Law fell into an exhausted sleep almost as soon as Penguin had closed the door to his cabin. The dark haired pirate had been running on auto pilot that morning, and he held onto it as long as he could to not let on just how tired he was. Had he not had his injuries seen to upon returning to his ship, he was sure he would have fallen asleep then and there.
It was probably for the best though, to not let his crew know how weary he was. With all that had happened in such a short amount of time in the past few months, and last week, Law felt that his crew should at least had an idea of how exhausted their captain was. He was fairly certain that most, if not all of his crew, had caught him dozing off in odd places around the submarine. An obvious sign of his sleep deprivation when he couldn't even make it to his cabin.
Sleep came and took away his worries for the time being, which Law was grateful for. He was far more troubled than he had been the day before, and the Heart Pirate captain now had one more thing on his plate to think about and factor in with everything else that he already had going on.
Kidd.
-x
Law half woke at the sound of his cabin door opening and closing. He had nearly missed it, but years of light sleeping due to fear of being found made it easier for him to wake up when something was different. He heard it, even half asleep. The sound of soft footsteps. The sound of someone breathing, yet trying to remain quiet. The dark haired pirate considered turning and confronting the indtruder, but was just too tired to do so. Besides, Law sensed no malicious intent. If he had, he would have already been out of the room via his Devil Fruit powers, and roused the rest of his crew to confront the intruder.
The Heart Pirate held still as someone settled on his bed. He heard it creak, the bed shifting as it compensated for the person's weight. That was different. No one would sit on his bed that he knew of from his crew. That meant that it wasn't one of his crewmates coming to wake him up. Odd, that he had heard no alarm from anyone in the hall outside his cabin. He always had stated he wanted one person awake and keeping an eye on things, if not two people. Law froze as the weight shifted closer, before there was hot breath puffing against the side of his throat.
"You need better lookouts, Trafalgar."
Kidd.
Law furrowed his brow. What in the hell was the other captain doing on his ship? It was underwater at the moment, wasn't it? He had thought he had specifically told his crew to dive below the surface. Then again, he had been worn out and needed his wounds to be re-stitched, so perhaps he had not said what he had thought he said aloud. All the same, Kidd shouldn't have been on the ship. Law began to turn over, when Kidd's weight pinned him down on the bed. Gently, this time around, and Law supposed that the redhead had noticed his bandages this time. "Eustass-ya, what are you...?"
The dark haired pirate let out a gasp as Kidd's hand threaded through his hair and turned his head to the side in order to kiss him. Startled, Law attempted to turn to better angle his head, and nearly moaned into the kiss. Unexpected, but not exactly unwelcome, even if he was a little bit confused by the other's actions. He had honestly thought Kidd was uninterested in doing anything of the same nature after last night, but perhaps Law had been mistaken.
However...with recent previous events that were Dressrosa...perhaps he should...
Law took in several deep breaths after Kidd released him from the kiss, before he had to rest his head against the bed as Kidd's hands began to roam over his body, before flipping him back over onto his back as gently as possible to avoid jostling the injuries too much. "Eustass-ya." Law had to tell him. Tell him why he'd been ignoring him that night at the tavern they'd run across one another at. Law tilted his head back as Kidd began to trace his lips along his throat. Law tried to focus. He needed to tell Kidd to stay away. Not for the reasons he might think, but for what could happen in the future should things go as wrong as they had in Dressrosa. Law had been wrong once about things going as he thought they should, and it could happen again. "Eustass-ya, I..." Law bit his lips as Kidd's right hand dipped along his waistline, and the dark haired pirate shuddered as Kidd bit down on the side of his neck lightly.
Damn...why wasn't Kidd letting him speak? Surely the redheaded captain would rather get any idle talk out of the way?
Kidd's hand only dipped lower with a chuckle before...
-x
Law was shaken into wakefulness by one thoroughly pissed off Penguin. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but not one of the worst. The dark haired captain was momentarily disoriented by the sudden change in scenery from the rather realistic dream. Law shifted uncomfortably as something else soon became apparent. His body had obviously been enjoying the dream very much, but Law found that at this point in time, being held onto by Penguin and being as weary as he was that he was unable to finish what the dream had started. Not to mention that his aroused state was already quickly vanishing due to Penguin being visibly upset with him for one reason or another. That woke Law up the rest of the way, and he hastily shoved aside the fact that he had been dreaming about Kidd and being in a compromising position, and enjoying it.
The Heart Pirate captain winced as his wounds were jostled as Penguin gripped the collar of the loose shirt that he had tossed on before falling asleep. Law had known that he really shouldn't have had anything brushing against his bandages, but he was cold, and he hadn't wanted to bother with the sheets. But perhaps he should have, because then Penguin wouldn't have had anything to grip him by. Law winced faintly as Penguin hoisted him upright into a seated position so that they could be face to face. The dark haired captain was far more startled by the fact that Penguin's eyes were visible, rather than the actions that his crewmate was currently exhibiting. Though the rage in the other man's gaze was something that Law didn't often see from the other man.
"You didn't tell them."
Penguin's voice was a low, dangerous growl and unlike anything Law had ever heard out of the other man. It wasn't often that Penguin lost his temper, but when he did, it was always something that mattered to him that had made him become upset in the first place. Most unfortunately, Law knew exactly what this was about. It was something that dark haired pirate had expected sooner, so he had prior knowledge that this conversation was coming. But he wasn't ready to give the answers, because he had no good reason that would fly with Penguin. Law knew what the problem was all right, and it was the reason that Penguin was being so careless about his newly stitched wounds. Since Law hadn't expected to survive Dressrosa to return to his crew, Law had never given thought of what to do if he did return alive. Based on Penguin's reaction now, Law figured that it was why the other man had given him the cold shoulder while the rest of the crew had all greeted him warmly, relieved that, while injured, he was alive and well.
And it was probably why Penguin hadn't really talked to him upon his return either. When he had to, it was usually kept professional and clipped, as if he were waiting for Law to admit fault. And had been acting the same way for the past week. The dark haired captain knew that it had to have been terrible for Penguin to believe that he'd never see Law again, only to have his captain return after all of the chaos had fallen through. Because Penguin hadn't expected him to come back. Hadn't expected to ever see him alive and whole. To have all of the pressure on his shoulders, while the rest of the crew had been blissfully ignorant of what could have been. Law felt Penguin's grip tighten, and knew that the other man was even angrier than before, because he must have just found out that Law had neglected to tell the rest of the crew about his potential demise with the plan he had come up with, should something go wrong.
Law rested a hand on his crewmate's, letting pressure fall on the other's wrist as he spoke in as calm a voice as he could manage, "My wounds, Penguin." He knew that the other man wasn't going to actually cause any bodily harm, but he sure seemed to want knock some sense in him. For whatever reason. Law's problems were his own, however, and he didn't need to be reminded that he had made some mistakes along the way. But this problem...he did need to be confronted on it, because he should have never put so much weight on his only one of his crew's shoulders.
The grip tightened instead of loosening, and Penguin narrowed his eyes, his voice any icy hiss. "How could you not tell them?"
Law looked to the side, away from Penguin's accusing stare. It was at times like this that he'd rather have his crewmate wearing his hat. It was harder to lie to yourself when you saw honesty in another's gaze. Well, honesty and indignation. Law's shoulders slumped slightly as he let out a sigh, before reluctantly admitting the truth, "None of you would have let me leave if I had told you all. Everyone would have found a way to stop me from going."
"Because we care about you and don't want you to get yourself killed? Especially when you ended up on your own for months, surrounded by enemies." Penguin shook his head as he refrained from jostling Law around, "And you thought it was all right to tell only me your plans? That you basically told me that I was to take care of the rest of the crew should something happen to you? Or when you made that brief call and told me you'd screwed up, and that Doflamingo nearly killed you? Do you remember that?"
"You didn't try to stop me from leaving." Law said tonelessly, even though it was a lie. It was a blatant lie, and it was what made Penguin let go of him abruptly. Law propped himself up on his right arm, and just knew, from what he could sense, that he had further infuriated Penguin. Law could have easily ducked away from what happened next, but didn't bother to. Law still ended up flinching as Penguin slapped him.
"I did try to stop you, but the rest of the crew held me back." Penguin snapped, even as his voice wavered, as if he couldn't believe that Law was trying to lie to avoid the truth, "You saw me. I know you saw me try. And what did you do?" Penguin's voice shook as he did, trying and failing to keep the emotion from spilling out,"You left. You left without saying anything. Without trying to explain to the crew why I was acting in such a way. I told you not to go, but you kept on walking. How do you think that made me feel? To think that that was the last time I might see you alive? And not a body laying on the ground somewhere? What would you have done if I had told the crew and we came to help you?"
Law's tone was flat, even though he was clearly uncomfortable with Penguin being so upset. Law had obviously not realized just how stressful that one secret had been for Penguin. However, the Heart Pirate firmly believed that it had been worth it, even if it had caused Penguin some emotional agony. He knew that Penguin, along with Shachi, Bepo and the others, would have kept the whole crew safe should Doflamingo have actually killed him back in Dressrosa. "You know what would have happened. Joker would have found it amusing to slaughter you all before my eyes before he took his time with me. You know what he is like."
"Damn you." Penguin snarled angrily, before he took another swing at Law. His captain's denial was grating on his nerves. Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he see that it was wrong to lie to the entire crew? "Don't say it was for our own good!" That Law allowed the punch to land when he could have easily avoided it, injured or not, only made him feel worse. It hurt Penguin to see Law's blank expression, the smirk all but gone these past few days, weeks, months. Had it really been a year since any of the crew had really seen Law crack a smile? Penguin's arms dropped to his sides as he sunk to his knees, one hand reaching out to clutch the sheets as he rested his head against the mattress of the bed, "Damn you. You lied to them." Penguin clutched the sheets in a crushing grip, not trusting himself to say any more. He wasn't sure how he would act, and he really didn't think that turning it into a fight would benefit either himself or Law. It would likely only make things worse than they already were. Penguin girt his teeth, his emotions settling on a combination of pity and self loathing when he felt a hand tentatively ruffle his hair.
"...I'm sorry...but I'm back, so it didn't..." Law's voice went quiet, as if he couldn't quite bring himself to acknowledge the mistakes he'd made, but knew he had made them all the same,"...But they were happy, weren't they? Even if you all were worried about me with all of the news that came out."
"...Yes, they were happy, for the most part. But you know that it would have been bad if you'd have died. No one would have taken it well." It was obvious from Penguin's tone that he wouldn't have either, "That we couldn't have done anything to help you." Penguin let out a sigh, but didn't move from where he was kneeling. He felt on the verge of tears or worse, another fit of concentrated rage, and knew that he had to stop that from happening, for now. He knew that Law had more on his mind than he would let on, because he didn't want to worry his crew.
It always came back to that. Law didn't want any of them to be worried over him, so he took all the trouble on his own shoulders, and Penguin was concerned that one day that by keeping all of his troubles bottled up that it was going to get his captain killed. Could have gotten him killed with what appeared to have happened in Dressrosa. Penguin felt a faint spark of anger along with a lingering feeling of guilt with what Law said next. It was unexpected, and made Penguin feel terrible for bringing up the topic with his captain.
"Penguin. I don't think that...Doflamingo had intended to kill me. At first it seemed to be that way, but then...something changed his mind..."
Penguin felt Law's hand leave his hair and he peeked up at his captain, sufficiently calmed enough to keep his emotions in check, "Captain?" He didn't like the look on Law's face. It was a distressed, unhappy look, and Penguin didn't want to hear why, but at the same time, he needed to hear it. Wanted to understand, so that he and the rest of the crew could support Law in any way they could. Penguin knew all of them missed the laidback, confident captain that they had joined with in the first place, despite the ups and downs that followed. Penguin attempted to make eye contact with the other man, and found it a bad sign that he didn't, "Law?"
Law was staring absently at the tattoos on the back of his hands that he had settled on his lap, "He wanted me to be back in his crew, Penguin. He didn't outright say it...but his actions that he took after everything went wrong..." Law shook his head, "I don't know...but if he comes after me, I am not sure if he will just be in the mood to kill me, or decide to just take me back after proving I don't stand a chance in a fight against him..."
Penguin heard a knock on the door, and was glad for a break in the conversation. He wasn't sure what he was feeling about Law keeping things to himself. "Shachi caught a transponder snail call earlier." He had nearly forgotten about it in his brief anger with Law for being a fool and keeping the truth hidden from the rest of the crew.
"Kaido?" Law asked, straightening up as Shachi came into the room. He still looked tired, but was now at least alert enough that it showed that he hadn't lost any of his willpower despite how down and depressed he seemed to be.
Penguin shook his head, eying his captain, "No, it was Doflamingo." As soon as the heart pirate crewmate saw the color drain out of Law's face, he wished he hadn't said it. There was something that had happened in Dressrosa that Law wasn't letting out. Or it could have been lingering feelings about his past when he had worked for Doflamingo before. Penguin quickly held out a hand to prevent Law from tipping over, as his captain appeared to have forgotten just how bad of shape he was in.
"What did he say?" Law demanded, allowing Penguin to help him stay upright as he looked across the small room to Shachi.
Penguin felt one of Law's hands grip his nearest one, and hoped that whatever it was, it was not going to involve anything about Law himself. From the way their captain was acting, however, Penguin felt that Law was almost expecting it to involve him. Penguin moved his other hand behind Law's back to keep the other man upright. Penguin looked away from Law to Shachi, and nodded to him, though he held on a little more firmly than he normally would with Law's injuries, in case whatever Shachi said set Law off.
Shachi glanced down at the sheet of paper, "It was garbled at times, but he was talking to Crocodile."
"Just give me the gist of it, then."
Shachi nodded, though he cast a sideways glance at Penguin, looking worried.
Damn, it must be what he had thought. Penguin almost didn't want Shachi to say whatever the call had been about, but Law was captain, and his orders were absolute. To a point. If Penguin and Shachi had to hold Law down to keep him from harming himself further by not letting his injuries heal, Penguin would not feel one bit guilty about it.
Shachi took a breath, as if trying and failing to find a way to lessen the blow of bad news, "Captain…Doflamingo is trying to locate you. He wants to talk, though I don't know if that's what he really intends. Crocodile said why bother, if you had been trying to get him killed and Doflamingo…" Shachi broke off, as if wondering whether he should say the rest, before he finished hesitantly, "He wants to have you back in his crew. He said that, after what happened, he wasn't going to be the only one to take the fall from Kaido. He…he is going to Zou, Law. Where we agreed to meet with Straw Hat Luffy as a waypoint."
Law had frozen, but seemed to be aware enough to speak. He steadied himself with Penguin's help, thinking for a few seconds before he spoke in a calm tone, "Get Straw Hat-ya on a Transponder snail. Tell his crew to stay away from Zou for the time being. We'll pick another island to meet at, since Kaido isn't near Zou as we had first believed. Now. Joker isn't one to waste time." Law watched Shachi quickly left the cabin, before he placed a hand lightly on Penguin's, "You can let go. I won't fall over."
Penguin let go, though he kept a close eye on Law as the dark haired pirate lay down on the bed gingerly. Penguin stared at the sheets before speaking, "It sounds like he doesn't want to kill you."
Law looked away, "It certainly seems that way." And he sounded at a loss of what to do about it.
"…Is this because of…?"
Law cut Penguin off before he could continue his thought, and it was clear that the pirate captain could only handle one distressing thought at a time, "I think that Joker believes that misinterpretations on my part 13 years ago are to be punished, but at the same time forgiven." Law closed his eyes as he let out a slow sigh, "I'd rather he just killed me. I'm a different person than I used to be when I joined his crew all those years ago."
Penguin decided to change topics, since it was obvious that this particular one was something that Law did not want to discuss, "Are you sure that you want to go after Kaido right now, with your wounds? Some of Straw Hat Luffy's crew were injured, weren't they? In Dressrosa, like you were?" He didn't know who or how badly, but it was very clear that neither of their crews ought to go after someone so powerful when they weren't at full strength.
Law was silent before he merely shook his head once more, "I don't know why. Perhaps it is because I fully expected to die in Dressrosa, after all of my plans were ruined. After everything I thought would happen failed to happen in reality. As I thought it would go in my mind." Law rested back on his bed heavily, looking concerned once more, though he sounded pleased at the same time, "At least when Kaido learns of the destruction of the SMILE factory, there will be nowhere for Joker to run that Kaido won't be able to find him."
Penguin refrained, for the time being, of getting into an argument about that. Crossing his arms, Penguin studied his captain, "Will that stop Doflamingo from pursuing you? If he has Kaido to worry about?"
Law closed his eyes and stretched out as best he could, "I doubt it. Can we continue this in a few hours? I doubt you'll let it lie as is, and I haven't gotten much sleep as of late." Last night was left unsaid, because Law knew that Penguin figured out what had happened.
Penguin relented, but he spoke in a more serious tone about his other concern, "I think that at this point in time, you should not go looking for any trouble."
"I haven't done anything like that lately." Law countered, sounding vaguely intrigued by the notion.
Penguin saw a ghost of the smile he and the crew had seen last night, and pursued the topic, almost desperate to see if he was imagining the expression, "Kidd doesn't count?" Penguin asked bluntly. He was taken aback at Law merely making himself more comfortable, his tone now disinterested.
"Eustass-ya could potentially be trouble, but he is nothing compared to Joker."
Penguin let out a frustrated sigh. Dealing with Law could be exhausting at times. "And if Doflamingo had happened to find you this morning with Kidd instead of Shachi and myself?"
"Eustass-ya would have ben a good barrier between myself and Joker. I was not tired enough that I couldn't use my powers if put into a corner."
Penguin knew he had seen a tiny smile at that. "...I'm sure Kidd would appreciate that you think of him as a convenient meat shield." Penguin commented wryly, and wondered if the red headed captain would take it as an insult if Law ever dared to utter something like that around him. Kidd appeared to be short tempered from what Penguin had seen and heard of the other captain. Penguin didn't doubt that Law's sharp tongue could potentially get him into trouble, if not with Kidd, but someone else. Perhaps even Doflamingo. Penguin and the rest of the Heart Pirates had long since grown accustomed to Law's mannerisms and off handed comments, so that none of them were likely to take offense anymore. Not that Law would direct that sarasm toward them, unless the dark haired pirate felt it necessary.
Law cracked an eye open to look up at his crewmate, amused, "I can take care of myself, Penguin."
Penguin didn't doubt that, but only when his captain was up to full strength, "...I'll wake you in a few hours." Penguin said shortly. He knew that it was no use to try and hold a conversation when Law was obviously exhausted and in a relatively unpleasant mood. Penguin turned away, before Law made him stop short.
Law's voice was still amused, but with more of the edge of exasperation at his crewmate's behavior. "There was something in my jacket pocket this morning, and it's not there now." Law's voice turned demanding, brooking no room for argument, "You don't happen to know where it is, do you?"
Penguin paused with his hand on the doorknob, "You don't need any more on your mind, captain."
"Penguin."
At the cold tone, Penguin again relented and crossed the few steps back to Law's bed, dipping a hand into a pocket and retrieving the small scrap of paper. Penguin silently held it out for Law to take, and if he had blinked, the Heart Pirate crewmate would have missed the faint trace of amusement that crossed his captain's face as he saw what was written on the paper.
Law set the paper next to his bed and lifted his gaze to Penguin, "I do not see how a contact is any trouble."
"If you are distracted, that will only make things easier for Doflamingo." Penguin calmly reminded the other man, "And you should not do anything to aggravate your wounds until they are healed, but obviously, you are not going to do that, are you?" Penguin had seen the way Law was moving so gingerly, and didn't think that it was in Law's best interest to do anything vigorous, fighting or otherwise, until he was feeling better.
"I'm going to rest now, Penguin."
Penguin watched Law turn over onto his back, and figured that the conversation was definitely over now. Penguin left the room before he could think of anything else to get into a fight with his captain over. Law had to have known that Penguin was only doing what he was doing because he was worried. Hell, the whole crew was concerned about their captain ever since he had returned bleeding from various wounds and weirdly silent about how he had acquired said wounds. Penguin left Law alone, and silently closed the door. As Penguin walked down the hall of the ship, he wondred if Law had figured out just how much all of them were worried about his well being. Penguin tuned back into his surrounding, and went to go find Shachi, though his troubles followed him. Penguin just didn't know what to do.
Ever since Law had become a Warlord, everything seemed to have begun to go downhill.
-x
Kidd hoped that this wasn't going to be a reoccurring theme. Having something interesting happen only to be greeted by a stretch of absolutely nothing to do but brood and scowl at anyone and everything that came in his path. That would get boring and boring fast.
And another bout of boredom would only force Kidd to go find a nearby island to lay siege to it to relieve that boredom.
Kidd scowled despite not really feeling all that angry. He was actually feeling pretty good, and was sure that the oddly good mood was due to what had happened the night before. But he was still going to find something to be unhappy about, if only to give him something to do.
Law was nowhere in sight. Not even his ship.
Kidd scanned the immediate area, but knew it was useless after a few minutes. There was no sign of Law's ship, and there probably wouldn't be. And that meant that the sneaky bastard had made his departure underwater without bothering to stick around for a few minutes. Kidd tapped the railing of his ship, pondering, and came to the conclusion that it was odd that Law had a submarine when he couldn't even swim.
Kidd scanned the immediate waters, before he turned away and went to his cabin. The red haired captain sure as hell wouldn't want to be underwater, should some disaster strike the ship. Kidd did not fancy drowning, as it would be unpleasant, not to mention embarrassing as hell, to go in such a fashion without a fight. Kidd settled into a chair in his cabin, thinking that he could take a quick nap, because once again, nothing interesting was going on. It would only be a matter of time before he grew bored again, and would want to go out and destroy something to make himself feel better. He hated inactivity. The island idea was sounding more promising the more he thought of it.
Footsteps announced the arrival of someone that had come to interrupt the redhead's thoughts of destruction and mayhem, and Kidd wasn't sure whether he was grateful or annoyed at the interruption.
Kidd barely glanced up to see who had entered his cabin, because he knew that the only ones who would dare to bother him were either Killer or Heat. And fortunately for the whole crew, Kidd was in a much better mood than before, so none of them had to worry about his temper. For now. Kidd let out a yawn as he stretched out a bit as he watched Killer lean up against the nearest wall of the cabin. Kidd doubted that it would be anything urgent, so he looked his crewmate over with a bored expression. Killer obviously wanted to talk, and Kidd was a little interested because Killer wasn't normally one for conversation unless it was important, "Yeah? What is it?"
Killer spoke aloud, getting straight to the point, "Why were you in bed with Law this morning? You've done nothing but bitch and moan about that man on and off for the past two years. And caused all of that damage whenever there was a mere mention of him, whether in the paper or gossip in the towns."
Whatever Kidd had thought Killer was going to talk to him about, this was not it at all. Kidd stared at Killer to see if he was serious, but since the blond wore a mask, Killer's body language gave him no indication one way or another. Kidd grumbled something under his breath before he responded, "Why the hell does it matter to you?" Kidd knew that at least some of the crew had noticed how unhappy or angry he got at the mere mention of the Surgeon of Death, but Kidd was not about to let on why that was. If he did, Kidd would have to kill anyone who heard those reasons. Kidd thought about it for a minute. While Law's manners left something to be desired, Kidd loved how destructive Law could be with his powers, and it would have been even more entertaining to see people decapitated from a distance and stay dead, but a disembodied head speaking was still entertaining as hell.
Kidd stared up at the ceiling. He didn't like to be outdone on the battlefield, nor have his bounty bested by those that became infamous along with him, so he...tended to go a little overboard to compensate. If nothing else, when he'd gotten to the New World and heard about some of the equally destructive things Law had done, all of them illegal, Kidd had felt insulted that he had never been around to join in on any of them. Law becoming a warlord had almost made Kidd lose interest in him altogether, until he figured that Law had to be plotting something bigger. Kidd was quite pleased that that turned out to be true with what had gone down in Punk Hazard...what with Law and Luffy forming an alliance...
Kidd scowled. It had been unsurprising given what had happened on Punk Hazard, but then again, the red headed captain was feeling a bit left out. That he had already formed an alliance with Hawkins and Apoo meant nothing, because at the time Kidd had half thought Law was a for working with the government. Now that Law was likely to lose the warlord title...it meant that Law was more likely to form more alliances. He appeared to be going after Kaido with what had gone down in Dressrosa...
"Kidd?"
Kidd jolted out of his thoughts as he realized that Killer had been patiently waiting for him to answer his questions. Kidd averted his eyes and snorted softly, "It is none of your damn business." Kidd glanced at his Transponder Snail, before he leaned back in his chair. It was stupid to think about Law at all if the son of a bitch wasn't even going to bother to call him, if only to cheek him or tease him about last night.
"You gave him your Transponder snail contact?" Killer ventured after a moment.
"So what if I did? Maybe he'll want to join in on the alliance if he is going after the emperors." Kidd said scathingly, trying to cover up the fact that he had looked at the nearby snail briefly again.
Killer appeared to be giving Kidd an almost pitying look, but the redhead again could not tell due to the mask, "Or is it because you think he might be interested in continuing whatever you were doing last night?" Having sex was heavily implied in the blond's voice, but left unsaid.
Kidd flushed in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, "What the hell, Killer. Who the hell cares if he does or doesn't? Besides, he was drunk at the time when he found me last night. "
"And you didn't turn him away." Killer pointed out, clearly wondering why not.
Kidd simmered down, deciding that it just wasn't worth it to fight over, "I tried, but he was not taking no for an answer." Kidd frowned. "He was a little buzzed at that point, but he seemed..." Kidd searched for a word, before settling on, "Down. I dunno, he wouldn't leave."
"Kidd?"
Kidd glanced up, "What?"
"Is last night the reason you attacked the marines this morning, to let Law and his crew leave?"
Kidd was saved from providing a response to that, as Heat had burst into his cabin after knocking on the door hastily.
"Boss."
Kidd reclined in his chair, his embarrassment quickly gone as he flicked his gaze in Heat's direction, "Yeah?"
"Big Mom is on the move from the island she was on before, and so is Kaido, although it is mainly his forces that are on the move."
Kidd grinned. Finally, something interesting was happening. He could always figure out where Law had gotten to later, if the other captain happened to actually give him a call. Kidd rose out of his chair, "Where?"
"A few days sailing from our position."
Kidd was glad to be away from Killer's questions. He loved a good fight and getting into a scrap, as it was far more interesting than being badgered by his crewmate about his choice in bed partners. Not that Kidd didn't have questions about why he had done what he had last night, as well as why Law had come on to him in the first place with the façade of being drunk. Something to think about later.
Heat hesitated as he cast a glance Kiiller's way, before turning his eyes back to Kidd's, "Hawkins called a little while ago...he said that according to his readings he'd just made before the call, he believes that we are going to be late to the meeting spot that was agreed upon."
Kidd let out a nasty snigger, "That card reading idiot. What did he say the holdup would be? Reinforcements from the marines we just beat up hours ago?"
"There aren't any Marine ships in sight. Hawkins...he didn't say what it was."
Kidd brushed past both of his crewmates, laughing, "Well, whatever. We don't have to meet up with him and Apoo for a week anyway. Maybe he's just trying to slow things down."
-x
Killer watched Kidd leave, before he followed after him, though he did pause next to Heat to murmur quietly, "You hesitated."
Heat glanced over his shoulder at their captain's retreating back, before speaking quietly in return, "Hawkins said that Law's gonna hold us up, but he wouldn't say how or why."
Killer nearly sighed. He knew that this was going to be a problem, but saw no point in trying to tell Kidd to avoid the other captain. Kidd would just be more likely to do just that if told not to.
Gunfire suddenly erupted on deck, distracting the two Kidd pirates.
"Marines!"
"Where did they come from?"
"Fire back!" Snapped Kidd from somewhere on deck.
Glad to have something to distract him from potential future problems, Killer headed out to join the rest of the crew, along with Heat. As Killer engaged the nearest marines that had hopped from a ship that certainly hadn't been there an hour ago, Killer figured he could ask Heat about what exactly the other captain had said. Perhaps Hawkins was mistaken with whatever reading he had done before calling them.
Killer dismissed the thought for the time being. There was no way one man could hold up an entire crew.
It just wasn't possible.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A/N: In case it isn't apparent, I really want Penguin to be an overprotective badass that will break anyone who looks at his captain wrong (let me play with the idea and enjoy it while I can). Hell, all of Law's crew could be for all I care. Also, I like to think that if there was any indication that Law could potentially die that his crew would have tried to stop him from going anywhere alone. I like to think he and his crew have a good relationship based off of what little of them was in the manga (I left off the anime after Water 7 and picked it back up at Punk Hazard, so I haven't seen the Sabaody part).
And this fanfic...there's gonna be some angst between Law and his crew, meaning I may want to change the genre for the fic. The humor is still going to be whenever Kidd and Law cross paths. Um, I think the angst is going to be back and forth for the first half of this fic. Just from how I outlined it, I believe that it is going to be a much longer story than I initially thought it would be. But I needed more of Law and his crew's interaction as part of the plot and a way that will later make Law end up around Kidd for awhile, and what is going to be posted is the result.
Chapters are likely to be longer because I do not know how often I will get to updating this story.