Pericarditis

Characters: Law, Penguin, Shachi, Ikkaku. Rating: K+. Warnings: None

Having your heart crushed usually had consequences. Law had been aware of it at the time, desperately attempting to reclaim it while Vergo watched on in glee as he writhed in front of one of his nightmare's more prominent antagonists. With no immediately obvious affects, a Straw Hat alliance, and Doflamingo's very real threat hanging over him, it was sent to the back of his mind while he dealt with more important things, like keeping hold of his sanity and trying to herd the Straw Hats into a plan with a chance of success. The fact that he'd hardly expected to survive Dressrosa did nothing to help.

Then Dressrosa happened, Law somehow didn't die, but did walk (limp) away with far too many injuries to be able to tell without using his powers what pain came from what injury. His powers were firmly out of reach after his final stunts in the battle, but with the Tontatta Princess around they were, thankfully, not needed. All it meant was that Law had to deal with pain for longer than usual, but that did little to faze him.

Amongst all that, small pains from the left side of his chest went largely unnoticed, attributed to the bullet wound he received in the vicinity on the rare occasion they did catch his attention. The battle to retain his sanity on a ship of fanboys, in addition to half the insanity-inducing Straw Hat crew, won out over physical discomfort (aside from when he wasn't fast enough to escape an unlucky Gomu Gomu no Rocket or the like), and then there was Zou, where the delight of seeing his nakama again was tainted by the fact that Kaido knew where they were, and that his nakama were injured.

It wasn't until he was on the Polar Tang, injuries all healed (barring his arm) thanks to more treatment courtesy of Tony-ya, whose skills were nothing to dismiss, that the occasional chest pains began to catch his attention, although his concern for his crew's subdued attitude proved a successful distraction.

Only once the mystery of their behaviour was solved, the answer brutal and nightmare-provoking, did he find himself paying attention to the now frequent chest pains and recalling the torture from eons ago on Punk Hazard. Even dead, Vergo was determined to haunt him, it appeared, and Law trudged to the infirmary to find painkillers.

Being caught in the act by Penguin was quite possibly the worst-case scenario, or so Law thought when he was fixed with a scrutinising look from underneath the peak of his usual hat. That Penguin himself was in the room for the very same thing he was concerned him, but with his crew stubbornly refusing to allow him to use his powers there was little he could do for his nakama's injuries. He'd noticed their supply dropping slowly but steadily even before he'd found out how badly, exactly, they were injured.

Then a particularly violent spasm erupted from his heart, knocking the breath from his lungs and sending him to his knees with a painful jolt, unable to catch himself with his injured arm as his left clutched at his chest.

"Law!" Penguin exclaimed, diving to his side and wrapping his arms around him in support. Law didn't miss the slight flinch at the action but couldn't do anything about it. "What's wrong?" the older man demanded, beginning to lean Law backwards as he gasped for breath. The pain increased and Law barely swallowed the cry, but it was enough for Penguin to stop his movement, instead tentatively pulling him forwards, into what was more or less a hug.

Realising he was practically in Penguin's lap, Law prayed that no-one else was going to walk in, but the world had never been particularly inclined to do what Law wanted, meaning that Shachi and Ikkaku happened to invade the room at that particular moment, in time to witness another spasm as Law's heart decided it had been ignored long enough.

"Captain!" they chorused, joining Penguin by his side. Law attempted to ask them what they were in the infirmary for, but was shushed the moment he opened his mouth. He presumed they were also after painkillers – or at least, Shachi was, as Ikkaku appeared to have been vaguely supporting him with a grip on his elbow – but like Penguin they'd abandoned their original aim at the sight of their captain in trouble.

"What do you need?" Penguin asked him after a moment, one hand gently rubbing Law's back even as the other kept him in a sitting position. Ikkaku shifted, poised to move as Shachi joined Penguin in supporting Law, hiding his own wince with minimal success as he did so.

What a state they were in, Law mused, as he clutched at his chest against another throb of pain. Certainly not anything optimal considering they were headed straight for a Yonkou's lair. Out loud, he simply gave the name of the painkiller he was prescribing himself, adding in one of the antibiotics as an afterthought. Short of a heart attack, which he really hoped it wasn't, the likely options were minimal and with surgery currently not available, he was going to have to rely on medicine. He wished Tony-ya was with them, not haring off on a suicide mission to Whole Cake Island. The reindeer's expertise in herbal remedies would have been perfect. Law could admit to himself he was jealous of the rare herbs the other doctor had in his possession.

"Here," Ikkaku said, breaking him out of his thoughts as she offered him the medicine he'd requested. She'd prepared it as well, to Law's surprise, so he simply opened his mouth to let her administer it, making a face at the taste. While medicine was supposed to be bitter, he still had no love for it. The effects were sadly not instantaneous, forcing him to remain in his nakama's hold for a while longer as they refused to release him until they were satisfied he could move. Law was grateful that Ikkaku also fetched the medicine the pair of them had arrived for and gave it to them; just because he did it himself didn't mean he liked seeing his crew put aside their own needs in order to deal with his.

Eventually the pain dulled, the medicine kicking in, and Law slowly straightened again, fighting Penguin and Shachi's holds as they protested. The painkillers had done their work on them, too, and he could feel the tenseness leaving their bodies as their own pain dulled.

"It's okay now," he told them, cautiously making his way to his feet. They followed him gingerly, not even bothering to hide the way their arms stretched out, ready to catch him if he fell again. "It's nothing serious," he promised them, to disbelieving faces. "The medicine will hold it at bay for now, and I'll deal with it once you mother hens let me use my abilities again."

All three made noises of protest, but Law cut them off before they formed actual words.

"So, Penguin, Shachi, how are your wounds doing?"

The change of subject was blatant, and the way that the two of them shared a glance told him that neither were fooled in the slightest, but as Ikkaku none-to-subtly directed all three to perch on the closest bed, they began to talk, realising that a little bit of heart pain was never going to stop Law fussing over his crew.

Because there's no way Law's heart is fine after all the crushing Vergo did... Hearts aren't designed to take that much abuse, that's why they live in their nice safe rib cage! Symptoms of pericarditis can be gradual to appear, and with Dressrosa and all the stress Law's been dealing with it could probably go unnoticed for a while. At least, that's my excuse for it appearing so long afterwards.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari