Intruder

Characters: Unnamed Heart Pirate, Law, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo. Rating: K. Warnings: None

Being the fifth member of the Heart Pirates was hard, far harder than he'd thought it would be. When the captain, now his captain, had extended a hand of invitation, he'd accepted without a second thought, mesmerised by their strength. Of course, he'd known that they were already a cohesive group and that he wouldn't be instantly one of them, even if he now bore the jolly roger on his clothes with pride.

What he hadn't realised was just how cohesive a group they were. It was most obvious with Penguin and Shachi, the pair inseparable and more often than not conversing without a single word passing their lips, but Bepo had the uncanny knack of knowing exactly when to serve as a back rest and when to take charge as navigator without Law saying a single word.

The captain himself did the smallest things, like ordering the submarine to resurface at random times for no apparent reason, turning the lights down in the rooms (but only sometimes), or sliding a cut of fish to the edge of his plate whenever he claimed he was 'full'. It took longer to realise that the submarine resurfaced just as Bepo reached his heat tolerance, that the lights turned down when Shachi was tired, and that the fish was swiped by Penguin when his mood was sour.

He couldn't do that. He couldn't read the minute clues from his new nakama to tell exactly what they needed and when, and they couldn't read him. If he wanted it, he had to ask. On the nights when he lay alone in his room, unable to sleep (conscious that Penguin and Shachi were together, as always, in the room next to his) and wishing the empty space didn't feel so large, he had to endure it until morning. No-one came to see what was wrong, no-one even implied they knew anything was wrong, yet on other nights he heard a door creak open as the others comingled in Penguin and Shachi's room.

That wasn't to say he was excluded from everything. Bepo would ambush him with hugs in the corridors for no reason, and Penguin and Shachi had no qualms about one or the other of them slinging an arm across his shoulders as they asked how he was doing, or dragged him along to play games with them. The captain had him in for health checks what felt like every other day, even if nothing of concern had been flagged up at the previous one.

It felt forced, like the four of them hadn't really thought through gaining a new nakama properly. He wondered why he'd been invited when clearly the quartet had managed just fine for however long they'd been together before he came along (ten years, Shachi admitted when he asked) and if they really needed him when they already ran smoothly, like clockwork. They were disrupting their own rhythm to include him – more than once Penguin or Shachi had cursed and suddenly disappeared, recalling a chore they hadn't yet done and never considering that he would he happy to help with the chores too, if only they'd ask.

He was a glorified guest. In name, one of them, but in spirit – in heart – he was the odd one out, the one that didn't quite belong. The others could see it, too. It became clearer and clearer as time went on, when Bepo's hugs weren't quite so sure, Penguin and Shachi's casual hugs and games became stiff, when the captain's small smile became painted on porcelain. It wasn't working, whatever it was they had.

He pondered the quandary as he brewed a coffee, alone as he so often found himself in the kitchen. Should he quit? What use was he as a nakama if he wasn't really a nakama? He saw it in their eyes, in their movements – they didn't know what to do any more than he did. It wasn't like he really had anything to add to their well-oiled machine, either. He couldn't navigate the waves and currents like Bepo, nor could he heal like the captain. He didn't understand the engine room like Penguin did, nor could he cook better than Shachi.

The door slid open, and Law strode in, his step faltering slightly when he realised the room wasn't empty before he continued forwards, to the counter. With nothing to lose, the fifth member poured him a cup and passed it over, to the captain's surprise. He lifted it to his lips, however, and the porcelain shattered to reveal the same genuine smile that had been on his face when he'd extended the hand of invitation. The coffee had been perfect, just as he liked it.

The final piece of the puzzle slotted into place, the missing element that had kept him so separate from the other four despite their attempts to be welcoming and inclusive.

He hadn't reciprocated. They'd been trying so hard that he'd taken and taken everything they'd offered without thinking to return it in kind. It was no wonder he'd been nothing more than a guest when that was all he'd acted like, waiting for permission to do anything and letting the others do all the hard work.

The next time Bepo hugged him, wooden and stiff but stubbornly determined nonetheless, he returned it, squeezing tightly until it became a competition to see which one of them could best imitate a constrictor snake. The answer was Bepo, but despite his bruised ribs he felt far lighter, and Bepo's next hug was full of warmth and life.

He startled Shachi by slinging an arm over his shoulders as he walked past and asking him how his day had been, leaving the ginger's mouth opening and closing soundlessly for a second before he launched into a full account of everything he'd done so far that day. When he volunteered to help Penguin with his chores the man had frozen in much the same way, before dragging him along by his collar with a large grin on his face towards the engine room, where he'd had his first lesson of many on the inner workings of their ship.

The next night he spent staring at the ceiling, feeling the large emptiness of his room, when he heard the door next to his open he pushed himself out of his too-big bed and padded across the floor, cracking his door open just enough to slip out of the room before knocking on Penguin and Shachi's door. Shachi had been the one to open it, wincing against the glare of a light he hadn't turned off before pulling him inside. Law and Bepo were there too, Law bundled up alongside Penguin against the mink in a blanket nest in the middle of the floor, and Shachi pulled him to join, sandwiching him next to Law and latching onto him on his other side. Bepo became his pillow too, the mink making a contented noise.

Lying on his back, Shachi curled up with his face firmly nestled in his shoulder and Law's shoulder pressed to his own on the other side, he reached out to wrap his arms around Shachi in return. They were all new to this, unsure of how to add another nakama to the tight-knit crew of ten years, but really, all it took was a little effort from both parties – the crew and the newcomer – to pave the way.

With the original four being so tightly-knit (in this series, at least, Oda more canon info please?), I can't see adding the rest of the crew went too smoothly the first time.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari