Archive of Our Own

"Don't you want to go back to Zou?" Ikkaku asks one afternoon during dinner. "I mean, we could technically go there any time." 

The statement makes Bepo pause, shoving another spoonful of rice into his maw and furrowing his brows.

"Maybe? I don't really know…" he answers, tilting his head to the side, a little perplexed by the question. Or rather perplexed by the fact that he didn't answer "yes" immediately. If someone were to ask him this question five or four years ago, he would've said yes with no hesitation. But now? He really doesn't know.

He hums quietly, deciding to give his answer more thought. Ikkaku doesn't rush him, slowly returning to her meal, but still looking at him with interest.

Bepo doesn't remember his family. There's one very old memory of his mother, though. He doesn't remember her face, or her voice, or her scent, or the color of her eyes (though he's pretty sure they're dark brown, like his own). The only memory he has of her is her telling him about humans when he was still very little.

"You need to be very gentle with them," she says, scratching Bepo behind his ear. "Their skin is as delicate as a bunny's, our claws and fangs can easily hurt them. And they don't even have fur to protect them from the cold. They can freeze to death so easily."

Humans, as Bepo later found out, aren't as delicate as his mother used to tell him. Some of them, yes, but there are ones who can outpower Minks without a problem. And especially an 8 year old, lost Mink child, who accidentally found himself in North Blue. It's a little bit ironic that the only memory Bepo has of his mother is her lecturing him to be careful with humans, while almost all of Bepo's early interactions with them were negative. From townsfolk organizing hunts to kill the "stray bear cub", through pirates trying to catch him to sell him off as a slave, finally to two mean boys who beat him up claiming he was a monster.

The first human to ever show Bepo any kindness was a boy with the meanest glare and on the brink of death, who saw a bear being bullied by two older boys and decided to help him without any reason to. A boy who Bepo later watched open up his own body and scrape a layer of white metal-like substance off all of his organs, muscles, veins and the underside of his skin with a set of a little bit rusty kitchen knives, using some strange blue powers that prevented him from dying. A boy who after doing so, passed out for almost a week, only to be found by an old man named Wolf, who agreed to take both of the kids in (later adopting Penguin and Shachi, too).

Bepo doesn't remember his family nor his homeland, but he supposes that it's okay. Because the boy who saved him, even the boys who he was saved from, and the entire Heart Pirates crew, are his family now, and there's no one in the world Bepo loves more. He did study to be a navigator primarily to be able to go back on Zou, but now all he wants is to use his abilities and knowledge to help his crew. Why would he leave people he loves to chase memories he doesn't even have anymore?

"I don't think I want to anymore," he says finally, grabbing Ikkaku's full attention again. "I don't remember Zou and I don't remember my family at all, so they most likely don't remember me either. I have nothing to return to there."

He makes a small pause, considering if he wants to add anything, but then bites his own tongue, as the realization that he ran his mouth again hits him.

"Oh, sorry! That was a really depressing thing to say, wasn't it? I'm so sorry, I probably made you feel bad…"

'What were you thinking?' he scolds himself. ' That was a simple question, she didn't ask about your gloomy thoughts.'

But the woman just smiles and pats Bepo's back with a little bit too much force, seemingly not as offended by his words as he expected.

"That's good, man! We need our navigator to stay with us!"

And with that, she goes back to her bowl of rice, completely ignoring Bepo's apologies.

There's something weirdly addictive about being chopped up by Law. Everyone on the Heart Pirates' crew has gone through it at least once, either out of their own curiosity or because Law just really enjoys doing it, but forgets to ask if it's okay.

It's a weird feeling, to see your own arm two meters away and still be able to move it or to see your leg attached to someone else's body, while still feeling like it belongs to you. In Bepo's opinion, the weirdest feeling is to have his head detached from the rest of his body. It's so confusing. But at the same time, it's fun . Though the Heart Pirates might be the only people enjoying being dismembered by their captain. The rest rarely get their body parts put back in their rightful places.

Bepo, Penguin and Shachi are probably the ones with the most experience with being dismembered. The latter two mostly because they keep annoying Law, and the captain's usual go-to punishment is to mix and match their limbs. Though they're so used to it by now, that even when Law switches their arms, they can still use them without a problem. It freaks Bepo out, and he thinks that it freaks Law out as well.

But Bepo will never forget the first time that Law severed his leg and then stitched it back into place without leaving any scar behind. That was Law's second successful surgery without leaving any marks, the first being the removal of amber lead from his own body three years prior.

It was so bizarre and scary, but exciting at the same time, to watch his leg get cut off with no blood or pain. Though Bepo did almost faint twice and experienced phantom pain during the process.

It's a little funny to remember how happy Law was, when after sewing the limb back, Bepo moved his leg as if it had never left his body, with no signs of ever having lost it, in comparison to seeing the same Law so nonchalantly juggling human parts around.

The surgeon has gotten so good at using his Devil Fruit powers. Bepo is very proud of the privilege of having witnessed Law’s journey from barely being able to stop a small bleeding, to painlessly extracting someone's heart without killing them.

And he really can't wait to see how much better Law will get in the future.

Bepo's fur has both similarities to and differences from the fur of a regular animal polar bear.

Bepo's fur is white and fluffy, just like his animal counterpart's, but it's not nearly as long or dense, since Minks have evolved to wear clothes and don't need such a thick protective layer of hair. It's much softer and less oily, which means it's nicer to the touch, but also a nightmare to maintain, as it can get matted after getting wet and, well, doesn't protect Bepo from getting absolutely soaked.

But the most annoying thing about it is definitely molting.

All things considered, it's completely useless. Regular polar bears, who live on winter islands, molt their fur once a year for summer to better regulate their body temperature, and the time of their molting season adjusts to the island's climate. It helps them to not freeze in winter and to keep cool in summer. For them, it actually makes sense.

Bepo, however, doesn't live on a winter island. He doesn't even live on any island, meaning his molting season isn't adjusted to anything, and just happens randomly. Usually it's around eight to ten months, sometimes less and sometimes more. The longest gap lasted two and a half years, if Bepo recalls correctly. It doesn't matter if Bepo is in an overheated submarine or in the middle of a snowstorm on some godforsaken island of frostbitten asses. The molting season, or as Penguin likes to call it, the furnado season, just starts whenever it pleases and decides to ruin Bepo's life for several weeks until all of his thick, snow-white coat gets replaced by a thinner, yellow-ish one. Then his fur grows thick and dense again, lasts for some time, only for the molting to begin again.

He has no idea if other Minks go through the same, but sometimes, out of pure spite, he wishes they do. He can't be the only one suffering like that.

Nevertheless, no one on the Polar Tang is a big fan of Bepo's fur flying around, getting into everyone's noses, mouths and food. Especially since most of the crew members are doctors and medical specialists that Law has picked up on their journey, and they all value sterility.

Usually brushing his fur helps, but only a little. Bepo can't reach his back and also just doesn't have the patience to comb his fur for several hours multiple days to see any results. Baths help too, but the clogged drains are not worth it, so Bepo limits himself to very short showers, to reduce the damage as much as possible.

He's doomed to being tasked with cleaning the floors every day, since most of the mess is his fault, and to being banned from the operating rooms until he stops being a walking fur-storm.

"Are you shedding again?"

Law's cold voice makes Bepo jump, both paws instinctively clenching into fists as if to dig his claws into the flesh of a potential enemy, which just results in one broken pen, one destroyed map that he's been working on, and five deep scratches on the wooden desk. The Mink stares at the mess in front of him for a few seconds before straightening on his chair, head snapping in Law's direction.

"Ye-yes, captain! I believe it started a week ago!" he agrees, saluting. Oh wait… That's not a good thing, right? Law is probably annoyed again and will tell Bepo to sweep the floors. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize. I want to try something, so clean up and get to the bath," is all that Law says before exiting the room.

Bepo sighs heavily as he throws the destroyed paper to the trash can and wipes away the spilled ink, trying not to think too much about the scolding he's about to receive. Captain didn't exactly look mad, but he didn't look pleased either, so Bepo decides to just assume the worst, and either not besurprised or be pleasantly surprised.

But when the bear finally makes his way down the stairs of the inn they're staying in while waiting for Tang to be repaired (Bepo refuses to get on it with the ventilation system broken), and enters the bathhouse, there's just a very shirtless Law, leaning against the wall and looking absolutely bored. No signs of any ritual ass kicking or anything.

"Took you long enough," he mumbles and before Bepo can open his mouth to apologize, Law raises his hand to shut him up, and continues. "Just undress and get to the bath."

Bepo hesitantly looks around, a little nervous. They're in a small changing room that is separated from the bathing room with a sliding door. He can tell that the other room is completely empty due to the lack of scents of any other humans.

Law's yellow hoodie is neatly folded, resting on the bench by Kikoku and the spotty hat, now joined by Law's jeans and underwear too. Just what was he planning? Did Law forget that baths don't help with the shedding? Or does Bepo stink so badly that the surgeon needs to personally supervise his bath?

"Well?"

Bepo flinches at the impatient tone and hastily takes off his boots to slip out of his boiler suit and underwear, which he folds as neatly as he can and puts on the bench next to Law's belongings.

When he's finished, Law is already in the other room, arranging the seats so they're close to a showerhead. Aside from Law's body wash and shampoo, there is quite a big plastic container with no label standing on the tiled floor.

Bepo closes the door behind himself and hurries over to where Law is, feeling only a little bit shy when the golden eyes rest on his naked body.

It's not like Bepo has never seen Law naked, and vice versa. Especially him, Law, Penguin and Shachi know no shame around each other, having been friends for years by now. And it’s not like they had any privacy at Wolf's small house; all four of them were always forced to bathe together anyway.

Though at first Law would always command the rest to turn around and look away, only allowing them to look when there was at least a towel tightly wrapped around his upper body. They had thought it was because of the weird white patches covering Law's back, upper arms and possibly more (not like they had any chance of knowing, since the boy was always fully covered up), but after a few months they learned the real reason for Law's discomfort with nudity.

"And what difference does that even make?" Penguin asks with genuine confusion in his voice, cocking his head to the side.

They're all sitting on the porch in front of Wolf's house, resting after chopping wood for several hours, preparing for the harsh winter to come. Law is leaning against the house wall with his knees pressed to his chest and arms tightly wrapped around his shins. Bepo, Penguin and Shachi are sitting in front of him.

"My body is not the same as yours. I was born a girl," he spits out through his teeth with a deep frown. The shade that his hat casts on his face makes him look scary in Bepo's opinion.

"Yeah, you just said that few seconds ago." Shachi's tone is nonchalant, probably too nonchalant for Law's liking, because he looks almost offended. "And Bepo is a talking polar bear," he points at the Mink with his thumb, "his body isn't like ours either."

"It's not the same!" the younger boy snaps back, really annoyed for some reason.

"I don't understand. Do you want us to treat you like a girl then?" Penguin asks again, just as confused as he was before.

Law's entire body goes rigid and his eyes widen, filling with fury. "No! I'm a man!"

"So it doesn't make a difference then." Shachi decides, nodding his head. That makes Law relax again. "We still won't look if you don't want us to?"

"You can look, I don't care. I just… I just didn't know how you'd react. That's all." The boy looks like he's trying to hide himself behind his knees, avoiding looking at either of his friends. He's gnawing on his bottom lip.

From what Bepo understood of the conversation, Law was born with the body of a girl, but is still a boy, and it's called being "trains" or something. Well, he supposes it really doesn't make any difference, just like Penguin and Shachi said. It does clarify one thing that's been concerning the 9 year old bear for a while now, but he still needs to ask to make sure.

"Is this why you sometimes smell of human blood even though you didn't fight anyone?"

There's a long silence before Shachi not-so-gently smacks his head with his hand, Penguin facepalms and Law's expression on his reddened face looks like he wants to scream, or die, or strangle the Mink with his bare hands, or all of the above.

Bepo doesn't know what he did wrong and his eyes fill with tears. He just wanted to make sure!

"I'm sorry!"

Ever since that time, Law stopped caring about Bepo, Penguin and Shachi seeing him naked. Their first few baths were a little awkward, but more because they just had to get used to Law being there without making them turn around, not because his body parts were different or because he bled for five days every month.

But despite being comfortable with his three friends seeing him naked, Law wasn't comfortable in his own body, which eventually led him to removing his own breasts at the age of 15, with Bepo, Penguin and Shachi as his nurses. The surgery left two scars under his pecs, which are visible even to this day.

Bepo still wonders how Law managed to remove the amber lead from his system without leaving any scars, while all his later attempts at any surgeries would leave trails of ragged scars for many more years. Perhaps in his desperation to stay alive, he subconsciously tamed his Devil Fruit for just a few hours.

But yeah, he's seen Law naked before and Law has seen Bepo naked before, but it had always been with Penguin and/or Shachi around. There's simply something different when it's just the two of them. It makes Bepo's heart race. 

The bear is instructed to sit on the seat in front of Law, back turned to the captain.

"Um… Are you going to give me a bath, captain?" he asks when he feels lukewarm water running down his back.

"Yes." The surgeon gently covers Bepo's eyes with his palm and pours water directly on his head. Not like he could just tell Bepo to close his eyes… "Apparently this island is full of farmers who own shepherd dogs that shed like crazy, so I bought some deshedding shampoo. Though I don't know if it'll work with your coat, since you're not a dog."

A deshedding shampoo? That's new.

"I don't know either, captain. Sorry."

The Heart captain doesn't reply, just focusing on his task of rinsing Bepo's fur. Once it's all nice and wet, Bepo feels Law pour the shampoo on his head and neck, and then he begins to massage it in. The bear can't help but lean into the touch, as his captain's fingers knead the shampoo into his thick fur, reaching through the undercoat to Bepo's skin.

Law’s hands linger a little behind Bepo's ears, almost petting him like he usually does at least a few times every day, slowly moving down to the Bepo’s neck, shoulders and back, adding more shampoo whenever needed.

It feels nice. Too nice, probably. To the point that Bepo doesn't know if he's even allowed to enjoy the procedure so much, but he can't help it when it feels like a massage, since Law has to put quite a lot of strength in it to get to Bepo's undercoat and skin.

(He doesn't notice that halfway through he started making little humming and chirping noises of content. He doesn't notice Law's soft smile either.)

When Bepo's entire backside is all covered in an unscented foam, Law stands in front of the bear, now cupping his cheeks with shampoo-covered hands. As Law washes Bepo's face and snout, he almost wishes he was a feline Mink, so he could purr. His eyes remain closed, even though the shampoo doesn't smell strongly of chemicals and is probably not irritating. It's just somehow more enjoyable that way, trusting his captain to whatever he wants with him.

Then, Law moves to Bepo's throat, both of his paws (taking some time to squish his paw pads, which Bepo didn't really mind), chest, belly and legs. By the time Law is finished, the bear feels like he's floating, entire body relaxed, wishing he could just lay down and fall asleep.

"Keep your eyes closed," Law instructs as he gets up from the floor and grabs the showerhead again, which Bepo deduces from the sounds around him.

The surgeon presses the showerhead to Bepo's head and moves in similar patterns as he did before, but now rinsing the shampoo off the bear. Fingers of his other hand basically comb through Bepo's fur, getting all the loose hairs and foam out. If the shampooing itself felt like a massage already, then Bepo doesn't know what this is, but all his muscles are absolutely loving it.

He keeps his eyes closed as Law rinses his entire body down, successfully having gotten rid of all the dead undercoat and soap. When he's finished, Bepo finally opens his eyes, having to blink a few times to readjust to the light. He feels sorry for whoever will have to clean all the soggy fur off the floor. ' So the deshedding shampoo really worked, huh?'

"Can I wash your back, captain?" he asks, turning his head to look at Law, who's currently rinsing his own body with water.

"Sure, but don't mix up the shampoos. I'm not the one shedding." The surgeon's voice is light and playful, completely contradicting his mean smirk and sharp glare, but Bepo has already learned not to think about it too much.

He still apologizes as he gets up, grabs the bottle of human body wash and sits down behind Law. The body wash is strongly scented and makes Bepo wrinkle his nose as the smell hits him with full force when he opens the bottle. Why do humans like such smelly things?

Big bear paws spread the stinky foam across Law's back, as the man himself starts working on his front.

'Our claws and fangs can easily hurt them.' That's what his mother had told him about humans once. Bepo has already learned to watch his claws, so they don't reach the delicate skin under his paws. It's not the first time he's washing another human, after all. But he still makes sure to be very careful.

He traces the tattoos on Law's back and arms with his paws, unable to help feeling jealous. Almost all Heart Pirates have their jolly roger or a heart tattooed on their bodies as a sign of loyalty to Law. It's not required, just like wearing boiler suits as their "uniforms", but everyone eventually ends up with the smiley face or a heart tattoo, even if a small one, designed and tattooed by Law himself. Well, everyone except for Bepo, which is just insanely unfair.

He'd have to shave his fur off to get a tattoo, which would be barely visible anyway, because under the white fur, his skin is almost black, and then it wouldn't be visible at all once the fur grows back. Not to mention he would just look dumb with a bald patch somewhere on his fluffy body.

Abandoning the thoughts of shaving all of his fur, he goes back to his task of sliding his paws up and down Law's back, digging his fingers slightly into the hard muscles to massage them. Law has already finished washing his front and now is leaning forward, scrubbing his scalp (with another very stinky human shampoo) without interrupting Bepo too much.

