the doctor?" Penguin felt he had to ask and was glad he did because he was flashed a confident smirk.
"He will take some time getting himself pieced together. I took care of the blackmail material as well, in case he got any ideas."
Penguin wasn't sure what to make of Law's sudden hostility since the Heart Pirate couldn't recall ever seeing his captain react in such a way the last time he'd last gone with him to a hospital. Penguin wondered if the other man had caught the look of concern on his face, because his captain suddenly decided to smirk at him again.
"I think it would be best if we left the island immediately. People tend to overreact to things that they do not understand." Almost as soon as Law had stopped talking, the shouts of some marines drew the two pirates' attention. Law's smirk deepened. "That was a fast response."
Penguin didn't stop his captain from using his powers to demolish the ground in front of the approaching marines. He just ran when Law waved him off. On the way back to the ship, Penguin caught himself side glancing at Law more often than was really needed and the Heart Pirate saw his captain shoot him another smirk, as if amused by him. That reaction confused the hell out of Penguin but it also did what his captain likely meant to. It distracted him from asking any questions about Law's actions at the hospital.
"The marines are pretty resilient today." Penguin commented of the marines who climbed out of the torn up ground and continued giving chase. The Heart Pirate felt he had to do something to distract himself some more in order to keep himself under control, because that second smirk that his captain bestowed to him was doing interesting things to him. And now they were being chased by shouting marines and Law was smirking like he was really enjoying himself now and Penguin couldn't help but feel that he had been set up in some way by going on a supply run with his captain.
And the fact that Law was hatless that morning was something that Penguin felt had been done on purpose as well, even if he had no proof of it.
"What is the matter, Penguin?" Law flashed a faint smile. "Are they gaining on us?"
"Oh, it's nothing." The Heart Pirate managed to stammer in return as he and Law got closer to the edge of town. "The marines are too far away to do anything but yell at us, especially as you tore up the ground around them with your powers."
"I see." Law said as they ran along and took a turn down an alley. He seemed tired out and admitted as much. "I probably should have waited to use my powers." Law was favoring his right arm, even if he was trying very hard to not show it.
The Heart Pirate decided he would investigate the reason why that was later, as right now Penguin couldn't help but ask another question as they rushed in the direction of their ship.
"What happened in the hospital?" Penguin wondered as he and Law rounded a corner and began to make a headlong dash for shore.
"You have heard of the amber lead disease?" Law's voice was guarded despite being rather breathlessness as they ran.
"Only a little." Penguin admitted as he easily kept pace with his captain. "Was it contagious? You seemed sure that it wasn't."
"Because it isn't." Law's voice was almost angry, but not at Penguin. "The world government spread that lie and everyone still believes it, even now."
"You had it?" Penguin asked as he and Law reached the edge of town, their ship in sight. The Heart Pirate held perfectly still as his captain took a hold of his arm.
"Yes, I did." Law said softly. "But it wasn't contagious. It was a type of poison that only affected those who were exposed to it for a prolonged period of time. And as time went by and more of it was manufactured and people exposed to it through everyday life, it was passed through families, where one could expect to die younger with each passing generation because the amber lead remained in the body."
"Captain?" Penguin asked.
"I…acquired my Devil Fruit from…" Law broke off, a brief flash of pain crossing his face before he recovered and continued. "I was able to cure myself of the amber lead in my body through the use of my powers." Law looked as if he would say nothing more on the subject, and instead held out his free hand, his eyes on the yellow submarine just offshore. "Room."
Penguin was quiet as, when they were back on the deck of their ship, Law went to go rouse the rest of the crew to head out so that the marines didn't catch up to them. The Heart Pirate went into the sub just as the main door was locked and sealed in order to dive beneath the surface of the water.
"Penguin, are you going to just stand there or are you going to help me put the supplies away?" Law asked as he approached his crewmate.
Penguin heard his captain speak. He did. But he also saw that damn infuriating smirk aimed his way, and coupled with the fact that Law's hair was windswept from running and sticking out at different angles, he honestly couldn't help himself. The Heart Pirate was just relieved that there was no one else in the immediate area. Probably getting the submarine under way before the marines could launch an attack on them.
"Penguin?"
The Heart Pirate cursed something aloud in return and without thinking, dropped the bag of medical supplies that he held in one hand. Penguin reached out and gripped Law's nearest arm and said nothing as he all but dragged his captain into his cabin. It was kind of funny that they just happened to be a few steps away from his room.
Convenient, that.
Penguin ushered Law into his room before he impatiently slammed the door shut behind them. Law's back was to him and Penguin's hand still gripped his captain's left arm tightly. But Law wasn't running away, and he wasn't telling Penguin to stop what he was doing either. So the Heart Pirate acted on what his mind was urging him to do.
Get a little rough and see what happened.
With a frustrated growl over the fact that his captain was being so damn confusing with the signals he was giving him, Penguin gripped Law's shoulder with his free hand and with both hands pivoted and shoved the other man none too gently up against the closed door. Penguin heard the other bag full of medical items drop to the ground and almost laughed over the fact that Law had kept a hold of it through all of that. The Heart Pirate than promptly dismissed the bag from his mind as he pressed himself up against his captain's back, noting that Law had braced his forearms against the door.
"I like it when you have your hat off, captain." Penguin murmured distractedly as he leaned up on his toes to rest his head on Law's shoulder. "You look really good right now with it all windswept like that." Penguin didn't know why he was admitting to it now, but figured he might as well because it seemed like the right thing to do. Penguin draped his left arm over Law's shoulder and curled his hand up beneath the other's chin.
The action drew a short, sharp exhale from Law.
Penguin uncurled his hand so that he could cup Law's jaw and traced the goatee with a finger absently before he tilted his captain's head back and to the side. Satisfied when his captain said nothing, Penguin began to mouth along the exposed skin, his fingers tensing beneath Law's jaw. Penguin shifted closer in order to better taste the skin before he began to graze his teeth along. Penguin felt Law swallow beneath where his fingers held his jaw, and decided to try something then. Penguin licked his way down the side of Law's neck and with no warning, roughly bit down on the exposed skin of his shoulder. Penguin received a response that he hadn't expected.
A soft moan emitted from Law as he settled against the door further.
Penguin wrapped his right arm around Law's waist to hold him in place before he slipped his hand up beneath his captain's shirt. Penguin trailed his fingertips along tanned skin as he moved his left hand from Law's jaw to settle around his throat and gave a light squeeze.
Another moan, this one louder than the previous one, was dragged out of Law in response to his crewmate's action.
"What was that?" Penguin whispered, a little more harshly than he meant to. He was pretty damn sure that what he had heard had been a moan and if that was the case he was not at all happy that his captain seemed to be toying with him. In that Law was pretending that nothing had happened, when Penguin had kissed him before and had cornered him in the kitchen. "You want me to do this to you?" Penguin gave another light squeeze of his hand against Law's throat as he pressed himself closer to the other man's back. "Captain?"
Law jerked in response to the squeeze this time around, his breath quickening as he let out a faint sound as if in response to his crewmate's question.
Almost a whine, really, if Penguin really thought about it and the Heart Pirate had to try very hard to keep himself under control when Law seemed to decide that he needed to turn his head slightly to the side in order to give his crewmate a better angle.
"I don't know what's going through that head of yours, but I'll take this as an invitation, if you don't mind." Penguin mumbled against bare skin as he nuzzled alongside Law's shoulder before he bit down harder in the same place as before. The Heart Pirate let the pressure of his hand ride a little heavier around Law's throat as he let his right hand down to just above his captain's belt, where he teased the skin with light brushes of his fingertips.
That drew out another barely concealed moan and Law shifted slightly as if trying to press against the light touches Penguin was visiting on his abdomen.
