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There was a soft knock at his door that made Law look up from his paperwork, cocking an eyebrow as he listened to see if it would happen again. It sounded as if the person had regretted knocking right away.
“Come in,” he called out, assuming that it was something important, or else they wouldn’t be knocking on his door this late at night. He really should be asleep; but pirating seemed to have more paperwork than he’d assumed when he first started this. “It’s just me in here, Bepo went to bed.”
That seemed to help the mystery person and the door slowly creaked open, revealing one of his quietest crewmates. He looked afraid, however, as if whatever he was going to say would make Law angry. Both men were quiet as he took a seat across from the man’s desk, tugging at a loose string on his jumpsuit.
“Is everything alright?” Law asked in his most gentle voice, which he rarely used. But he truly loved his crew, and if something or someone was upsetting them he needed to know.
It took a few moments before he got a response, and it was so soft he nearly had to strain to hear it.
“Is...is the rule about women joining still valid?” He asked, eyes shaded under the brim of his hat. He wrung his hands together, looking more afraid than this question should make him.
Law contemplated his answer for a bit, eventually shaking his head. “I don’t think there’s a reason to keep it...I was trying to impress Penguin and Shachi when I made it, we were just kids then.” He stayed silent for a bit, waiting for a response. “Why, is there a woman who wants to join?”
The two sat in silence for a few moments, with his crewmate seeming to retreat in on himself a bit. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that.
He didn’t have to, however, as Law smiled and crossed his arms over his desk, keeping his gentle tone.
“It’s you, isn't it? You’re the woman who wants to join.”
He watched the other pirate give a slow nod, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. She gripped the edges of her hat and pulled it down further, wanting to hide.
“Well,” Law rested his chin on his hand, “Like I said...There’s no reason to have an all male crew. Seems kind of dumb, don’t you think? Besides...if I’m gonna let you stay, I should let all girls in, right?” He was trying to keep things light, wanting to make her feel accepted and supported, not scared of being out.
“I suppose you’ve already got a new name picked out, yeah? Can’t keep calling you the old one, now can I?”
She sniffled softly, wiping at her cheeks and finally letting out a small laugh. She knew Law wouldn’t care in the end, but it had taken so much courage to do it anyway— it was scary! She looked up at law, pushing her hat up again so he could see her eyes.
“Ikkaku.”
Law hadn’t made a big deal about the rule being changed; he didn’t want to bring too much unwanted attention to Ikkaku and wanted to let her come out the way she felt comfortable. And now, a few years and the start of a transition later, she had easily become one of the loudest, most energetic people on his crew. It was such a change from the quiet person she’d once been and for once, Law was grateful for the change.
She had decided to stay behind and watch the sub while the rest of the crew headed out to explore the island they had docked at. At least, she’d assumed everyone had gone. Shachi had left, so it was only natural that Penguin had gone too, right?
She didn’t think much of it, absentmindedly tying her hair back while she made her way towards the galley to make herself something for lunch. It was way too warm in the submarine, even with her jumpsuit tied around her waist. She fanned herself a bit with her hand and pushed open the door with the other, stopping suddenly as she realized she wasn’t the only person that had stayed behind.
Penguin had gotten the same idea she had, needing something for lunch, and also tried cooling off by unzipping the top half of his jumpsuit and tying it around his waist. The difference was he wasn’t wearing a shirt beneath it, like usual, and Ikkaku finally noticed why. There were two clean, slightly rounded scars framing his pecs and it was all too obvious what they were.
Neither of them could speak, however, as they’d both frozen the moment they both realized they weren’t alone anymore. Penguin struggled to not completely drop his sandwich as he tried to zip his jumpsuit up once again, cheeks burning dark red.
“W-Wait!” Ikkaku held her hands out, eyes wide. “You— you’re trans? Really? And you never told me?” Her words came out a little harsher than she wanted, but she spent so much time feeling so alone as the only female and only trans person on the crew, when in reality there was someone else!
Penguin swallowed the large bite of sandwich he’d had in his cheeks, closing the suit around his chest but not yet zipping it. He looked away, biting his lip. “Ah...only Law, Shachi and Bepo know. Cause I didn’t get to transition till I knew law, so...it was kind of obvious when we met.” He hugged his chest, puffing his cheeks out. He’d really only allowed Shachi to see him shirtless.
“Is Law the one that did your surgery?” She asked, taking a few steps towards him. “It looks nice. I’m surprised he didn’t try and use his devil fruit for it.”
He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small laugh. “He really tried to figure out a way to do it...but there wasn’t a good option. So regular surgery was fine.” He swallowed hard, slowly beginning to relax his arms and allow his suit to open a bit more. “But...the rest of the crew doesn’t know, and...I was too nervous to let anyone see me shirtless, so I made a point to always have one on.”
She snickered softly, covering her mouth. “I’m sure that rule doesn’t apply to Shachi, now does it?”
“That’s different!”
Ikkaku laughed and made her way over to him, pulling him into a hug and holding him tightly. It took a few moments before he hugged back, nuzzling against her shoulder.
“All this time I thought I was alone,” she whispered, gripping the thick fabric of his jumpsuit. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise...it just feels good to not be alone.”
Penguin smiled and held her tightly, closing his eyes and allowing himself to relax against her. “You know...maybe people seeing it isn’t so bad.”
In the rare times that the crew encountered a summer island, and had the extra time to enjoy the beach, they did so to the fullest extent. Law was the only devil fruit user on the crew, and he was more than happy just lounging in the sand and watching his crew enjoy themselves.
Shachi and Bepo were always the first ones in the water, followed by Ikkaku, and usually Penguin. But today it seemed he was hesitating at the edge of the waves, tugging at the bottom of his tank top as if he was contemplating something important.
Law discovered what that important thing was a moment later, when the man ripped it off in one swift motion and tossed it somewhere off to the side. He didn’t even need to see his face to know he had his eyes squeezed shut; he’d been trying to go shirtless for years, he just never had the confidence. Law wondered what finally got to him.
“PENGUIN!”
Shachi had noticed the moment the shirt came off, throwing his arms high up in the air. He’d bolted towards him a moment later, trying his best to run through the waves and looking like an absolute dork, but he didn’t care, because his boyfriend had done something huge.
He finally made it to the shore and tackled him to the sand below, peppering his face with eager kisses.
“Babe! Calm down-!” Penguin wiggled happily beneath him, laughing and trying to wrap his arms around him in return. “It’s just a shirt, you’re overreacting!”
“No I’m not!” Shachi finally stopped kissing him long enough to stare down at him, eyes wide. “it’s not just a shirt , babe, it’s you ! Taking it off means you’re ready for everyone to see, it’s a big deal! I’m so proud of you!”
“You big doofus!” He laughed and grabbed his hands, quickly turning them over so he was now straddling his boyfriend’s lap, pinning him down in the sand.
Penguin stared down at him, unable to stop grinning. He was lucky to have a boyfriend that cared so much, and knew how big of a deal these things were. He just wasn’t used to people being so loud about things.
“I love you, doofus.” He leaned down, finally shutting him up with a proper kiss, sliding his hands up to cup his cheeks.
Shachi grinned against him, pulling him closer and kissing back happily in the shallow waves.
“Love you too.”