Soft

Characters: Bepo, Heart Pirates. Rating: K. Warnings: None

Law had a weakness for fluff. Every Heart Pirate suspected it from the moment they first joined the crew – the hat and mink never far away were good indicators, even his sword was fluffy. He wasn't open about it, didn't make a beeline for anything soft and fuzzy and bury himself in it, but the signs were there.

The signs almost exclusively centred around Bepo, the fluffy navigator with a big heart and even bigger hugs. Of all the crew, he was the only one Law would initiate contact with on a regular basis, leaning against him when they were both sat down, or scratching him behind the ear if he was in a particularly affectionate mood (this was, of course, a relative scale, as Law was never in what most of the crew would call a physically affectionate mood). Bepo, for his part, enjoyed offering himself up as a comfortable place for his captain to rest and had been known to trap him in a hug for no apparent reason.

The action often brought a smile to Law's face, so no-one dared mention it in case he got self-conscious and stopped. A peaceful Law was a rare Law and they took every precaution to maintain it when that state occurred.

Law was not, however, the only Heart Pirate addicted to the soft fur of their navigator. Most of the crew could be found closer to the mink than was strictly required whenever they weren't needed elsewhere on the ship, and while Law automatically got first dibs if he so desired, it wasn't unusual to find one of their nakama curled up against Bepo.

Bepo also used his hugs to get what he wanted. It was difficult to deny a determined Mink, and resistance was futile at the best of times. Crushed inside a bearhug and entirely at his mercy, no-one was immune to his demands, when he had them.

Penguin and Shachi were the most common victims. Bepo had enough respect for Law not to smother him at just any opportunity, but the other two that he had met on Swallow Island he had no such qualms about. They might complain sometimes (especially when he was hot and sweaty and using his strength to insist that the Polar Tang surface before he melted), but he'd known them for years. They didn't really have a problem with the bear hugs, no matter what they said. The pair of them were physically affectionate anyway, so what was adding a few more hugs to the mix?

Bepo was more gentle with the rest of the crew, slowly learning their boundaries and how much pressure they could take before the noises they made became alarming. Jean Bart was sturdy enough to take the Mink's full strength, but he was the only one. Ikkaku could take the least, with her slim figure, but while small, Clione was muscular and could take a decent amount of pressure. Law liked to pretend he was stronger than he was, but Bepo knew he was easier to break. Penguin could take more than Shachi, but the ginger took offense at the difference, as if it made him somehow inferior to his best friend. Bepo thought it was stupid and got around the problem by always trapping them together, nuzzling them both until they surrendered (and then some, because it was always nice to hold his nakama).

Even if a nakama had joined with an aversion to touch (not that anyone ever compared to Law on the personal space thing), with Bepo around it was not hard for him to become the exception, his soft fur and warm hugs inviting – and on some days, just what the doctor ordered (literally. It was not an uncommon prescription from Law).

The Marines thought that Bepo was just a mascot, but even without his invaluable navigation that was too small, too narrow a term for him. He was their comforter, their nakama…

The reason the entire crew had developed a weakness for things soft and fluffy.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari