Penguin would have gone straight into the infirmary without a second thought had one of his crewmates not gotten his attention. As Penguin reached out to open the door, he sensed someone running toward him, and turned just in time to lift both hands in a cross to block a leg aimed his way. Penguin lifted his gaze and found Shachi to be the culprit. Penguin shoved his crewmate back and dropped into a fighting stance as he raised his hands and offered a faint smile.

"What's the occasion?" Penguin asked amiably as he blocked another kick, and then a punch as Shachi sprang back and swung with a fist. Penguin caught his friend by the wrist and then sent him stumbling a short distance down the hall from momentum. Penguin dropped into another crouch as Shachi did similarly, and the Heart Pirate figured that he would find out Shachi's intentions when they were done with the impromptu sparring match.

And as Penguin began trading blows with Shachi up and down the short hall before the infirmary door, Penguin found that he welcomed the sudden distraction in a strange way. He was able to get rid of any lingering trepidation he may have still had over confronting Law about what was going on between them. Being worn out from a brief bout was a good way to go about getting rid of those feelings so that Penguin could focus on what was important.

"Hey, Shachi and Penguin are at it again!" A crewmember called out from one of the doors dotting the hall.

"Captain said you shouldn't fight in such close quarters." Bepo said from behind a half open door at the end of the hall.

Other curious crewmates began poking their heads into a hall until a good majority of them were cheering on their crewmates and offering a mixture of teasing and encouragement.

"Hey, don't kick him, Shachi! He'll lay you flat out on the floor!"

"Hahaha! What the hell? Isn't this the third time this week you started some random spar?"

"Shachi's probably still mad that Pen threw him out in the hall over two months ago!"

"I didn't think he was one to hold a grudge." A crewmate commented before he swiftly ducked beneath a random cuff from Shachi, who had been pushed back along the hall.

Playful jabs and heckling began to come from the opposite side of the hall, well out of striking range.

"Captain's gonna come out and tell you off!"

"I think he only got an hour of sleep yesterday!"

"And he didn't get his coffee today because I accidently broke the coffee pot." An unfortunate crewmate sans their lower half agreed.

There were exagerated gasps from all around, the crew's focus temporarily off Shachi and Penguin grappling one another in the middle of the hall.

"I was wondering why you were cut in half."

"Did captain see you do it?"

"Shit, do we have a spare coffee pot?"

"We're at least three days out from another island and there's no guarantee there'll be one."

Penguin tossed the red head a few feet away, where he ran into the cook, who in turn patted Shachi on the shoulder.

"You guys didn't break the spare, did you?"

"Kinda busy right now." Shachi gasped out as he steadied himself before launching himself at Penguin again.

Relief spread through the crew that was present over the thought of a spare coffee pot, and a few even ran down the hall, shouting about finding it and getting Law his coffee before he shambled them all into pieces one at a time. And wearing a smirk while he did it because their captain was weird like that, even if he meant them no harm when he did happen to shamble or swap their personalities around.

Sleep deprivation could be a scary thing, but a sleep deprived Law without his coffee was even more terrifying.

With the coffee pot hopefully taken care of, the rest of the crew that was present turned their focus back to their sparring crewmates. Both men were breathing hard, signaling the end was near for that particular fight. The match ended sooner than anyone realized, because as Penguin and Shachi went for one another again, the former suddenly stumbled, a hand going to his chest with a grimace.

Uttering a muttered curse, Penguin dropped down to his knees and winced as a flare of pain went through his chest. It sent a brief moment of confusion through him over the fact that the scars on his chest were bothering him in the first place, before he collapsed.

Concern immediately swept the crew as the overall cheer that the sudden spar had brought them faded and the crew gathered around anxiously as they began talking over one another.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"I didn't even see Shachi touch him."

"Penguin?"

Penguin thought that the floor was rather comfortable until he realized that it was warm and breathing and found that he'd fallen against Shachi. Apparently the red head had managed to make it over to him before he'd collapsed all of the way to the ground.

"Pen?" Shachi's voice was laced with worry, the anger, mocking or otherwise, completely gone.

Penguin wanted to reassure everyone that he was fine, even if that wasn't exactly true, but instead merely sagged against his crewmate. Oddly enough, his strength was gone as he partially began to lose consciousness. He wasn't aware enough to force himself to answer his crewmate's concerned inquiries, but he was aware enough to hear what was being said and what was going on around him. Penguin might have worried over his body's odd response that he hadn't experienced before, had he not dimly heard a door open, and then heard Law's voice.

"What is going on out here?"

There was an immediate clamor as the crew talked over themselves in an effort to answer their captain's demand. Penguin figured Law's expression must have been a sight to see if it had got the whole crew babbling.

"He and Shachi were fighting-"

"-they weren't actually hitting each other hard. They were just sparring-"

"Penguin just collapsed."

"Will he be all right?"

"-his chest. He touched his chest where that thing had clawed him and-"

"Enough." Law cut short the half answers and general chatter, and when he spoke again, it was specifically directed to one person.

"Shachi, bring him into the infirmary." Law's voice rose in demand to those who were gathered. "The rest of you, go about your duties and give Penguin some space when I'm done taking a look at him.

"Aye!"

"Aye Aye!"

"Yes captain!"

Penguin felt Shachi attempting to help him up, and the Heart Pirate was only able to get to his feet, but not much else. Penguin had to cling with an arm around the back of Shachi's neck in order to remain upright. Penguin staggered a few steps with his crewmate's help, and was merely glad of the fact that he did not fall over on the way to one of the cots in the infirmary, which he gratefully collapsed onto.

Much better than the floor.

"Shachi, can you grab that kit over by the desk, on that bookshelf?"

Penguin heard Shachi walk away, and wondered why Law didn't get it himself when he felt someone start to move him around in order to strip him out of his clothes. At least, the upper half of his clothes and since it was Law, Penguin didn't mind and he was only disappointed that he felt terrible and couldn't enjoy it as much as he'd have liked. Especially since Law had unnecessarily traced his jaw and cheek with his fingertips. Penguin winced very slightly when Law traced the scars next, and heard his captain's voice go a little grim.

"I was wondering if something like this would happen, which is why I would have hoped that someone would have told me sooner that you'd been injured."

Penguin found himself slipping further out of consciousness, still not comprehending why his chest hurt.

"I presume what you are experiencing is some secondary reaction to whatever attacked you, even if it took some time for it to manifest in your body."

Penguin couldn't hear what else Law was saying, mostly because it was becoming distorted, and Penguin soon felt a sharp prick in the corner of his elbow, signaling something being put into his system. Was Law actually going to operate on him? Penguin didn't see why since the wound had healed over, but he couldn't say anything to that effect. Whatever it was that Law had just given him took away the last thread of consciousness, and with it, the wonder of what was going on.

-x-

Penguin woke abruptly. The Heart Pirate took a moment to remember where he was, and after a brief cursory examination of the immediate area, he determined that it was the infirmary. That was right. He'd been brought there because he'd collapsed for some reason, over a wound that should have been long since healed. The next thing Penguin became aware of was that he had bandages wrapped around his torso from neck to just above his waist. The Heart Pirate stilled when he heard his captain speak to him from nearby.

"The crew was able to treat your injuries when you received them but what they hadn't gotten rid of was all of the bacteria. I presume it was transferred to you from the claws you were raked with. It had begun to fester beneath the scar tissue for the past two months or so. That was probably the reason that it was troubling you now and again." Law shifted, his voice straying toward matter of fact. "I had to cut open the wounds to decrease the swelling. I then used my powers to remove any lingering bacteria that were causing the reaction you were experiencing. The scars shouldn't bother you once they heal over again, provided you don't tear the stitches before it sets."

Penguin silently rested a hand over the bandages before he slowly eased up into a sitting position. He was sore, but as Law had said, he had had his injury re-stitched and that was the tugging sensation that he now felt. Penguin caught sight of Law seated at a desk, and the way he'd half turned to watch him. Penguin found it amusing when he realized that he still wore his hat and wondered why his captain hadn't taken it off of him, but for now focused on those golden eyes and the fact that there was what looked like concern reflected in his captain's expression.

"You should rest right now." Law said, his voice firm and sure, with no trace of that worry in his tone. "Either here in the infirmary or in your room, if you feel as if you are up to getting there without falling over."

Penguin decided to not take the risk and settled back down on the cot to doze off. He must have been more exhausted than he initially thought, because he fell asleep quickly. Yet when Penguin woke back up, he found that Law was still in the room, even if his captain's back was to him right now.

"You're awake." Law stated the obvious. "You slept for two days."

That Penguin hadn't expected, but as he started to rise up into a seated position, the Heart Pirate found that he felt better than he had before.

"You should get something to eat." Law commented as he began to rise out of the seat in front of the desk. "You should be fine walking by now as long as you take it easy."

Penguin had a moment of clarity that reminded him why he'd come to the infirmary in the first place, and since he did feel better, and didn't seem to be in danger of tearing his stitches by moving, he got out of bed. There was no time to give any thought to his actions. The Heart Pirate crossed the room to where Law was, and Penguin had a mind to put into action what he had thought to do before.

It was through action that Penguin wanted to see if he could figure Law and his intentions out. The Heart Pirate wasn't sure what he was going to do after this, but supposed Law would be the one to decide that. Penguin also wasn't sure if Law would use his powers to leave, and Penguin figured he would find that out soon enough as well. The fact that Law had gotten to his feet yet still had his back to him made what Penguin had in mind all the easier to carry out.

Penguin wasted no breath on words as he seized Law roughly by his shoulder and the back of his neck and all but shoved his captain over and onto the desk, and made sure to keep Law's upper body pinned firmly. Penguin absently kicked Law's legs apart in a silent demand for his captain to brace himself and was pleased when Law did so and even gripped the edge of the desk with his hands, head bowed as his breath seemed to quicken at Penguin's actions.

But Law said nothing in that moment and that said a lot all on its own.

Penguin moved in behind Law and ground up against him, and almost laughed in a startled way when his captain seemed to squirm and try to better brace himself. His legs parted a bit more, in any case, although that could have been so that Law could keep his upper body from sliding further across the top of the desk. The Heart Pirate crewmate leaned over to rest his head on Law's shoulder as his left arm wrapped loosely around Law's waist, tugging him back so that he could better grind up against him briefly as Penguin pressed Law's chest further against the top of the desk. Penguin felt Law shift a bit as the dark haired man got better hold of the edge of the desk, before Law's feet were planted firmly on ground and he again went still.

"You're really quiet, captain." Penguin muttered as he pressed his lips against the right side of Law's neck, right hand reaching down to palm the front of Law's pants. Penguin used his upper body and left arm to keep Law against the desk when he felt his captain twitch in response to his touch. "Hold still." Penguin murmured as he bit down and toyed with the earrings Law wore. Penguin left the earrings alone after a shot time as he moved his right hand in a slow circle and groped now and again against the front of his captain's pants, just to let the other man know his intentions.

Law let some quick breath pass his lips at the touch before he went quiet.

Penguin could feel beneath his hand that his captain was not indifferent to what was going on, and in fact seemed to like being shoved up and partially onto a desk.

Interesting.

Penguin raised his right hand from crotch to belt, left arm tightening around the other's waist as his captain seemed to want to press down against him. Subconsciously, of course, as Law didn't seem to realize what his body was doing for the most part.

Curious.

"Did you wear that sweater with the feathers to hide the bite mark from before, or was that just a coincidence?" Penguin queried against Law's neck before he began to mouth the side of his captain's neck. Penguin started to scrape his teeth slightly along as well when he felt Law tilt his head to the side to give him better access. Penguin bit down as soon as he succeeded in removing his captain's belt.

Law let out a soft moan at the bite, and seemed to sag further against the desk as Penguin worked his jeans off soon after.

"I guess the crew would have taken it the wrong way. Might have thought you were having some fun on an island when they couldn't." Penguin was rather surprised to find that Law was aroused by the time he got the briefs down and wrapped a hand around him. Law certainly got a little louder, in any case, and the Heart Pirate crewmate wondered what would happen if the rest of the crew heard them. Penguin ran his hand lightly along in experimentation, and that got Law to jerk slightly in response as he pressed back against Penguin with a faint grumble and then immediately made an attempt to press down into the hand teasing him.

Penguin held his arm firm around Law's waist to prevent that as he breathed against his captain's neck again in a whisper.

"Do you want me to do it at this pace, or do you want me to do something else?" Penguin was rather curious as to whether or not he'd be able to get Law to actually say something. He hadn't the last three times, so he wasn't sure if now would be any different. But after a few more agonizingly slow strokes from base to tip, Law finally let out a harsh gasp of breath and shifted so that he braced his forearms on the desk instead as he finally broke his silence.

"Do you always give yourself such a slow hand job like this?"

Penguin was delighted to hear a bite of sarcasm in his captain's voice, but kept the pace of his hand the same as he responded. "What makes you think I do this to myself?"

"You did it the day we got back from getting the medical supplies. It took you forever to get off." Law said before he let out a faint groan at Penguin's hand jerking along his shaft. "You should try and be quieter if you don't want the rest of the crew to hear you if you try that again."

"What?" Penguin's hand stilled, and the Heart Pirate temporarily ignored the buck Law made with his hips as he focused on the fact that Law had heard him jerking off in his room all those days ago. "But you left."

"I stayed outside the door to see what you would do. I thought you might come after me, but I guess I was wrong in that instance. Perhaps I should have gone back." Law made the attempt to press his hips down against Penguin's hand again, to get a little relief over a painful erection, but when his crewmate held him in place, Law blew out a frustrated breath of air. "Are you just going to hold it or are you actually going to make me come?"

"Do you want me to make you come?" Penguin asked as he absently pressed a brief kiss to the side of his captain's throat.

"Only if you actually do it right. Otherwise I can do it myself more effectively." Law commented wryly, and just barely bit back a moan as Penguin took him at his word and started to move his hand again. After a short time, Law spoke again. "Are you sure you don't just do a back and forth motion like this to yourself? It did seem as if it took you a rather long to finish before if that was the case."

"Oh?" Penguin bit down on the side of Law's neck before he swiped his tongue over it. "Are you sure you want to point things out like that while I have you in my hand? I could just-"

"Hm, do you like having me in your hand?" Law cut in smoothly, even if he let out a faint moan against the top of the desk at the sensation of Penguin's hand jerking briefly around him at his words. "I'd say so, if you shoving me onto a desk so abruptly is anything to go by."

Penguin flushed and had no words to say to that and his captain seemed to know it.

"If you want to, ah, get me to...ah..." Law fell silent briefly before he spoke up again, this time in a lower and rougher tone. "…just try touching the head more often than you are." Law's voice trailed off into a nearly incoherent mutter over something about the fact that he liked to touch himself there and it felt good to him and if Penguin was going to insist on feeling him up he might as well know it.

Penguin found the situation completely bizarre, especially coupled with the fact that his captain was telling him what he wanted him to do to him. Penguin's hand faltered in its movement when he considered the embarrassment he now felt over the idea of Law lingering just outside his room to hear him jack off and-

"Penguin?" Law's voice trailed off into a breathy moan and the Heart Pirate crewmate really couldn't help himself after hearing his name being said, or rather, breathed, in such a desperate way.

Penguin traced his hand from base to tip and did as Law had asked, and found that as soon as he started giving more attention to the head that Law seemed to lose all of his speech capabilities. In its place were the moans and the faint writhes when Penguin did something that his captain clearly liked. Penguin held Law firmly and even increased the rhythm of his hand, but still mainly stayed around the tip because it was rather interesting to have Law come undone under his hand, just his hand, and he liked that. And when it seemed like Law wanted to say something, Penguin would flick the tip of Law's shaft with a thumb or forefinger, and his captain would immediately bypass actual words and instead make a faint moan of some sort.

The Heart Pirate was encouraged to make it as good as he could, and was glad of the advice his captain had given him, because Law certainly seemed to be responding more than he had been when he'd started to touch him. Penguin was encouraged the by the sounds that his captain was making in response to his touch as well. There were no more witty remarks. Law now just had the sound of someone who was really enjoying what was going on at that point in time and Penguin decided to take an issue with his captain's behavior. Penguin stilled his hand just when he thought that Law was close, and knew it by the faint sound of confusion and disappointment his captain made in response to the sudden stop.

"You know, I still haven't figured out why you've been ignoring me after we do something like this." Penguin ran his hand along slowly, which drew a faint writhe as he pressed close and added, if a harsh whisper. "For the past week and a half?"

Law made some attempt to answer but it died on his lips as Penguin bit him for a third time on the shoulder as his hand moved along faster, teasing the tip with every stroke he made. Law shuddered as that was enough to get him to finish and the dark haired captain didn't even seem to care that some of his release ended up on his desk as he seemed too sated to really give a damn about the mess in that moment.

Penguin eased up on the bite, even if he was quietly surprised to find that he had drawn blood. Then again, he was rather annoyed that Law was teasing him of all things, and doing so by ignoring him and pretending that there was nothing going on between them. At least, that was what his captain had made it seem like with what little he had said to him. That Law had let Penguin known of a way to give him a really good hand job was telling as well. Penguin looked over his captain's slumped and rapidly panting form still braced on the desk, and decided that it had been…rather arousing to him as well. But he was not going to masturbate in the damn infirmary in front of Law, no matter how aroused he might have become during all of it. Who knew what his captain might do, and what Penguin might want him to do. And what the Heart Pirate really wanted was Law's hands on him in return, because he had a feeling that as a surgeon, his captain would be very skilled with his fingers and-

Law let out a soft sigh suddenly, a moan, really, as he shifted back against his crewmate and mumbled something under his breath.

