Ear

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

"Bepo, tell them it's a bad idea," Penguin groused, glowering at the two younger teens – or rather, the backs of the other boys, as he was being completely and utterly ignored by them both. What good was being the voice of reason if they blanked him whenever he tried to actually point out that they were being stupid?

"Is it?" the mink asked, and Penguin growled half-heartedly, burying his face in his hands.

"Yes," he said, voice muffled by his palms. "Very."

"Sorry!" Bepo backtracked hurriedly. "Captain! Penguin says it's a bad idea."

"Penguin needs to lighten up a bit!" Shachi retorted, still not looking back. "It'll be fine, stop worrying!"

Penguin didn't think it was possible to stop worrying when he had two hot headed and stubborn younger boys to keep an eye on.

"What are you going to do if it gets infected?" he demanded, knowing it was a last ditch effort. Their destination loomed in front of them; he was running out of time. Bepo, previously beside him, slowed down; with his fur, Law had said it was for the best if he wasn't in the room when the piercing happened.

"Really, Penguin?" Law asked, sounding bemused. "You need to calm down. This won't take long."

"Besides!" Shachi chirped, finally turning around, and Penguin scowled darkly because he knew exactly what card the ginger was going to play this time. Sure enough, a hand tapped lightly on his hip, and he glowered at Shachi, who didn't seem inclined to stop. "You didn't have any problems with the tattoos, so what's the problem this time?"

Penguin had known he was going to lose the debate as soon as the tattoo entered the discussion, and if he was totally honest, he'd had misgivings about that one at the time, too. He couldn't say that it hadn't been worth it, though, even if he'd only had their jolly roger done, unlike the other boys who'd seemed determined to turn their bodies into canvases.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" Law asked as they passed the threshold into the shop. It looked dark and a little seedy, but then again, so had the place they'd had their tattoos done. Anywhere more respectable wouldn't do that to teenagers. "Last chance."

"Quite sure," Penguin bit out, crossing his arms and fixing the men in the shop with a hard stare, one after the other. He hadn't had to come. Law had given him the option of remaining with the Tang, but with his misgivings about the whole thing, Penguin couldn't justify letting them go alone. "If you're that determined, get on with it."

"Getting on with it," Shachi mimicked, following Law to the vendor. Penguin stayed back as they started the discussion, watching out for anything out of the ordinary. It seemed his fears were unfounded – as he'd hoped would be the case – as first Law, and then Shachi had their ears impaled by a needle before a simple silver stud was put through the new holes.

Penguin knew exactly what they'd been planning on, but seeing it in person, rather than simply hearing their discussions, was an odd experience. Law, unable to make anything simple, had ended up with two holes per ear, which Penguin thought was a little excessive, but then again this was the same teenager with a giant tattoo over his chest. Shachi had gone for something slightly more normal, to his relief, with a single stud in the lobe of his left ear.

"Not for you, son?" the man asked, and Penguin shook his head yet again. "Well, if you're sure." What was it with everyone and wanting to triple check if he wanted to let something sharp anywhere near his ear? Subconsciously, his hands found the edges of his hat, tugging at the ends until they lay flush against his unpierced and staying that way ears.

"No need to get so defensive," Shachi laughed, and Penguin sent him a glare. The ginger's own hat had been left behind, alongside Law's precious fluffy one, and his hair had mysteriously found itself braided while he'd been asleep earlier. Penguin was amazed Shachi hadn't realised it was Law's doing by now.

"Let's go," Law cut in, saving Penguin from having to retort to either the man in the shop, or Shachi. If Penguin practically herded the younger teens out, it wasn't entirely unintentional, meeting back up with Bepo, who scrunched up his nose and muttered something about blood, to his concern, before they made their way back to the safety of the Polar Tang.

"Let me see," he ordered, pushing Shachi to sit in a chair before the ginger could protest.

"Don't touch it," Law warned, and Penguin rolled his eyes before leaning in. Bepo's comment about blood didn't sit well with him, and he spent several long seconds staring at the new silver stud in Shachi's ears before accepting that there really didn't seem to be anything wrong. Law acquiesced to the same inspection, and Penguin shifted his hair out of the way – it wasn't long enough to tie up, but the strands covered part of his ear nonetheless – to check the four new studs.

There was the blood.

Penguin frowned and moved closer, carefully touching the ear a little way from the new stud to get a better look. Bleeding was normal, Law had said before they'd gone, back when they were doing their research. That didn't mean Penguin had to like it.

"Leave it," Law grumbled, catching his hand by the wrist and pulling it away.

"It's bleeding," he countered, only for Law to sigh.

"I'll monitor it," he promised, and Penguin huffed but reclaimed his hand. "You're worrying too much."

"Someone has to," Penguin retaliated, and Law gave a fond smile.

"I know," he said, and arms slid over Penguin's shoulders from behind until there was a body pressed up against him, chin on his shoulder. Bright ginger hair in his periphery left him under no illusions about the person's identity.

"It'll all be fine, though!" Shachi grinned. "Just no touching for a while, and leave the studs in for a few months. Nothing hard."

"You sleep on your left side quite a lot," Penguin pointed out, and Shachi froze for a moment, as if he hadn't considered that when he'd chosen which ear to get pierced. He probably hadn't.

Then he chuckled, tightening his hold on Penguin briefly.

"You'll make sure I don't," he said, and Penguin rolled his eyes. Facing him, Law grinned fondly.

"Look after yourself!" he complained, but they all knew Shachi was right.

I've never had any piercings myself, so all my info here comes from google, then translated slightly to suit the One Piece world. As usual when I mention something about Shachi and Penguin... we don't know at this point if they have any piercings (Shachi's hair gets in the way, as does Penguin's hat), but we do know Shachi has forearm tattoos, so why not a small earring, too?

Thanks for reading!
Tsari