Patients Are A Lot Easier To Talk To When They're Asleep. The Gremlin Is Definitely Glaring Up At Cora

    ❝ patients are a lot easier to talk to when they're asleep. ❞ the gremlin is definitely glaring up at Cora with those menacing amber eyes that always seem to be shadowed beneath the brim of his hat. ( little Law )

　❝ well, sometimes patients wake up when they hear noise, ❞ rosinante replied, tone neither annoyed nor mocking, but instead like he was playing along.

well, he primarily woke up because the pain medication he was given was starting to wane, but it wasn't a lie. for the last few nights, he was deliberate in not using his devil fruit powers; not only was his stamina running on fumes he couldn't afford to waste if he wanted to recover enough for them to finally get off minion within the week ー law said he would need at least two weeks, but rosinante was sure he could convince him if he kept being on his best behavior ー but it was too risky not to be in total awareness of his surroundings.

rosinante was heavily injured, and law ー having to split what little energy he had between caring for himself and caring for the older man ー wasn't better off. they were vulnerable, and the sounds around them were really the only indicators the pair had to potential dangers. he may not be able to defend law in his state, but they could still make a break for it.

that pain in rosinante's ribs alone was enough to knock the smile off his face, but the marine was doing his damnest to not let that show.

　❝ i didn't hear what you said, though. honest! at least i don't think so. i can never tell what words i dreamed up versus what someone actually said to me while i'm half-conscious. ❞

probably won't get to these for a few days, or maybe not until early next week, but here's a tentative meme/inbox call from cora.

i'll pick 1-3 memes from your tag to send in. no cap, though i might be selective about what i decide to turn into threads depending on how many people like this. just trying to gently ease myself back into things.

i think law deserves a thread where he infodumps about comics to cora, who knows absolutely nothing, like the nerd he is.

　　　❝ sorry! sorry... ❞

　hands shot up, palms out, and the roll of bandages ー well, more of a wad at this point ー sloped off his knee onto the floor. understood; rosinante's fault for not asking first. really, this whole thing was his fault.

even as the week's stretched on, rosinante wasn't sure where he fit in among the other members of crew yet. it still felt strange to call himself a heart pirate despite, according to law, apparently being the impetus behind the crew's formation. it wasn't that he felt out of place; law had gone out of his way to ensure he was comfortable, and everyone treated him with the kindness reserved for the captain's 'savior'.

but even so, he couldn't help but feel like he was still a guest here. and, more than that, someone who didn't have the authority to be dismissive or argue with the crew when asked to do something. even if he was technically not beholden to any rules, even if he was technically allowed to do whatever he wished on this submarine by virtue of being the cora that law was so indebted to, he still instinctually complied to any order given.

was it the remnants of his years of marine training? a desire to make law happy? because he wanted law's friends to think he was cool? all of the above? he still wasn't sure.

rosinante scooted himself until he was half-facing penguin, scooping up the gauze and, unnecessarily, re-rolling it before handing it to the other.

　❝ if i bothered him every time i got hurt, i'd be bothering him all the time. i don't really want to make a habit out of it, y'know? ❞ he offered penguin a thin smile, briefly taking his eyes off them to scan the room. he added, softer this time, ❝ please don't tell him. i finally got him to lay down after that all-nighter and if he finds out i got injured within two hours of being 'unsupervised', i'm convinced he'll never sleep again. ❞

  just another thursday?

   the response has the quartermaster skeptical. a hidden eyebrow raises as mouth presses together in a tight line, and their head cants slightly to the side. sure, it was just another thursday of restocking the medical bay's cabinets and drawers, and taking inventory to see what supplies may need to be picked up during the Tang's next surfacing. it was not just another weekday to find your captain's recently-discovered-alive, beloved, but horribly clumsy, savior rifling through said cabinets.

   it didn't look good, the angry flare of crimson that licked one thick stripe across the large man's shoulder. and though Penguin is not the highly skilled doctor that Law is, they know enough of the basics to recognize a third degree burn. they are also aware that simply pressing a piece of gauze to cover the evidence wouldn't suffice.

   any other Heart member and Penguin wouldn't hesitate in doling out a scolding to avoid another 'all-hands-on-deck' safety meeting with the captain's pointed stare directed at them. but to do so now didn't sit right. Law would make a big deal about this, likely get angry and upset ( to put it lightly ), but knowing this, the quartermaster remains calm. they weren't entirely sure why, but Penguin refrains from raising their voice and snapping in this instance. 

    ❝ stop. ❞  the tone is firm, but even. ❝ it's blistering and you can't even reach it properly. ❞ whatever supplies currently hugged within the pirate's arms are quickly deposited on a nearby counter. they approach, mouth shifting to crease into a perplexed frown. 

    ❝ i won't ask why you didn't want to tell the captain, but enough of us know first aid too. ❞ a hand extends with palm facing up, and fingers open and close a few times, gesturing in quiet request that the gauze be placed within their grasp.  ❝ i can do it. ❞

　❝ ...maybe, ❞ rosinante muttered, as if he didn't already know the answer of what doflamingo was after himself.

he'd known the answer since they were both children, still living in that dirty shack and hated by the world. when doflamingo promised him one day he would 'fix things' for the two of them and then, days later, took what little of their family the boys had left and destroyed it instead.

the commander's chest tightened and suddenly, just as he was regretting giving up his last cigarette he had on hand, it was as if she had read his mind. he gratefully took it, pacing the speed of his inhale in an effort to mask the acute panic he had inadvertently triggered himself into.

　❝ i don't work well on teams, though. you know that. ❞ well, technically; it wasn't as if he prided himself on working alone, or hated other people ー people tended to just get hurt more often when he was around.

A snort and a flick of ashes, Bellemere offered the tall man his own cigarette back. Or at least a hit off it, considering he likely needed it more than she did. It was the nicotine that did it for her, having picked up smoking, gambling at bars with men twice her age, attempting to appear much older to avoid suspicious from the bar tender.

"No one would expect you to," she offered, along with a clap on the back. "That's kinda the whole point of the marines, right? We're a team and all that..." A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, because she didn't entirely believe that... not anymore. Not really. If they were truly all on the same team, she'd imagine men like Donquixote Doflamingo and Shiki the Golden Lion never would have been allowed to amass a following at all.

Bellemere shrugged. "Power. Isn't that what they're all after in the end?"

it's kind of wild for one piece to sell rosinante's devil fruit as this "mostly useless & lame" thing outside of infiltration/stealth missions or getting a lil peace & quiet, as if the idea of someone making it physically impossible for you to hear them while they hunt you down is not a terrifying as shit concept.

yeah, it's not gonna matter much if he's standing right in your line of sightーbut, if he's not, then what? where is he? you don't know.

he could snipe someone from a treeline 100 feet away, or turn off the lights, walk up behind you & snap your neck and no one would hear a goddamn thing.

do you want to deal with someone like that? i don't.