Once they're both cleaned and fully rinsed, Bepo moves to the dry part of the bathing room to towel himself dry as well as possible, as instructed by his captain. It takes Bepo six bath towels that end up being all white from his shed hair sticking to them ( 'So the shampoo didn't work after all?' ), and yet his fur is still a little damp, but that's the best he can do.

He doesn’t even notice Law leaving the room, until the man comes back from the changing room, fully clothed with only his feet bare, and with quite a big hair dryer in his hand. Normally Bepo would just go out and let himself dry out in the sun, but apparently Law has other plans.

The drying is… messy, to say the least. Bepo's fur is flying everywhere, and there's so much of it that Bepo wonders if it's still his own, because he doesn't remember having THAT much hair. Has all of that been attached to his skin the whole time?

Law patiently dries his entire body, seemingly unbothered by the literal furnado happening around him. Then he grabs Bepo's brush that the bear also didn't notice before and starts brushing his fur, starting on his neck and moving down, and oh god, there's even more dead undercoat coming out. But Bepo just stands there, letting his captain take care of him. Weirdly enough, Law seems to enjoy this as well, judging by the fact that his lips are slightly curled upwards.

The entire process of bathing, drying and brushing Bepo's entire body probably takes around three hours, but honestly, the Mink doesn't regret any second of it. He feels ten kilograms lighter and he's not itchy anywhere.

"The farmers told me how they usually deshed their dogs, seems like it works on polar bear Minks too." Law smirks at him, burying his palm in the fur on Bepo's arm and pulling on it gently. No dead hair comes out. "Though next time I might just cut you up into smaller pieces and deshed each part individually. Less work."

Law steps away and Bepo almost snorts at the sight in front of him. The surgeon's entire body is covered in Bepo's fur; white hairs sticking to his neck, hands and clothes, some even in Law's own hair, making him look like he's beginning to go gray.

The man doesn't seem to notice it, as he nonchalantly opens his palm in the air. " Room! " A blue sphere opens at the command, enveloping the entire room. Law exhales slowly, his eyes closed and eyebrows frowned in focus. Then, a flick of his wrist, " Shambles! ", and all the fur from the bathing room's floor, walls and even ceiling is gone. Well, Bepo probably needlessly felt bad for whoever had to clean the room. And he isn't going to question where all the fur went.

The Heart captain opens his eyes and looks around with a satisfied smile. "Nice. Now, get dressed and-"

"But captain…" Bepo interrupts, not being able to hold back a dopey smile this time.

"What?"

"Don't you need another bath now?" he asks, pointing at his captain.

Law's gaze follows Bepo's finger and his eyes widen comically as he looks down at himself, clearly not expecting to look like he was used as a mop in a dog groomer salon. He groans and then snorts, and then groans again.

"Yeah, I might need another bath," the man agrees sounding resigned, but still with that stupidly attractive smirk on his face.

Bepo is Law's personal bed, pillow, plush toy and stress ball. Whenever the surgeon feels uneasy or anxious, he starts scratching behind Bepo's ear or playing with Bepo's big paws, squeezing the pads and closely examining the claws for the nth time. Or well, he also just does it whenever he feels like it for no real reason, mindlessly kneading Bepo's fur on various occasions.

Bepo doesn't really mind it, hell, he even enjoys getting free cuddles from his captain, because he simply likes physical touch in general.

The only downside is that Law can get very selfish, just grabbing Bepo and dragging him off, no matter what the polar bear has been doing. It's been like that since forever, so Bepo is used to it, but it can get a little bit annoying sometimes.

But there are times when Bepo has to be the selfish one. Or rather, still the selfless one, since he's doing it all for Law. Everything he does is for Law.

"I'm almost finished with this. One more hour." The fact that the Heart captain is explaining himself to Bepo already says a lot about his state. Normally he would just try to kick the bear out, but his brain is apparently too tired for that. It's almost funny to see the proud surgeon look so weak and pathetic. Well, it would be funny if Bepo's heart wasn't breaking at the sight.

"That's your third all-nighter in the row, captain…" Bepo says quietly, but firmly.

Law's face is pale, the dark circles under his eyes almost twice as big as usual, and he looks like death itself. The way he's slouched over his desk makes Bepo uncomfortable. Human spines are not supposed to be curved like this .

Bepo puts one paw on Law's chest and the other on his curved back, and very slowly forces the man to sit upright. He winces when he feels the bones crack under his paws. Just how long has Law been sitting here with no one checking on him? Bepo thought that at least Penguin or Shachi would do that, since he was busy with drawing maps of the islands they recently visited.

Law himself is still maniacally scribbling something on the papers on the desk in front of him, though the writing is so messy that Bepo can't even read it. The surgeon himself probably won't be able to read it later either.

The navigator sighs and puts his paw on Law's right hand, the one in which he's holding his pen, despite it being his non-dominant hand.

(Sometimes when Law is working a lot, he switches his hands to avoid damaging one too much. There are certain things that one cannot fix, even with the Ope Ope no Mi.)

With his hand blocked from being able to write any more, the man finally looks up at Bepo, his sclera so red that Bepo is a little concerned some veins might have popped in Law's eyes.

"I'm not sleepy," he says, his voice completely exhausted, and tries to jerk his hand away, but it's so weak that Bepo doesn't even need to use any strength to keep it in place.

"You're not sleepy, but you're tired, captain," he states. He knows he's right. Without breaking eye contact, Bepo slowly pulls the pen out of his captain's hand and sets it on the desk. "You need to let your body rest either way."

Law looks like he wants to object, but his body betrays him and allows Bepo to pry him off the spot in front of his desk and be led to the bed.

"I won't sleep. I'm too awake," the Heart captain mumbles when Bepo makes him sit on the edge of the bed to take his boots off.

"But you will rest," is Bepo's firm answer, immediately followed by a "sorry," as he gently pushes Law's shoulder to make him lay down, and then crawls under the sheets as well to trap the human in his big arms "Goodnight, captain."

There's no response for several minutes.

"Goodnight, Bepo."

Law, true to his word, doesn't sleep, even hours later. But Bepo doesn't sleep either, fully devoted to keeping his captain in bed by force, whenever the other tries to squirm away. Which happens whenever Law thinks that the bear holding him hostage has fallen asleep.

But eventually, exhaustion wins over insomnia and after a particularly difficult wrestle with Bepo, the brunet finally passes out with his face full of white and fluffy fur. Bepo stays perfectly still, knowing well that literally anything could interrupt his captain's light sleep. And that man needs every second of rest that he can get.

No one really knows where Kikoku came from. One day Law just started carrying her around and chopping people up with her, and everyone accepted that. Not like they had any choice. Who's gonna question their slightly mentally unwell captain and his newfound love for cursed blades?

It quickly became apparent that Law had some special connection to the sword. He wouldn't part with her even for a second; wherever the Heart captain was, the cursed sword was either in his hand, on his lap, propped against his shoulder or laying very close by, always close enough to be quickly grabbed and unsheathed if needed.

Bepo can only guess that it has something to do with his captain's nightmares and paranoia. He seems calmer carrying Kikoku around, probably feeling safer with a weapon to protect himself. Bepo has never tried to question Law about it.

Kikoku is important to Law and makes him feel safe, and that's all that matters. The other thing that matters is that no one touches Kikoku, as it makes the surgeon incredibly stressed. Well, maybe touching is allowed, but carrying? Unless Law specifically asks someone to hand him the sword, no one dares to pick it up without explicit permission, and for more than just a few seconds.

That's why Bepo's brain starts smoking just a little bit when Law hands him Kikoku for the first time with a simple "Hold her for me".

Fluffy fingers wrap tightly around the weapon, pressing her closely to Bepo's chest that feels like it's about to explode. He's holding!! Kikoku!! Captain's favorite sword!! He's reliable enough to be entrusted with such a task!!!

Bepo puffs out his chest proudly as he marches behind Law, carrying the cursed sword like a trophy, basking in the surprised looks of other Heart Pirates. Oh, he really does enjoy the attention. But he also really enjoys the knowledge that Law trusts him so much. If he was a dog, he would be wagging his tail so hard right now.

As it turns out, this wasn't a one time thing, and soon Bepo becomes Kikoku's official guardian and carrier.

There's always a tingle in Bepo's chest whenever he's handed the blade or told to retrieve her. It's probably not that deep, but Bepo likes to think that, by extension, Law trusts him as much as he trusts Kikoku. He trusts the sword to protect him, and he trusts Bepo to protect the sword.

It's probably not that deep, but Bepo really really likes to think it is.

"You are a wanted man!" is the only warning Bepo gets before a very excited Penguin basically throws himself at his back, soon joined by an equally excited Shachi, both men now clinging to Bepo's boiler suit like koalas.

"I'm a what?" he asks, trying to look behind himself to see what his friends are going on about. Since when does anyone want him?

"Look!"

A piece of paper is shoved right in front of Bepo's face, almost hitting his sensitive nose. He grabs the sheet to examine it. He couldn't see Penguin and Shachi, but he could literally feel them grin.

The paper in his paws is a bounty poster with Bepo's very own picture under the big "WANTED" headline. His eyes widen and heart picks up in both panic and excitement.

No Heart Pirate, with the captain being an exception, has a bounty on their head. Law makes sure to keep them all as far away from any trouble as possible, even the ones who can fight just fine and/or had been pirates even before joining the Hearts. The reason for this being that most of the crew consists of medical professionals that Law has taken with him for various reasons.

Some wanted an opportunity to carry out not-so-legal experiments without risk of getting caught, and some needed protection for already doing so. Others wanted to learn from Law, and other others were tempted by the possibility of visiting places they would've never seen otherwise. There are few former slaves of on the crew too.

That being said, well over a half of the crewmen aren't warriors and thus Law keeps them all in the safety of an underwater submarine, away from all the rowdy pirates looking for trouble on the surface. Law almost always deals with all the fighting himself, rarely entrusting anyone on the crew to join him (and when he does, it's usually only Bepo, Penguin and Shachi anyway).

One night the Heart captain even shared with Bepo that he was considering trying to become a Warlord, so his crew wouldn’t have to worry about Marines being after them, despite his hatred towards the Navy. Bepo is certain that Law has his own ulterior motives, too, most likely tied to Doflamingo and that Corazon person, but he can't help but admire his captain for looking out for the crew so much.

Bepo's eyes travel down the flier to see how much his head is worth exactly.

He really doesn't know what to think when he sees that the value of his life is exactly five hundred Berries. Penguin and Shachi must've noticed that he's staring at his bounty, because his ears are now filled with their giggles.

"How does it feel to be the first Hearty with a price?" Shachi ruffles the top of Bepo's head, like an uncle asking his nephew about his first day at school, now slowly sliding off his back since he's holding Bepo's suit with only one hand.

"And what a price it is! What did you do, stole some kid's lollipop?" Penguin joins, suddenly appearing in front of Bepo's face with a sly grin.

"Never knew you had it in ya, you ruthless criminal," the redhead sighs dramatically, throwing his body against Penguin's.

"Isn't it a bad thing, though?" Bepo finally asks, looking between the two men in front of him and the poster. "Captain doesn't want us to have bounties, so we're not recognizable… Now I ruined all that he's been working for…"

His ears fall flat on his head. How could he mess up so badly? Law will probably get upset and ban Bepo from leaving the Polar Tang ever again. And there's nothing that he hates more than spending any more time inside that overheated metal can as necessary.

"Hey now, big guy, don't be upset." There's no bite in Penguin's smile this time, the man genuinely trying to comfort the sad bear. "Law already knows and he didn't react much. Hell, he was even the one who told us about your bounty. And since he still hasn't called you to talk about it, I wouldn't worry about that."

"Besides, you're literally a two fucking meters tall talking bear." Shachi adds, nodding at Bepo as if he was sharing some scientific fact. "It was bound to happen at some point. You're not exactly easy to miss and Law knows the risks of showing you off in public."

Bepo sniffles, swallowing down the tears that have started forming in his eyes. Next thing he knows, he's caging the two humans in his arms, nuzzling his cheeks against their faces.

"Thank you, guys!!"

He gets a couple of pets and reassuring "yeah, yeah"s before Penguin and Shachi eventually squirm out of Bepo's embrace to avoid getting their ribs cracked (again) by the clumsy bear.

Later he hangs the, now a little bit crumpled, poster next to Law's in the sleeping quarters for everyone to see and admire.

"Nice bounty," Bepo hears behind himself, and immediately straightens and turns around, recognizing Law's voice. The bear doesn't know if the smirk his captain is wearing is genuine or mocking, but for once he decides not to overthink it.

"Thank you, captain!"

Bepo really likes watching Law work. Perform surgeries, to be exact, because watching Law scribble down notes in his journal or plot schemes to take down a certain Warlord is usually rather boring. He can't explain it, but whenever the doctor operates on anyone, he looks like he's creating an artistic masterpiece, and Bepo just can't get enough of that.

He works with the precision of a… well… a heart surgeon. Eyes sharp and focused, body not making any more moves than are absolutely necessary to carry out the surgery. Law thrives when he's in his operating room, everything under his perfect control, holding a scalpel in one hand and someone's life in the other. Even the most beautiful places in the world can't match this sight.

That's why, despite primarily being the Polar Tang's navigator, he's also Law's most enthusiastic nurse. There are many better educated doctors on the ship, but whenever Law is operating, Bepo is always by his side, obediently following every order.

Though it's not like Bepo doesn't have any medical knowledge. Law would never let someone uneducated near his patients, despite being able to fix any mess-up with his powers. Bepo's medical knowledge isn't quite as vast as a real doctor's, but it's not nonexistent. And it's enough for the captain to always choose Bepo as his main helper in the operating room.

As long as he's not shedding like crazy, that is.

Law has a weird relationship with food. Probably because most of it makes him sick. Bepo isn't entirely sure he understands exactly what gluten is, but Law is very much allergic to it, and apparently quite a lot of food contains it. On top of that, Law is simply a picky eater when it comes both to flavors and textures of the food.

The foods that Law hates the most are umeboshi, which is pretty fair, Bepo isn't a big fan of it himself, and bread, which is less understandable. If the reason was only because it has gluten and makes Law sick, and/or because Corazon didn't like it, it would be all fine. But Law has problems with the taste and texture as well, which is just ridiculous.

Even offering Law bread or cake, or anything with a similar texture, even gluten free, might result in a variety of reactions: from a frown to having your arms and legs swap places until the captain decides you've suffered enough.

Bread might not be the tastiest food in the world, but it's not really that bad. Law is such a weird guy.

If he could, he would probably live only on onigiri and grilled fish. Frankly, that's almost the only food he's willing to eat. Which is funny considering he keeps scolding everyone for their poor diet choices. 

"I can do a lot, but my powers can't heal scurvy, so I swear to god, I will personally force feed all of you fruit if I have to."

"Too much cholesterol leads to heart failure, and I am NOT giving any of you transplants when it's your fault for eating so much junk food."

"When was the last time any of you ate any dairy products? Do you feel like you don't need your bones anymore? On the next island I better see every single one of you with a glass of milk."

"Everyone please drink plenty of water when we're submerged, the last thing we need right now is someone passing out from dehydration. Especially you, Bepo, I know how badly you handle the heat."

"Do any of you have any respect for your livers?! Quit drinking so much!"

"Boiled vegetables lose almost all of their nutrients, so try to eat mor esteamed and stir-fried ones. You'll thank me later."

But of course, Law always worries about everyone and everything else, and never about himself. That's why it's Bepo's job to worry about his captain. Whenever Law asks a question regarding his crew's wellbeing, Bepo is the one to shoot a "What about you?" back at him.

Bepo can't remember when and how it happened, but at some point he just started keeping track of Law's basic biological needs. He knows exactly what and when Law last ate, if he drank anything and when he last slept. It's pretty easy even if the navigator isn't in the same room, because he hears and smells nearly everything that's happening on the submarine.

(Though sometimes he wishes he didn't.)

It's not exactly an easy task, to take care of Law, because sometimes it feels like he mistreats himself on purpose. Bepo wishes he could contact Corazon in any way to ask for some tips, because the Heart captain can be incredibly stubborn and unreasonable at times.

"But captaaaaaiiiinnnn," Bepo whines, resting his chin on top of Law's hat, both paws loosely wrapped around the man's shoulders.

The surgeon is sitting at his desk, now with a big polar bear in a bright orange boiler suit clinging to his back. There's a plate of onigiri that Bepo brought standing on whatever papers Law had been working on before the navigator came in.

"I'm telling you, I'm not hungry." Tattooed fingers try to pry fluffy paws away, but Bepo won't budge, nuzzling his cheek against the fluffy hat and tightening his grip a little with every second.

"But you haven't eaten since yesterday eveeninggg," he whines again, trying to annoy Law on purpose. That's one of the most efficient techniques to get Law to do something: just annoy him until he agrees so he's left alone.

Normally, other crew members would get reprimanded for such behavior, Shambled away or chopped up into pieces (or all of the above). Bepo is an exception, being allowed to get on his captain's nerves with zero consequences, because Law simply can't stay mad at Bepo's puppy eyes. The Mink has learned to weaponize them whenever needed.

Instead of answering, Law just growls. It's funny how some humans growl and snarl, even though their fangs aren't impressive or threatening at all.

"Get off me, Bepo. I'm busy."

The bear doesn't get off like asked to, and puts even more of his body weight on top of the surgeon instead, holding him down in case Law tries to shove him off by force. Which he does try to do, to no avail. When it comes to physical strength, Bepo is the superior one. 'I'm sorry captain, but your health is a priority.'

"You wouldn't let me go seventeen hours with no food, would you?" He's now leaning over Law's shoulder, shoving his snout in front of Law's face to make sure he sees his pout. "You always get so upset when someone passes out from hunger or dehydration, but then you do exactly the same! That's unfair!"

"I just listen to my body. If it doesn't tell me I need food, then I don't eat. It's rather simple. Also, I drink plenty of water, thank you very much."

Bepo frowns at the response, not liking it at all. 'It's not about drinking water, though,' he thinks, getting frustrated with Law's attitude. If he has to start crying to get his captain to eat, he will do it.

"Just one bite then, pleaseeee, captaiinn. I'll leave you alone if you do, I promise! Please, please, pleaseee, captaiiinnn, pleaseeee, I worked so hard on these for youuu."

The only answer is a long, loud sigh (or groan at this point) of defeat.

One hand leaves Bepo's forearm and reaches for an onigiri. It's the one with avocado and salmon filling. Bepo didn't make them by himself, his fluffy paws are not the best at handling sticky rice, or food in general, so he needed to ask Shachi for help, but he did pick fillings that he hoped would both taste good and supply Law with as many nutrients as possible. Salmon with avocado, kombu seaweed, seasoned minced tofu, and the last one is literally just finely chopped and fried carrot, zucchini and broccoli mixed with rice and shaped into a ball. Bepo hopes Law doesn't have a bad day for different food textures.

Apparently he doesn't, or if he does, he doesn't show it, because as soon as the surgeon finishes the first onigiri, he reaches for the second one. And then the third and forth, until the plate is clean. Bepo stays wrapped loosely around his captain, waiting in a comfortable silence for him to finish eating.

"Are you feeling better now, captain?" he asks when Law swallows the last bite and slouches a little against Bepo's chest, relaxing.

There's a small pause.

"Yes, thank you."

A wave of warmth envelopes Bepo's chest and he smiles brightly, tightening his grip around Law to hug him, earning a displeased grunt, but the surgeon does nothing to push the bear away this time.

"No problem!"

Bepo shouldn't be allowed to drink alcohol, because after just a few drinks his brain always gets weird. Sometimes he becomes a sappy mess, overwhelmed with love for his friends, and other times he starts thinking too much about things he shouldn't be thinking about. Which is exactly what is happening right now.

He's sitting at a table in a bar, everyone around him getting absolutely wasted in celebration of Clione's birthday. The man in question is currently standing on another table, yelling and laughing with some of the crew members. Even Law for once isn't lecturing anyone about the negative impact that alcohol has on the liver, sipping his beer as Penguin and Shachi try to drag him into some shenanigans.

And the topic of today's drunken overthinking is: Trafalgar Law.

Bepo has heard many people fawn over how handsome and pretty Law is. Especially when he gets more than four hours of sleep and his eyebags disappear a little, and when he stops smirking like a creep.

He has also seen Law using his charm to get his way, sometimes being able to avoid paying for inn rooms or getting necessary supplies for free. Though, for all Bepo knows, the sweet nothings Law is sometimes whispering into men's and women's ears could also be threats regarding their families' lives.

That doesn't change the fact that quite a lot of people find Law incredibly handsome. But why exactly is he so handsome? Is it his sharp cheekbones? Or the piercings in his ears? Or his golden eyes? Or his stupid smirk? Or maybe something else? If he was a Mink, Bepo would have a much easier time judging that.

What kind of a Mink would Law be anyway? A spotted seal perhaps, or maybe a tiger? Or a snow leopard, though that’s basically the same as a tiger, just white and with spots instead of stripes. A regal black ram with big, curled horns, or a feisty bunny with floppy ears? Would Bepo still find Law attractive, if he was a Mink?

Wait, didn't he just think he could judge Law's attractiveness better if he was a Mink…

Humans are essentially just hairless monkey Minks, after all. But they still look completely different from the monkey Minks. They don't have as much hair, they don't have claws and fangs, and tails. No, go back, they don't look like Minks at all.

Where was he going with this anyway?

Oh, right.

So, he does find humans in general attractive, just in a different way he finds Minks attractive.

The bear frowns.

Does he for sure? He looks to his left, where Ikkaku is sitting, chatting with someone happily over her beer.

Could he kiss her right now? Like, of course he could, but would he want to? Is Ikkaku attractive? She has a round face, no sign of a long snout, her lips look soft and her body has nice curves. Bepo even likes her brown eyes and tan skin. Though it's not as tan as Law's.

Oh right, that guy.

Bepo's eyes dart to his empty mug. There's just something about his captain that he can't put his finger on. Something that makes Bepo want to follow him even to another planet, if Law wished. Something that makes Bepo's heart flutter a little whenever he gets praised by Law. Something that makes Bepo want to make Law happy and protect the man, and pin him to the mattress and wipe that smirk off his face and-

Bepo props his chin on his paw, now looking directly at Law who's sitting across the room.

It must be the cheekbones, right?

The surgeon notices that Bepo is staring and raises a glass at him in a silent toast, with that stupidly attractive smirk plastered to his face, and then Law winks at him. Bepo jerks his head to the side to look away. He can feel his face getting warm, which humans would probably call blushing.

Definitely the cheekbones, and definitely NOT that stupid smirk of his.

Bepo slowly opens his eyes, stirred awake from a very nice dream that he already doesn't remember. He can feel something shaking on the bed next to him, and after a few breaths, he notices that the air reeks of sweat. He doesn't even need to look to the side to know what's going on, but he does anyway.

Law is sitting next to him, slouched and trembling like he's freezing cold. His tattooed hands are in his black hair, tugging and pulling on the strands, as he keeps chanting "leave us alone, leave us alone, leave us alone" with a panicked voice between desperate wheezes for air. Sweat and tears drip down his face and fall on the white sheets.

'That must've been a nasty one,' Bepo thinks, blinking his sleepiness away before intervening. He needs to be able to give his captain full attention now.

He knows these situations all too well, has been witnessing Law's panic attacks and nightmares for years. Hands and faces belonging to people who aren't there grabbing Law's body, invisible strings wrapping around his throat, making him suffocate on nothing, burning fire eating his flesh alive. Terrors that exist only in Law's head, but make his body react as if it was all real, forcing him to relive nightmares that no one deserves to experience. Bepo doesn't know Law's story in detail, but he knows enough to be aware of how terrible it is.

"Hey, captain," Bepo calls as softly and quietly as possible, so he doesn't scare the other, but there's no reaction. "Captain? Law? Law, can you hear me?" He tries again a little bit louder, and this time Law flinches violently, entire body jerking into Bepo’s direction, probably anticipating an enemy.

He's now looking at Bepo, face still twisted in panic, entire body trembling, but he's looking at Bepo and he knows that Bepo is here, and he's not screaming, and that's good. That's the first step.

"Can you breathe with me?" the bear asks, still laying still. Moving right now would only upset his captain further. "Law, please, breathe with me," he repeats when he doesn't get an answer. Law just stares at him with wide eyes.

Bepo inhales through his nose, making sure it's very audible and that his chest expands visibly, holds his breath for a few seconds and breathes out slowly through his mouth. The noise the human made tells Bepo that he's trying to do the same, though with little success. So Bepo does it again. And then again, and again, and again, and keeps repeating the slow inhales and exhales until the ragged breaths and wheezes of his captain calm down, even out and eventually match Bepo's pace.

Law's hands are still in his hair, gripping it tightly, though they're not pulling on it anymore. He looks like he's rather holding on to his own hair, probably needing to ground himself somehow, as he greedily swallows air in long, shaky breaths. He's still crying.

Bepo slowly sits up, watching his captain closely for any signs of additional distress. His movements don't seem to scare Law though, which is good.

"Can you breathe on your own now?"

Law nods in response, sucking in a loud breath as if to show that he's capable of doing it. He's staring somewhere behind Bepo's shoulder, eyes unfocused, like he's still not mentally there. But at least he's responsive.

"Okay. Can I touch you?"

A pause lasting exactly two deep breaths, the second one appears more unstable than the first. Then Law shakes his head.

Bepo makes sure to put a little bit of distance between them, as he fully sits cross-legged in front of his captain. If Law doesn't want touching, then even Bepo's fur lightly brushing against his skin could trigger the attack again.

"Can you tell me what the biggest organ in the human body is?" he asks slowly, putting his paws on his own knees.

Law's eyebrows twitch into a small frown.

"The skin," comes the answer after a few more moments of silence.

"Mhmmnn, and which is the longest nerve?"

"The sciatic nerve."

The answer sounds too automatic for Bepo's liking. He needs to occupy Law's brain and it won't work if he can answer on autopilot. Human anatomy related questions are out then.

"Which element has the atomic number of 33?"

Law is definitely fully frowning now, the gears in his brain turning as he's searching through his memory for the answer.

"Arsenium."

There's no way for Bepo to know if it's the truth, since he doesn't remember the entire periodic table, but the answer doesn't need to be correct. All it has to do is to pull Law out of the terrors of his brain back to reality.

"Okay, how many Blues are there? Do you remember their names?"

"Four. North, South, West and East Blue."

"Yes! What are the three Devil Fruit types?"

"Paramecia, Zoan and Logia."

Although the questions might seem easy, they're much harder for Law to answer than anything regarding human anatomy. Somehow the man can list all bones present in the human body in his sleep, but still forgets the name of his own Devil Fruit.

"That's correct! What functions does a cell need to exhibit to be classified as alive?"

"Movement, stimulus response, growth, respiration, reproduction and nutrition," Law lists out, voice sounding more and more calm with each word. After a small pause, he adds, "and excretion."

He's not crying anymore and somewhere along the way his hands slipped out of his damped hair, now laying uselessly on the sheets by Law's legs.

"Very good. Do you know who you are, and where you are right now?"

Law nods. "I am Trafalgar D. Water Law," he starts with a little uncertainty, looking somewhere to the side as if to make sure he's not lying, but then continues with more confidence, "a heart surgeon and the captain of the Heart Pirates. I am currently in the captain quarters on the Polar Tang, which is my submarine." 

The man looks up, finally looking at Bepo's face, eyes no longer unfocused. "And you are Bepo, my navigator." There's no question or surprise in his voice. It's a statement, though there's a hint of relief in it.

"I am!" Bepo smiles at him. The fact that Law is talking unpromptedly means he's all better now, and it makes Bepo happy.

He lifts his paws slightly, giving Law the wordless offer to crawl into his arms, which Law does as soon as his brain catches up to the gesture's meaning.

The man slumps against Bepo's body, burrowing his face into the soft fur, letting out a deep shaky sigh. 

Nuzzling the top of Law's head with his cheek seems like the only natural thing to do for Bepo, as his captain slowly relaxes more and more in his arms. Eventually, Bepo slowly lays back down, still keeping Law in his arms, so the human ends up laying on top of Bepo. There's a little bit of shuffling before they both find a comfortable position.

They lay there like that for some time, Bepo slowly petting Law's back with one paw, holding him around his waist with the other. The surgeon is breathing evenly with no trace of the previous hiccups and wheezes.

A wave of tiredness washes over Bepo as he finally relaxes as well, now sure that his captain will be okay. He yawns.

"Thanks." Law's voice sounds tired, and Bepo knows that he won't go back to sleep. Not after a nightmare like that.

But he also knows that Law will lay with Bepo until the morning, just letting his body rest while he's awake. It's okay. It's better than torturing his body and mind by forcing them to stay alert for way too much time. Just laying there in the darkness also helps.

"Mmnh, no problem, Law."

Bepo feels a soft kiss being pressed to the side of his snout before drifting back to sleep.