Fool

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

Amid everything else, there was a singular fear that never left Penguin's mind. It had spent most of the time at the forefront, aside from Jack's attack on Zou and the subsequent events that happened – he preferred not to think about those now that they were over, but with frequent pain wracking his body whenever the previous dose of painkillers wore off they were difficult to ignore.

The fear that Law would never come back.

Their captain wouldn't abandon them, of course. Penguin was all too aware of what they meant to him (so much that he wouldn't risk them even nearing Doflamingo's webs), and knew that it would kill Law to tear him away from them permanently. Sadly, kill was an all too likely scenario. Law had spent half his life – the entire time Penguin had known him – working to take down the Shichibukai in the memory of a man whose place in Law's heart had been larger than the crew could ever hope to achieve. He might not be going there with the intention of dying, but Penguin knew him.

If it took Law's life to end Doflamingo's, that would be a price he'd pay in an instant. He'd seen it in the square of his shoulders before he'd teleported himself off of the Tang's deck and onto Punk Hazard. Law was prepared to pay whatever cost it took (short of his own crew, but wasn't that the whole reason Penguin was stuck on Zou worrying instead of covering his captain's back like he should be) to take Doflamingo down.

When Jack was over and done with, the Calamity abandoning them to their fate, only for half of the Straw Hats to turn up just in time to save their lives and then bear the first news they'd had in months of their captain, he wasn't pacified. The vivre card had flared up badly, even if it slowly began to repair itself, and what could the Straw Hats do to stop Law? They didn't know him, wouldn't know he was willing to sacrifice himself. Even if they did know, would they even care? A pirate alliance was one of convenience, never friendship. He couldn't trust them to keep his captain safe.

Then the News Coo brought word that Doflamingo was defeated, using pictures Penguin recognised as the same old, same old photographs they churned out whenever Law featured. There was nothing there to suggest his condition, to tell him the price Law had paid to win. His only comfort was that the vivre card hadn't lit up again, but there were several things Law could have lost without the vivre card identifying a risk to his life, and Doflamingo and his crew had the ability to take so many of those things away.

When Law finally stood before them again, one arm wrapped in a bandage but otherwise looking as healthy as when he'd left them, the only reason Penguin didn't jump on him was because Bepo got there first. He satisfied himself with close contact as they caught up, unbelieving that Law had managed to save his arm – the apparent price – and watched how relaxed he'd become, now that his nightmare was over.

It brought a delight that his own injuries couldn't dampen to see him. Carefree was the wrong word – with Kaido looming on the horizon, and the crew's own injuries, such complacency was suicide – but a weight had lifted from Law for the first time in the thirteen years Penguin had known him. For the first time, it was as if he was seeing his captain for who he truly was, without the distortion of revengerevengerevenge separating him from the world.

Penguin immediately decided he preferred this new captain, whose smiles reached his eyes and whose laugh came from the belly. He still hated bread, still loved that tattered hat, still loved them, but it was purer now. Untainted. (That's not to say there was no shadow at all – Cora-san had been one thing, but Flevance was a whole other mess and defeating Doflamingo would do nothing for that grief – but now the light reached further into the enigma that was Trafalgar D. Water Law).

Still, Penguin had never been afraid to speak his mind to his captain, and he wasn't about to start now.

"Promise," he said, joining Law in the silent confines of the library as they headed off to Wano in their next crazy scheme. His captain had a book open in front of him, but he was paying it no attention, piercing golden eyes staring out through the porthole beside him at the dark ocean outside. "You won't do that again." Law was silent for a long while, his gaze never shifting. Penguin chose to join him in looking out of the window, preferring that to watching his captain's face for clues as to what was going on in his head. It would only be an exercise in futility.

"You'll have to be more specific than that," Law eventually spoke, his eyes finally flicking in Penguin's direction for a split second before returning to the dark view outside. "I've done many things recently."

Penguin took a glance around the room, to check that they were alone. They weren't – Nico Robin was at the other end of the room, surrounded by books she was seemingly engrossed in. Penguin didn't believe for one second she wasn't capable of eavesdropping, but the same was true wherever she was in the ship, so he'd have to hope she was courteous enough to keep her curiosity in check.

Shachi had also followed him in, silently taking his place on Law's other side. They'd never discussed it, not wanting to air the horrors in their mind in case it somehow made it a reality, but Penguin knew he'd thought the same way, held the same fear.

"Make any plan that considers your death a viable option," he said bluntly, keeping his voice down so that Nico Robin didn't have the convenient excuse that she couldn't possibly not overhear. From the way Law's back stiffened, that had not been what he'd been expecting. Penguin wasn't surprised. 'Never leave us behind again' would have been a far more predictable answer, but he wasn't naïve enough to think that he could ever get Law to agree to that.

"What makes you think I did?" the younger man asked slowly, almost nonchalantly. Penguin wasn't fooled, and nor was Shachi.

"We've known you for thirteen years," the ginger pointed out, his voice slightly louder than Penguin's had been, yet still not enough to disturb the silence at the other end of the room. "Did you honestly think we couldn't tell?"

Law let out a short bark of laughter, Nico Robin raising her head briefly at the sound before returning to her books.

"I can't promise that," he said, closing his eyes. "It would be remiss to exclude entire stratagems simply because the price is less than ideal." Penguin's hand curled into a fist, but Shachi beat him to a retort.

"Yes you can," he growled. "I may not be the naïve kid that followed you from Swallow Island thirteen years ago, but your own death is still never the answer."

"If you can't promise," Penguin cut in, interrupting Law before he even had a chance to do much more than open his mouth in some nonsensical response that appealed to only Law's twisted sense of logic, "then I can't promise, either."

"Promise what?" Law's voice was low, dangerous. He clearly didn't like the turn the conversation had taken, but Penguin wasn't about to back out now. He would extract the promise from Law, whatever dirty tricks it took.

"Promise not to use my own life as a price for success," he said, refusing to let himself react to the sudden hiss of air from his captain. "Or not to follow you if you do."

"You're being ridiculous!" Law snapped. Penguin saw Nico Robin quietly gather up some books and slip out of the room at the raised voice. "Your life isn't worth-"

"And yours is?" Shachi interrupted, folding his arms. "I'm with Penguin. If you don't promise, I won't either."

Law glowered at them both.

"No," he said firmly, standing up suddenly. "You're both talking nonsense. I won't let you do such stupid things."

"If you've already sacrificed yourself, how do you plan to stop us?" Penguin challenged, stepping closer so that his chest was barely an inch from Law's, crowding him against the porthole. A shark flashed by behind Law's back. "We swore we'd follow you. Thirteen years hasn't changed that. We gave you space to deal with Doflamingo, yes, but we were ready to jump in the moment your vivre card lit up."

"Now Doflamingo's gone," Shachi took over, joining Penguin in crowding Law. "That was your battle, the one we had no right to intrude on. From here on out, we're working together, whatever your aims are. Kaido? One Piece? You need a crew for those. The World Government? If you think for one moment you're the only one in this crew with a beef with them, you need to think again."

Law had started to tremble, his left hand coming up to tug the bill of his hat down over his eyes.

"We're in this together," Penguin reminded him, letting his voice soften just a fraction. "Have the last thirteen years told you nothing?"

"Idiots," Law muttered, although there was no bite to the word, just heavily-concealed fondness. "You're both idiots. That hasn't changed at all." The two of them laughed softly, watching the corners of his mouth twitch up into a smile. "Fine. You win this time. I promise I won't consider my death a viable plan." Penguin grinned, Shachi sporting a matching smile beside him. "But only for as long as you two promise the same. I refuse to lose you to your own stupidity."

"I promise," they chorused, bringing Law into a tight hug, which was tentatively returned after a few seconds. Penguin's injuries complained, but he ignored them, considering it penance for knowingly using his captain's fear of losing them against him to extract the promise.

I finally got around to watching Brook vs Big Mom in the anime, and Brook's line about worst case scenarios ("What kind of fool would ever plan to die") immediately made me think of how willing Law was to sacrifice his own life to defeat Doflamingo.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari