The Marionette

Chapter 20: Can We Just Be Crewmates?

It had been a few days since your talk with Law and it left you feeling perplexed as you hadn't seen him after that night. You felt like he was avoiding you, but it didn't bother you too much since in your mind you thought you divulged too much about yourself. Now every time you thought back to that night you almost felt embarrassed for revealing such inner thoughts that you wouldn't admit to normally.

You let out a sigh as you sat alone at the kitchen table, you had overslept and missed the better part of breakfast. Last night was rough for you as you had a nightmare about Doflamingo capturing and torturing you in front of his whole family. You stared at your wrists, in your dream he had you displayed using his strings on a wooden post, your wrists were bleeding from how tightly his strings were wrapped around them. The phantom pain still burned where you imagined them, a chill running down your spine as you pushed your plate of food away.

"There you are!" A voice chirped behind you, your attention turning to Penguin who stood beside you with a clipboard in hand. He grinned while nervously waving, "didn't mean to interrupt you, but the captain has you working with me today," he explained as his cheeks turned pink when you grabbed the clipboard from him.

Even after being aboard the Polar Tang for nearly a month at this point, Law still couldn't trust you to perform basic tasks alone. Yet he was willing to send you off on a mission by yourself? Your eyes scanned the page, "medical and basic inventory today," you thought aloud while giving him the paper back.

Penguin nodded enthusiastically as you stood up and patted down your white uniform. You hadn't done this task yet, but you figured it couldn't be that hard. "With the next island approaching, usually Shachi and I would be the ones doing inventory together, but since last time..." Penguin's blush turned to a deeper red as he let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"Yeah I get it," you smiled slightly, "where do we start?" You asked while holding your hands behind your back. Ever since the sake incident, you've grown to like Penguin more. You've never had anyone go to the lengths they did for you, it made you feel almost indebted to them. You hadn't gotten a chance to thank Umi or Shachi yet, but it wasn't like the submarine was huge or anything and besides, you could thank them at any time.

"Well most of our medical supplies are in the captains office, so we can start there," Penguin informed you while tapping his fingers against the back of the clipboard.

You nodded your head, "lead the way," you said as you began to follow Penguin while staring at the back of his hat. You trekked down the familiar halls while listening to the beeping sounds caused by the sonar, the submarine jittering every now and again when it would pass through a current.

The door to the medial room was closed, the two of you awkwardly stood as Penguin tried to open the door but quickly realized it was locked. "I hope we're not interrupting him," Penguin whispered as he leaned closer to you.

You shrugged your shoulders, "we'll just be extra quiet," you whispered back as you watched a shadow form in the window of the door. The doorknob clicked and then opened to reveal a dissatisfied Law, the dark circles under his eyes were much darker than normal which signified his clear lack of sleep.

His bloodshot eyes shot down to the clipboard and then back to Penguin and you, your gaze averting as you pretended not to notice his exasperated glare. "Make it quick," Law said with a click of his tongue as he stood to the side. The air in the room was much cooler inside, the sterile smell nearly suffocating you as the door shut behind you and Penguin.

"Don't worry captain, we'll be out sooner than you know it!" Penguin timidly said while walking towards the glass display cases you recalled once looking through. His hands shook a little as he passed you the clipboard, smiling sheepishly while opening the cabinet.