Hat

Characters: Penguin, Law. Rating: K+. Warnings: implied/referenced minor character death(s).

It was common knowledge that their captain treasured his hat. The fluffy thing was never far from his head, and if he ever lost it in a fight it was Shambled back into his hand at the earliest opportunity, occasionally at the expense of an opening in the opponent's attack.

The time it was damaged, there was hell to pay. The unfortunate Marine received the full brunt of Law's sadistic nature, leaving him in so many miniscule pieces that it was impossible to ever reconstruct him. Reassembled in such a form that he barely resembled a human, the Marine was left unable to eat or drink, and breathing was a luxury at best, leaving him to a slow and torturous death.

When Law stared at the hat forlornly, the fluffy rim tattered beyond any repair, it was Penguin who braved his captain's wrath to attempt to extract it from his death grip.

"No," Law growled, his other hand flexing to form a Room in a silent threat. Penguin sighed and ceased his attempts to obtain the hat, although he didn't retreat.

"Captain," he began, letting his hands fall to rest limply by his sides. "Let me see the damage." The Room glowed brighter and Law growled again, not looking away from his hat. "Law." It had been a long time since he'd last called his captain by name, and he succeeded in startling the younger into glancing up at him briefly, before his attention returned to his hat. "Let me see." He held out his hands again, patiently waiting.

His captain hesitated, amber eyes flicking from his hat to Penguin's hands and back again before he reluctantly acquiesced, his trembling hands oh so slowly surrendering the hat into Penguin's calm grip. Penguin squeezed one hand briefly in the transaction, feeling Law watching him like a hawk as he gently turned the shredded hat around to look at it properly.

There was no salvaging the rim, as Penguin had already known, but the main body of the hat was relatively unscathed in comparison, and he told his captain as such. Law jerked, but remained otherwise silent and unresponsive, and Penguin took that to mean he wanted the hat repaired.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, and disappeared to his quarters, leaving Bepo and Shachi to deal with Law, who had made a noise of protest at his departure.

It was easier to assess the hat without its twitching owner hovering, and Penguin soon took a needle, thread and part of the ruined rim to the body of the hat, repairing the minor gashes there. The rim was a lost cause and he resignedly yet carefully cut away the remains. Despite his best efforts, it still looked very sorry for itself, largely due to the absence of the rim, and he sighed, absently spinning it on a finger as he thought. It was the best he could do with what he had, but he already knew Law would go spare at the sight of it. Penguin briefly toyed with the idea of tossing it and just getting a new one. It would be easier, certainly. But if it was anything like his own hat…

He'd never forgive anyone who threw his hat out – that was why he had the tools to fix hats in the first place. That meant he had to get a new rim for Law's hat, somehow. He sighed again, then jumped as the door opened.

"I need to get more fabric," he garbled at the sight of his captain, resisting the childish urge to hide the half-repaired hat behind his back. It would do no good. Law's eyes narrowed at the sorry sight, before he slumped onto the lower bunk – Penguin's own bed (Shachi, the more childish of the two even if the younger would never admit it, had laid claim to the top bunk the moment they got the submarine, before Penguin had even known there was a bunk).

"Tell Bepo to head for the nearest island," Law ordered, looking down at his hands. They were still trembling slightly, and the captain's voice was slightly hoarser than Penguin was used to. He recognised the dismissal for what it was and left, hunting down their navigator. He was glad that they were still in North Blue, and not the Grand Line they were finally heading for – any island in this Blue would have the right material.

Message delivered, he returned to his quarters to see Law where he'd left him, although he now had his hat in his hands. One finger was tracing over the inside, back and forwards over the same spot. He stopped when he noticed Penguin, putting it down with great reluctance.

"We're a few hours out," Penguin reported, and Law nodded before standing and leaving. The hat remained on the bed and Penguin picked it up once the door was closed, turning it to see the area his captain had been caressing. He should probably respect his captain's privacy, but as he was fixing the thing… Well, he'd probably see it anyway. At least, that was how he justified it.

A small collection of black stitches greeted him when he looked, easy to overlook if you weren't looking, forming a single line of words.

Happy Birthday, Onii-sama! Love Lami

Penguin had heard the name only once, when Law had been vulnerable and desperate enough after a particularly brutal nightmare to spill his life story to his crew of three, but once was enough. His captain's baby sister, lost when Flevance burned in the fires of fear and scorn.

He made a mental note to buy as much extra material as he could. No matter what happened, he would never let the captain's hat die.

I've been curious about the sentimentality behind Law's hat ever since he retrieved it in his fight against Vergo before striking the finishing blow, and after seeing that only the rim (later peak) appears to have really changed since Flevance, this headcanon was born.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari