Sorry! Sorry...

　　　❝ 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. ❞

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.

　it was never his proudest moment, whenever rosinane lost his cool like this. once he calmed down, usually several hours later when they were either back on their little dinghy or after setting up camp for the night, the guilt would follow pretty immediate. not because he assaulted a doctor; not at all ー fuck the doctors. but his outbursts did tend to set off a domino effect and create problems for others ー like the other patients, for example.

hospitals never seemed to have enough staff to keep up with the amount of patients as-is, and rosinante knocking one of their lead pediatricians out cold didn't help matters. here he was, furious he couldn't get these doctors to provide care for his little traveling companion, and delaying other sick people from getting the care they needed. what was the proper word for that? ironic? hypocritical? he wasn't sure.

but, speaking of his little traveling companion...

months ago, if rosinante lost sight of law, he would have panicked. but that was at the beginning of their journey together; back when law still had the stamina to walk the same length of miles in a day that rosinante did (or could at least for himself to); back when he still had the endurance to run, jump, climb, and all the other things children of his age could do.

they were past that now. dangerously, dangerously past that.

　❝ law! there you are... ❞

rosinante would rather pull his teeth out than call that a 'positive' thing, but law's worsening respiratory system at least ensured he couldn't run neither fast nor far. sure enough, the older man found him a short distance from the treeline to the left of the hospital's main gate, having followed the tiny trail of footprints in the snow.

　❝ hey... c'mon, you're gonna soak through your clothes, sitting on the ground like that... ❞

ੈ✩ ｡˚  ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧  𝐡𝐮𝐞𝐬  𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐭,  taking  in  the  snowy  terrain  around  them.  this  had  to  be  the  fifth  winter  island  in  a  row,  and  now  they  were  all  starting  to  blend  together.  law  wanted  to  blame  that  on  the  similar  terrains  or  the  lack  of  time  they  spend  in  one  location,  but  he  isn't  stupid  —  the  disease  is  getting  worse,  he  has  a  month,  and  even  that's  pushing  it.  with  a  sigh,  law  lets  his  head  fall  atop  his  pulled  -  up  legs,  pressing  his  cheek  into  his  knees  until  it  hurts.  crying  is  useless  no  matter  how  much  he'd  like  to,  and  so  are  all  these  hospital  trips.  they'd  been  kicked  out  of  yet  another  one,  and  while  corazón  was  busy  throwing  a  fit,  the  boy  had  run  off  —  but  based  on  footsteps,  it  seemed  the  blonde  had  finally  found  him . . .

@code01746 gets a little law starter.

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.

　　❝ i believe you. she's got some tough genes on both sides. ❞ and tough parents. hence the perhaps overkill display of trepidation. now that he thinks about it, he remembered his father telling him a story ー one of the few stories of his early childhood he had access to at all ー of his mother doing exactly this. not so that she wouldn't hurt rosinante, but so that he wouldn't hurt himself during playtime.

❝ still, i'd rather play it safe. i don't think i've ever held a baby before... actually, wait ー once. one time. ❞ he wrinkled his nose at the memory, his hand briefly flexing as if trying to stretch out some phantom pain. ❝ a crewmate of my brother's found a half-fishman baby abandoned near our base. he bit me, and that was that. no more babies. ❞

well, clearly that was not that ー this was law's kid, after all. if there was any baby he would make an exception for, it would be her. hell, she could even bite him, too, if she wanted. not that he expected her too, but who knows? maybe biting people is just what babies did. ❝ the whole time i was there, doffy thought that was the thing that made me hate kids. or, pretend to hate kids, i mean. ❞

@code01746 Grandpa Cora-san

Like an over protective mother cat, Nami only chose to offer up her little one she trusted with her… and she was not typically known to trust just anyone. It was the highest honor to be offered a chance to hold the midnight haired and golden eyed baby, decked out in a heart patterned onesee, complete with a matching bow for the occasion. Meeting one's namesake was not an every day occurrences after all, and Nami believed in assuring the youngest of heart pirates was always properly dressed.

Features softened from the display of the ex-marine, a giggle slipping out. This is the reason she knew she could trust the large man with her baby, knowing he had her protection at the top of mind despite afflictions that could potentially cause harm… As if Nami would trust her child with anyone she feared would hurt her and would claw out the eyes of anyone just for the offense of looking at her wrong.

“Don't worry, she's not nearly as fragile as she looks and I will be right here.” Carefully cradling the back of her head, Nami sat down amongst the pillows to join the blonde and little bundle that was her daughter. There was something about babies that was so naturally relaxing, and if you asked Nami it was impossible not to look upon Cora-chan's cherub face without feeling a sense of calm. Fingers brushed along soft little curls that started to form along the back of her head while she slept on, content to snooze in anyone's arms after having been passed amongst her mother, sister and every heart pirate.

⸻ 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝐬 𝐦 𝐢 𝐥 𝐢 𝐧 𝐠

ㅤㅤ      𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐍.   Donquixote   Pirate   Executive.   former   World   noble .  .  private   &&.   selective,   extremely   headcanon   based    Rosinante   of   Eiichiro Oda’s   One   Piece.   Canon   Divergent.   nsfw / Dark   themes    present.  minors/personals   absolutely   do   not   interact.     !  medium   activity   adored   by   Aria   (30   ●   she/they   ●   cst).