Penguin colored again and carefully backed away from Law when he realized that he had begun to slowly and subconsciously grind up against his captain's bare backside. As if indicating his desire to fuck his captain over the desk then and there. Penguin was appalled with himself for even giving that idea any thought.

"Aren't you…too?" Law seemed to be trying to ask him about his state of arousal and since Penguin knew that Law had to have felt the erection, even through his pants, felt that it would be best not to say a thing. Especially since Law damn well knew what state his crewmate was in, as his bare ass had just been shamelessly humped moments before by Penguin. At that lovely thought, and the sight of said bare ass and the fact that Law hadn't moved from where he was sprawled out over the desk, Penguin felt he needed to get the hell out of the room before Law decided to try and get an answer out of him.

"I should go get something to eat." Penguin said in a rather lame excuse as he retreated to the infirmary door. As the Heart Pirate exited the room, he could have sworn that he heard his captain let out a soft laugh, but figured that he'd imagine it.

Still, as Penguin walked down the hall, he was glad to have solved at least one mystery. He had been correct about what his captain was up to. The Heart Pirate really didn't like the teasing, and decided on a course of action should Law again pretend as if nothing happened. Because his captain had spoken to him that time and Penguin would know for certain that Law was toying with him if he blatantly ignored what had happened.

-x-

Fifteen minutes later and Penguin was silently fuming over the fact that yes, Law was again acting like nothing had happened, even if he did happen to be wearing his feathery sweater once more. It confused Penguin, but given the reaction in the infirmary and his captain's words to him, he knew that Law was either toying with or teasing him. Or both. Because Law was most certainly encouraging him to make a move on him, especially after telling him specifically how to give him a hand job that would make his toes curl. Or becoming incapable of letting anything pass from his mouth that wasn't some form of a moan like Law couldn't get enough of being touched in a certain way.

Which kind of led Penguin to wonder why his captain wanted to be touched, and why Law seemed to have decided that he wanted his crewmate to be the one that touched him.

So there was another question that needed an answer, even if another more pressing question had already been answered.

At least now the Heart Pirate knew that Law hadn't minded his past advances that he had made.

Penguin felt that Law should have been more careful if what he wanted was his crewmate's attention, because his captain was eating dinner in a rather questionable way while making eye contact now and again. Penguin was just relieved that he was able to prevent himself from reacting to the sight because of the fact that the rest of their crewmates surrounded them at present.

But if they had been alone?

Penguin felt that the encounter would have ended with Law bent over the nearest table and the Heart Pirate crewmate would have been giving serious though to fucking his captain into exhaustion over what was clearly becoming teasing in Penguin's eyes.

Law flashed his crewmate a knowing smirk as soon as they made brief eye contact again.

Penguin tugged his hat further over his forehead to hide both his eyes and the faint blush as he dropped his gaze. He decided he would bide his time and try something else the next time he found himself alone with Law. To see if he was right, and to see why it was that Law suddenly seemed to decide that he wanted to be touched by a crewmate, and Penguin in particular.

The Heart Pirate felt there was an answer somewhere, and he was determined to get it out of his captain in some way.

-x-

Three days later and Penguin was presented with a perfect opportunity.

The Heart Pirate knew that there would be no second guessing himself from going through with what he had in mind. He had already squeezed himself beneath the desk of the infirmary, so he was committed to seeing things through. All that he had to do now was wait for his captain to turn up.

Hours slipped by, and still Penguin waited there in the dark. Even if he wore a blush over the boldness of what he was about to do and the way he was lying in wait, Penguin couldn't help but feel that he'd surprise Law. And he would be able to do just that if his captain didn't sense him in the room until he'd made a move. If Law's reactions were anything like before, he most certainly wouldn't run the moment he knew what was happening.

Penguin figured that since his captain had appeared to like his hand, despite his sarcastic comments on how to do it better, that he'd like his mouth even more.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I'm having way too much fun with this and Law is such a fucking tease, I can't. He wasn't even supposed to say anything until a later chapter but I decided while typing this up that Penguin would, for some reason, be terrible at giving hand jobs and Law would have to break his silence just to address him on that point.

And hahaha dragging people down into obscure ships is so much fun and to answer Monkey D. Anea: yes, there will be smut in this. Two smut scenes, back to back, although whether they'll be in the same chapter is up in the air at this point in time. Each chapter of this fic just kind of builds up to it. I should have called this fic something more like escalating feels or how to be a fucking tease or how to drive someone up the wall until they fuck you for it.