Penguin couldn't help but let his fingertips dance a little heavier along the skin as he gave the bite-mark he'd made a few kisses. And since Penguin had Law in his room again, the Heart Pirate decided he wanted to do a bit more than he had before, since he hadn't been told to stop. Penguin reluctantly removed his hands from his captain as he gripped the other man's shoulders instead.
"Turn around." Penguin said firmly before he recalled that Law didn't like to be ordered around. And indeed, when he tried to turn Law around, his captain refused to budge. Penguin let go to wrap both arms around Law's waist and gave a subtle grind against his captain's backside to let him feel that what was going on was getting him aroused past the point of no return.
Law shifted in place but said nothing.
Penguin took it as a good thing that his captain hadn't yet used his powers to leave the room.
"I want to touch you some more, but not in this position." Penguin admitted in a mumble against Law's back. Penguin tried to turn the other man around, and found that this time he was able to do so, as Law was more complaint now. Perhaps from what he had said. Penguin wasn't sure. The Heart Pirate didn't give his captain a chance to react as he gripped Law's shoulders and pressed them heavily against the back of the door. Penguin briefly met his captain's golden gaze before he leaned up slightly and locked Law in a kiss. Penguin even dared to slide one of his legs between his captain's and give a slight nudge with his knee.
Law let out a gasp into the kiss before he let out a faint groan as he attempted to move away from the door as if seeking to deepen the kiss.
Penguin was happy to oblige, but kept Law against the door as he took the opportunity to again explore the inside of his captain's mouth. It was just as good as the first kiss that Penguin had stolen from his captain, and this time around, it was even better because it seemed like Law was trying to kiss him back. But Penguin wasn't going to let him take the lead, because he was the one pretending that there was nothing going on between them.
The Heart Pirate ground his knee up against Law again, and felt pleased when his captain's hands suddenly gripped his forearms in response. Penguin nudged again, and Law out a faint sound into the kiss as he slid down the door a little bit. Penguin took advantage of being slightly taller than Law now that his captain was sagging a bit, and let go of one of his shoulders so that he could tangle his left hand into his captain's hair. Penguin tugged Law's head back against the door to better drown him in the kiss, and felt Law's freed left arm cupping the back of his head to hold him there.
Unfortunately, Penguin found it difficult to breathe after giving such an intense kiss, and had to reluctantly break it off and let go of Law's hair to gasp in a few breaths. The Heart Pirate saw his captain's rather dazed expression and hastily pressed himself close to rest his head against Law's shoulder. Penguin could feel a slight tremor go through the other man's body at his decision to get close. With a mumbled sound, Penguin turned his head and started to nuzzle along the side of Law's neck before he began to mouth the bite he'd given Law before. And since Penguin was rather aroused at this point and wasn't thinking about it too much, he began to lazily grind up against Law.
And Penguin suddenly decided that, because Law had made another faint sound in response to the rather mindless humping, that he really ought to palm Law, just to see if he wasn't the only one affected. And when a hand rested over his own before Penguin could get a good feel, the Heart Pirate froze, horrified, when he finally realized what he was doing and just who he was doing it to. And just how close he was pressed to his captain in that moment. He felt Law move his hand away from the back of his head to give him a tap on the shoulder and that was enough to throw Penguin into a panic over what he had done.
Shit.
He'd gotten carried away.
Penguin abruptly broke apart from his captain with some stammered excuse that made no sense even to him as he backed away from Law. The Heart Pirate dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to bring himself to even make eye contact with his captain. Penguin didn't hear anything other than the sound of a door opening and closing a few moments later, and when he finally did look up, Law was gone.
Gone without so much as a whispered word.
The Heart Pirate remained where he stood and fidgeted in embarrassment, but when no reprimand came for what he had done, Penguin relaxed. He was fooling himself now if he ever thought he was going to be reprimanded in the near future, as it seemed as if Law had been encouraging him. The Heart Pirate grumbled something to himself as he stripped out of the stifling confine of his outfit until he was down to his boxers. With an anxious look over at the door, as if expecting Law to perhaps come back, Penguin settled down on the ground and slipped a hand down his boxers. He was a little overheated as it was from doing what he had done to Law, and now had a rather uncomfortable erection to deal with.
He figured Law was in a similar state, and if he was, his captain had hid it really well if he could walk out of the room just like that without thinking to just take care of it then and there.
Penguin thought about it briefly and then figured that it would have actually been a bit awkward if they'd stayed in the same room to relieve themselves. As the Heart Pirate dealt with his little problem, and saw that the medical bag Law had dropped was still in his room, the Heart Pirate wondered what the hell had come over him. What was it about Law that was affecting him so much and had he or hadn't he imagined his captain moan several times?
He just didn't know.
-x-
"Hey, Penguin!" Shachi waved to his crewmate from a table as soon as Penguin had entered the mess hall a few hours later. "Did you see any good looking women on the island?"
"Were there any female bears?" Bepo piped up from the other side of the table.
"There aren't any female bears. And the human females happened to be asleep from the look of the deserted streets." Penguin got a laugh with Shachi over the fact that Bepo looked devastated that there weren't any other bears around. Penguin stopped laughing when he saw Law enter the room with a mug of coffee, hat in place now, and was quick to notice that his captain wore a different shirt. Law was now wearing the sweater that had feathers around the collar, which in turn conveniently hid his neck. Penguin expected him to say something about what had happened in his cabin.
And maybe even point out the fact that Penguin had bitten him hard enough on the side of the neck and shoulder that Law had felt the need to wear something to hide it from the rest of the crew. Penguin found himself a little miffed over the fact that his captain was hiding the evidence of their earlier activities, but supposed with this crew, it would lead to awkward questions. Penguin would just have to check and see if there was a mark later.
Infuriatingly enough, Law again acted indifferently to what had happened hours before in Penguin's room, and the Heart Pirate crewmate once more found himself being treated no differently than before.
"Penguin, can you put the medical supplies you have in your room in storage?" Law took a sip of coffee as he turned away. "I seemed to have misplaced my bag somewhere on the ship. It'll turn up, I'm sure." Law tapped the spotted hat on his head. "Just like this did."
Penguin silently left to go do as asked, but as he walked away, he had a sneaking suspicion of what was going on. He wasn't as sure the day before, but after what had happened today, he felt he had a good idea now. Especially with the nonchalant way that Law had just spoken about 'misplacing' his bag of medical supplies when he damn well knew where it was and that it was because of what Penguin had done that he had happened to leave it behind.
"While you're at it, on the way back could you bring me a few rolls of bandages? I'll be in the infirmary."
Penguin raised his hand to give a little wave to let Law know that he'd heard him. The Heart Pirate crewmate believed that if he was right about what his captain was up to, he might not feel so bad about what he had done to Law thus far. Penguin wanted to test the theory, and as soon as he was done with his given tasks he went to go and find Law. But partway to the infirmary, his nerves deserted him and Penguin decided that he would try the idea he had in mind in a day or two, when they were sailing to their next destination.
The Heart Pirate had to go back to the storage room in any case, because he'd forgotten the bandages that his captain had asked him to bring, even if he knew that it was not the bandages that Law wanted.
At least, Penguin didn't think that was the case.
-x-
Two days later, Penguin stood outside the infirmary, resolved to test his theory then and there. Not in words but in action, and from that, the Heart Pirate would likely be able to tell if his suspicions regarding his captain were correct.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
A/N: I swear this was supposed to be a simple story but its taking on a life of its own already and while it'll still be around 9 or so chapters, the chapter length will vary. Like this one. I edited it and it just kept getting longer but I didn't want to split it into two and mess up the outline. But I suppose that's okay, since I always like to come across fanfics with freakishly long chapters now and then.
-whispers- I am going to try to get to Usurped and Ensnared, it's just hard to get back into them at the moment.