Shaken

Characters: Law, Shachi, Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: None

Law liked to consider himself as not easily shaken. Things that would upset many people did nothing for him – bloodshed and general gore, for example – and he strode around in public with his smirk fixed firmly to his face. How true that statement really was, however, Law tried not to think about too much. He'd been shaken before, as a child alone and abandoned in the world, and sometimes those feelings would come back if something happened to one of his nakama, or his nightmares surged to the forefront of his mind.

It was more common than he cared to admit.

He hid it from his nakama when he could, staying in solitude until he had control over himself again, which a decent success rate (not even the ever attuned Penguin, Shachi or Bepo could tell if he contained it in the safety of his room before going out to face the new day).

That morning, it was his mind churning up memories and convoluted what-ifs of their winter island adventure the previous day. Carelessness and bad luck had conspired against Law, leading the snow he'd been walking on to being not as solid as he'd believed, giving way beneath his feet with an alarming crack and sending him plummeting down into frigid water before he'd managed to summon a Room and escape.

The shock of the cold water had stolen his breath away in one swift blow, leaving him unable to even struggle to keep his head above the water. Luckily, he hadn't been alone, his nakama close enough to come running the moment he crashed through the snow and firmly grasp his arms before his head submerged. Less luckily, they'd also ended up on weakened ice hidden by snow and had also found themselves taking an unexpected swim.

They hadn't lost their grip on their captain, though, pulling his arms over their shoulders as they trod water, keeping him afloat as they hunted for a way back out of the water. Limp and useless, Law could do nothing except be a dead weight against their struggles, feeling himself being passed from nakama to nakama as their strength waned. He'd ended up in Ikkaku's grip, the last one with enough strength to keep her arm wrapped around him, with the rest of his nakama bobbing wearily in the water and barely capable of keeping their heads up, when help finally arrived.

Like the rest of them, Bepo crashed through the ice as he got close, but unlike his human nakama his thick fur insulated him from the shock. A rope was clenched between his teeth, running back to the rest of the crew, where Jean Bart was anchoring himself firmly back away from the broken ice and Penguin and Shachi helped grip it. In the water it took some fumbling, human fingers frozen and Bepo's paws not helpful for knot-tying, before the rope was secured around Law's torso, just under his arms, and he was pulled out. Soaked to the bone, Law could do nothing more than collapse on the ground, panting heavily and watching with half-lidded eyes as the rest of his nakama were pulled out.

He must have passed out, as the next thing he knew was the sight of his bedroom ceiling. He was warm and dry, bundled up in blankets.

"Captain!" a delighted voice exclaimed, and he turned his head to face Ikkaku, who was similarly bundled in blankets but otherwise looked fine. "You're awake!" There was no need to state the obvious, Law thought, but gave her his best attempt at a smile, considering the circumstances.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, trying to move but finding his strength had been entirely sapped by the water.

"Everyone's fine," Ikkaku reassured him. "You were the only one to pass out." His pride should have rankled at that, but all he could think of was how relieved he was to hear it. Being the only fruit user, it carried a certain amount of sense, anyway.

"I see," he said with a smile, closing his eyes again. "That's good; I'm glad." He kept the smile up until he heard her leave the room, presumably to tell the others he was awake, when it dropped suddenly.

If someone had been seriously ill… he would have been useless. Falling unconscious when half his crew were in serious danger of hypothermia was a failure as both captain and doctor. His hands shook, and he balled them into fists. That none of them were suffering was luck – far too much luck. Law didn't get luck like that, and it made him nervous. He wanted to see them, to confirm it with his own eyes, but his body didn't want to move, stubbornly unresponsive.

Bepo's arrival was well-timed before Law started to strain his body too much.

"I need to see them," he said bluntly, and Bepo didn't question it, scooping him up into his arms and taking him to the recreation room, where everyone was bundled up in blankets, regardless of whether or not they'd taken a dunking.

"Captain!" Uni called out, waving until Bepo made his way over, depositing Law inside the blanket-bundled crew where he was quickly surrounded. They kept moving around, so it was difficult to focus on everyone long enough to check they were truly okay, but with the light atmosphere and constant movement he was reassured that there was no lasting damage.

If only his subconsciousness wasn't so willing to show him "what ifs" while he slept, jerking him awake more than once during the night with the fear that someone was dying, a sensation only pacified by a trek around the sleeping quarters. The following morning found him tired, the combination of his disrupted sleep and residue weariness out with a vengeance, and he fumbled his cutlery at breakfast. If anyone noticed, no-one commented, to Law's relief. Perhaps they thought it was residue from his dunking, Law didn't bother to ask. After one too many almost-accidents with his mug, Law retreated to his quarters, citing the cold as an excuse when asked.

He'd be fine in a few hours, he reassured them. He didn't need them hovering, either. Yes, he'd come see them once he felt better. Heavily implying that they shouldn't disturb him, he returned to his room, sitting on the bed and staring at his hands.

They were still shaking, but they weren't cold at all. It was fear, the fear of what he could have lost and he shuddered as unwelcome mental images formed of his nakama, all frozen to death while he was merrily sleeping away, victims of his carelessness. He rested his head in his hands, trying to shut the images out.

The door opened and his head jerked up, hunting down the intruder with a scowl because he'd wanted to be alone. Shachi said nothing as he walked in, shutting the door behind him and heading straight for the bed – for Law. The younger man did nothing, hoping that if he didn't react, Shachi would get the message (a fool's hope) and leave him in peace. There was no such luck, the ginger sitting a short distance away from Law on the bed.

Law waited for him to speak, expecting some sort of pep talk, and jumped when Shachi simply flopped over, his head landing solidly in Law's lap.

"Sha-"

"Butterfingers," Shachi said bluntly, his voice muffled by Law's legs. Law scowled at him, or rather the back of his head. The hair was warmly coloured, the ginger shoving the cool what-ifs further back in his mind. If he put his hands in there, would they warm up?

Law hadn't braided Shachi's hair in years, stopping in silent embarrassment after realising what his father had really been after, even if it had also worked to control his fingers. He didn't know what Shachi's aim was, flopping like that and disturbing him when he'd specified he wanted to be left alone, but his fingers remembered what his hair was like and never gave Shachi a chance to escape.

The ginger didn't even try to move away as Law gave in, shaky fingers threading through ginger strands a couple of times before attempting a braid. His fingers settled into a familiar pattern, and not only did Shachi continue to stay where he was, but Law could have sworn he felt a smile against his thigh. Was this really what he was after? Law knew that Shachi preferred having other people cut his hair, but to extend that to things like having his hair styled was a new consideration, with suspicious timing.

Law didn't notice when his fingers finally stopped trembling.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari