Work Text:
It starts, like all other things, slowly. Rosinante walking behind Law and guarding his back, Rosinante letting Law use him as a moving seat whenever he doesn't want to walk somewhere, Rosinante standing behind Law's seat whenever they deal with negotiations with another Pirate Crew, half his face hidden behind smoke while the visible eye glares and his height dwarfs the room and everyone in it.
They never mention it, because whenever they find themselves in a fight Rosinante is careful to keep to higher points and snipe whoever gets too close to any of the Hearts, he's careful to become a ghost and steal whatever information they might find useful — even if it's not the information they were actually looking for, they always end up gaining more than with their original intel.
So, it stays as a public knowledge secret.
Rosi-san is the Captain's shadow, and also his bodyguard.
And Law approves of it strongly.
As far as danger goes, the first time the Hearts truly notice the effect that Rosinante's protectiveness has on their captain is not a remarkable situation. They're docked at a small port in a town whose name none can remember when they hear it.
"What the fuck, you brat?" The words thrown carelessly in the air freeze the Heart Pirates that were resupplying the Polar Tang.
It's not just the words that make them stop and turn to look for what is happening and angering them when they see a sailor too comfortably looking down at their Captain, — because that type of attitude will always anger the Hearts, because their Captain gave them options and that is something the Hearts all felt they could never have before meeting him — it's also the fact that the man seems too comfortable with his attitude and when they notice his hand casually going to rest against Rosinante's arm.
Those that have spent longer around Law shake their heads, those that have seen the start of their relationship smile in exhaustion, and every member restocking starts moving faster. They all know the words unleashed a beast, even if it's not the beast most expect, and they all know that it will only end in carnage and being forcefully pushed away from the town they were lucky enough to find to restock.
They also, tragically, know that they'll have to avoid the Captain's quarters like the plage after whatever happens is done and over.
Rosinante, contrary than the reactions of the other Hearts, freezes in place and stares wide-eyed as the sailor finally rests his hand on his bicep. Law snarls when he notices and the man smirks at Rosinante.
"Jeez. Keep your bitch on a leash, man!" It's said in jest, with laughter, and Rosinante sees red.
His hand moves without his conscious input, snaring around the sailor's throat and squeezing, putting more and more pressure as his top lip raises in a snarl and a growl. "What the fuck did you just say?!"
The sailor is in no position to answer, what with his air supply being cut so abruptly, but Law's delighted snicker is enough of an answer in itself, especially when he clings to Rosinante's side and pats the sailor's arm.
"Wanna apologize now?" Gurgles and gasps are his answers, and Rosinante keeps squeezing.
Law stares up at his Cora-san, cigarette clenched between teeth, a wild look on his eyes, Conqueror's Haki blanketing him in what Law can almost see as a physical manifestation, and he only sees the devotion running like a loop between the two of them even as he knows that the other sailors will only see a beast unleashed. He does nothing to stop Rosinante, because Cora-san would do nothing to stop him if the roles were reversed, so he snuggles against his side and stares up at him with hearts in his eyes.
He should've been paying more attention, especially when he knows that most people at port have now cataloged Rosinante and the rest of the Hearts as a threat, but all his senses were tuned in on Rosinante and as such the hand harshly grabbing him by the neckline of his coat has him stumbling back in surprise. He only catches a second of an angry face before two gunshots ring out onto the port and blood splatters part of his face and coat.
The man holding him back falls over dead, the one that was dangling in Cora-san's hand is dropped back to the ground, his throat very obviously crushed and his dying breathes wheezing out of a ruined trachea, and a third man that Law hadn't even noticed was approaching the Tang is face down with a gunshot to the back of the head.
He turns back to his savior and benefactor and only love, and raises his hands before giggling against his lips when he's held against a familiar torso. Safe and secure in the knowledge that, even if he trips, Cora-san won't ever drop him.
"Are you alright?"
"Mhm, and you Cora-san?"
Rosinante hums in affirmation, more worried about returning to Law's lips. The kiss is contained, but it still causes their crew to boo and tease them. Law flips them off before opening his mouth and swallowing around Rosinante's tongue.
They are in the middle of a brutal negotiation with another pirate crew when Shachi and Penguin freeze and sharpen their senses as much as they physically can. They turn to one another, tilt their heads, Penguin frowns while Shachi turns his torso slightly to the side, there are a million and one messages being convened in the little gestures to one another until Shachi moves to Law's right side and Penguin stays at his left.
It's subtle, it's a language the three — four, with Bepo — have talked since Law rescued them from snow and wounds and neglect and blood loss, it's something that even Hakugan hasn't yet fully managed to understand and he's the Heart that's been with them the longest of the rest of the crew.
Maybe that's why it's so surprising when they notice Rosinante's intense stare and the almost unnoticeable nod hidden behind smoke before the ex-marine subtly moves to be in front of the door, blocking the only exit of the place.
Penguin and Shachi turn to one another, bafflement and surprise hidden in the shadows of their caps and sunglasses before something screams at their instincts to twist and turn fast in the direction where danger brews.
There's a gun pointed at their Captain's head.
Shachi growls, Penguin snarls.
There is the sudden and unmistakable feeling of a Devil Fruit being used before every sound is consumed.
The man in front of their Captain is dead, a bullet wound in his forehead.
Penguin turns to Shachi, Shachi shrugs at Penguin. They turn back to Rosinante, only to find him walking calmly in the middle of the pandemonium and dispatching their attackers with quick and brutal efficiency.
They watch as he puts off his smoke on the dead man's corpse, they watch as he bends at his waist, as he goes down on one knee in front of their Captain, they watch as he bows and raises his head with a tiny but cocky smirk and they watch as Law throws his head back in a belly laugh before draping his arms over Rosinante's shoulders and resting their foreheads together.
Shachi turns to Penguin, Penguin smiles at Shachi. They shrug at one another in a silent "What can you do?" before turning away from the lovebirds in the middle of the bloodbath.
Penguin whistles, impressed. Shachi's nose itches with the scent of blood permeating the small room, they fake gag at the same time when they hear the distinct sounds of the other two making out in the middle of a murder scene.
"Oh come on! Can't you two wait until this is done?!"
"Shu'p -Mhh, Cora-san-"
"WAIT UNTIL WE LEAVE!" They slam the door on their way out, pretending they couldn't hear the snickers before the door closed.
They turn to one another after closing the door, resting against the wall and mentally thanking the use of Silence. Shachi laughs, throwing his head back to the wall, Penguin snickers, bending at the waist. Their laughs echo on the hallway.
"He totally has a thing-"
"Did you see his eyes when Rosi-"
"He looked like he was gonna jump him-!"
"Ah fuck, they're totally banging in the room aren't they?"
A few moments of silence, before they make eye contact with one another and smile wide and full of mischief. "We'll send Bepo in a bit."
Trafalgar Law has been Hakugan's Captain since the man — still mostly a teenager, at the time — saved his village and offered a type of freedom he never thought he could have. Hakugan can proudly say he's seen the man at some of his lowest points and some of his higher moments, he's seen his Captain exhausted and battered and bruised, he's seen him manipulate the human body with macabre delight, he's seen him focused in the middle of dangerous operations and teasing in moments of calm, he's seen him sleep against Bepo, he's seen him sleep-deprived curved over a microscope.
He knows, however, that he's not been there as long as the core of the Hearts. He knows that Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo have the privilege of knowing Law the longest. It's something the core three constantly remark as a badge of pride.
Until the day that the dismembered hand of a clown pirate threw Monkey D. Luffy and Warlord Jimbe onto their submarine, and he saw his Captain scream in an emotion he's never saw before when a blond Marine was thrown a few minutes after along the well known straw hat by the same clown.
He noticed how things changed after that, how once his Captain finished the operation and gained a life-debt from the former Warlord and the current Supernova he used his time to hover near the ex-Marine, how he held onto his jacket with wide and desperate eyes, how he dragged him to the operation room and fixed nerve damage. Hakugan noticed how his Captain's hands shook until Penguin and Shachi had to step in to finish the parts of the operation that didn't need Law's powers and how the blond held the trembling hands with care and something that registered uncomfortably close to devotion.
He also noticed how after the blond ex-Marine was given freedom of movement he trailed after the Captain whenever he could, he was so constantly hovering behind that he became easy to ignore and a fixed constant. Whenever Hakugan needed to find their Captain he just looked for the giant blond man and knew where he was, whenever Hakugan thought their Captain was neglecting himself and set out to find him he noticed how the sharpshooter was already there, taking away his coffee and replacing it with a tea cup, carrying him when Law had clearly overworked himself, gently draping him over Bepo's sleeping figure and covering him with his Marine jacket, sitting behind him in the lab and massaging his shoulders while Law focused on his research.
At first he doubted his intentions, keeping a sharp eye whenever he trailed after Law and tensing whenever he dared to casually touch the man Hakugan saw as untouchable. Only one time did he tried to bring the topic to the Heart Core.
"Rosi-san? No, yeah. The two are gone for each other."
"W-what?"
"Yeah, they've been dating since… fuck. Uhhh, Bepo, when did we went to save that Doctor and her wife?"
"No, no, they were already dating then and Hakugan was already around by that point."
"Okay, yeah but letters aren't really-"
"Yes they are!"
"Guys."
"Uh, right. Sorry. Rosi-san has known our Cap' since Law was thirteen. They lost contact, shit happened, and they started communicating once Law was… shit, I was twenty."
"Law was nineteen."
"There ya go! Thank you, Bepo. They returned contact when Capt' was nineteen."
"I don't remember him getting letters while we were in my town. And… and, is he trustworthy?"
"Fuck yeah! He sent us messages when the Marines were a bit too interested in our Cap, he intercepted orders and twisted focuses and all that shit! And… well, he's why our Cap is here."
"Mh."
"Okay, no, I see the issue. You don't know Rosi as "Rosi" because the Captain never called him that."
"What do you mean-?"
"Rosi is the so well known "Cora-san" that our crew is named after."
"What?!"
He doesn't believe it at first. He's seen Rosinante trip and fall over nothing, he's seen the man bruised and burning himself every time he tries to light his smokes, he's seen him burn his tongue every single morning for breakfast, he's seen the Captain scream at him when he broke one of the lab instruments and most importantly he saw Rosinante just take it with a sheepish grin.
When Law talked about his benefactor, he always made him sound… incredibly, someone who wouldn't be beaten, someone untouchable and perfect and flawless. But the man in front of him is painfully human, painfully flawed, painfully clumsy.
And then Hakugan saw him tear someone's arm from the socket, tear skin and muscle in one go all because they'd dared to throw a punch at the space that Law had already vacated.
He won't ever admit the fact that his first reaction was to freeze. Rosinante had always been a kind person with clumsy legs and a warm smile, so painfully overlooked that it was easy for him to move without calling attention, someone who was always trailing their Captain and stumbling through learning how to survive in the Polar Tang, and making it so simple to forget just how strong he actually was and how tall and intimidating he could be.
Hakugan was now painfully reminded of that with Rosinante splattered with blood and an unhinged grin on his face. He hadn't even reached for the sword on his side or for the gun in his pocket, he'd simply grabbed the arm and shoulder of the man and pulled like it was nothing.
A quick glance and the only ones unfazed by the display were the Core three and the Captain, and even then… if Hakugan had to say, Law's pupils…
"Ngh-"
"Captain, no!"
Being the only woman in a crew of men and male presenting nonbinary individuals was exhausting, and not even because they were assholes — if anything, they just saw and treated her like better than her own town did and she knew for a fact that their Captain would never tolerate for her to be treated badly — but just because they were exhausting in an of itself. No one understood how uncomfortable she would get every month on her period, they tended to forget why she used dark jeans during a week every month, they didn't liked talking with her about fabrics and hair care, and they refused to let her use makeup on them.
And then, their Captains benefactor and lover entered the Polar Tang in a careless throw that almost brained him on one of the walls, and she finally had a willing subject for makeup and fabric.
Rosinante still didn't understood a few things, he was a cis man after all, but she could talk with him enough that it gained her a few glares from her Captain — glares that stopped the day she grabbed Rosinante and sat him down on her makeup desk and put lipstick on his mouth.
She remembers how Rosinante laughed, ow he asked her if she had red body paint, how he extended his mouth into a grin and contemplated his eyes critically. She remembers Rosinante turning to her with a grin that looked dangerous and eyes that shone like freshly spilled blood in the lights of her room.
"Thank you, Ikkaku."
It took until the next day for her to see her Captain and Rosinante back around, and she muffled a surprised gasp when she noticed the lipstick marks still staining Law's neck and the visible parts of his chest. When she glanced up she noticed Rosinante with one finger over his mouth, winking at her to keep the secret. She nodded, moved on, and put the encounter on the back of her head.
It wasn't often that Rosinante asked for her to do his makeup, but whenever she wanted to experiment he was always a good sport and allowed her to use his face for her more outlandish ideas, her Captain no longer glared at her when she kidnapped his partner and he always looked pleased and soft when they saw each other again.
The few times Rosinante asked for her to do his makeup was usually when they had to meet up with other crews, and it was always the extended smile on his face. She wasn't sure it fully suited him — too bold of a color for the Rosinante who preferred to blend into the background, in her opinion — but she knew for a fact that whenever their Captain saw Rosinante wearing that makeup, his gaze would melt and his face would mix with relief and anguish in equal amounts.
It wasn't her place to ask.
She had to ask anyway.
It wasn't often that The Hearts had to get involved in a pointless fight, they usually just avoided things that wouldn't bring them benefits or that were unnecessary — not that they were pushovers, but most had joined because they wanted to help people since the Polar Tang worked as an ambulatory clinic, and fights only had to happen when they were trying to give health care to people and other pirates were too busy pillaging the place to let them fucking work — so no one had expected the fight they were currently into.
No one had expected the seastone bullet.
No one had expected Rosinante pushing their Captain out of the shot range.
No one had expected Law losing his shit the second Rosinante went down. It had been way too long the last time Ikkaku saw Law killing in cold blood, and as painful as it was to admit, she'd never seen him break down after being done.
She watched with teary eyes as Bepo carried their Captain to Rosinante's side, the man sitting up against a boulder and waving a dismissive hand towards Shachi and Penguin. He looked okay, a bit worse for wear but it was almost like the bullet didn't register, a part of her mind wondered how doped up in adrenaline he was to be able to just move around and complain over the Core Three fussing over him.
When Bepo finally reached them, Law threw himself down to collapse over Rosinante. If everyone around noticed the pained flinch, no one said anything.
"You can't fucking do that!"
"I'm okay, aren't I?"
"That's not the point, Cora-san!"
Almost everyone adverted their eyes when Rosinante held Law's face and kissed him, but there was no way they couldn't hear the soft devotion that followed.
"Of course it is, mi amor. Por ti, daría la vida nuevamente."My love. For you, I would give up my life again.""
"I'm tired of you almost dying for me-!"
"You're wrong, love. I live because of you."
Bepo was perfectly aware that he was the favorite. Did he use that to his advantage often? Yes, yes he did, why wouldn't he? He was constantly grateful of his position and he deeply appreciated the knowledge that he was their Captain's closest confidential.
He appreciated Law for everything the other man had done for him since the moment they meet, and because Law was one of the few people who believed Bepo could do whatever he set his mind to, and most importantly. Law treated him as an equal.
There was a time when Bepo feared he was about to be replaced as Law's closest friend, but that fear ended with a letter and a threat/promise.
"If I find something the Navy has against Law you will be informed and I expect you to protect your Captain with everything you got, including your life. I hope you’ll do your best while right beside him, and I’ll do everything in my power on this side of the World Government."
This man was willing to do everything for his Captain, and so Bepo had to be on pair too, after all he was Law's right hand and he was going to be working closer to Rosinante than everyone else except Law himself.
So yeah, Bepo wasn't surprised when he saw them cling to one another, he wasn't surprised when Law asked him to keep everyone away from the hallway to his room. He wasn't surprised when Shachi and Penguin grabbed him and forced him to enter the room with corpses and a disheveled Captain and ravished Rosinante. He was a bit surprised at Hakugan's suspicious glare towards Rosinante but he wasn't surprised at his curiosity — after all, Bepo was the one in charge of making sure their Captain received Rosinante's letters before the ex-Marine was unceremoniously dropped into their submarine and he knew just how very little the rest of the Hearts besides the Core Three knew about Rosinante —, he also wasn't surprised at Ikkaku cornering him in the hallway after they'd taken the bullet from Rosinante's shoulder.
"What was that?"
"Mh… This is Captain's fault. Rosinante saved Law years ago, and Captain was under the belief that he'd died- uh… like, 11-13 years ago, by multiple bullet wounds."
"So he had a PTSD flashback?!"
"Yeah, but he's okay now. They're both asleep!"
Lie, the only reason Bepo wasn't in the infirmary was because the second Rosinante was okay, Law had jumped him and kissed him within an inch of his life. Bepo is pretty sure he saw Rosinante's tongue down their Captain's throat.
But, well, no one else had to know.
After all, Minks knew perfectly well how loving in an obsessive way felt like. They knew perfectly well how codependency gave room for healthy relationships.
And, anyway, Minks mated for life.