Returning back to the meeting spot less than a mile away from the Tang, your arms filled with bags containing fruits and vegetables, you'd shockingly come back to an exhausted few crew members, muddied and beaten up.
Dropping the bags, you quickly went to Shachi and Penguin who were looking worse for wear, along with Uni who sat beside Shachi, bandaging the red head up.
“Where's the Captain?” You asked, brows furrowed slightly in concern. Uni shook his head, giving a small shrug before responding,
“Honestly, I think he went looking for you, but since you're here and he's not…”
You and Uni shared a look before you stood, looking behind you where you'd just come from and crossed your arms with a sigh. Looking over Uni's head, you spotted a stressed looking Bepo and walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm as you asked,
“Bepo, you okay sweetie?”
The mink shook his head slightly, staring down at his paws as he mumbled,
“I don't feel so good…”
The second those words left him, he slumped, falling towards you in his cross-legged position and you struggled to catch him, quickly shouting,
“OI! Someone help me with Be-”
Your words caught in your throat as you turned your head, shouting over your shoulder only to find Shachi, Penguin and Uni now gone, with three young kids now in their spot.
You were staring at each other and their hands before all three of them gave a loud, surprised scream, shaking and holding each other as small voices shouted out,
“What the fuck just happened?!”
“Shachi?! Dude what?!”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”
You went to shout when suddenly Bepo began shrinking in your arms, smaller and smaller until you could just hold him in your arms, the mink now looking like he was no older than seven or eight.
You stared down at the sleeping Bepo and slowly turned back to the others, shock and confusion written over your face as you asked,
“W-what the fuck happened while I was gone?”
As if hearing your voice in his sleep, Bepo curled into your arms, his head resting on your chest as a slow snore came from his lips. Your heart ached and you held him to you gently as you walked closer to the other boys.
“Y/N! You're not little!”
You looked down at the voice, coming from under the now too big Penguin hat that sat atop the boy's head. You leaned down just enough to lift it so you could see the bright blue eyes under the shadow of the brim. He couldn't have been older than nine.
“You're right Penguin, I'm not little! Can you tell me what happened while I was gone?”
Shachi whimpers and reaches his hands up. You sigh and shuffle Bepo to one side before bending down and hiking Shachi's small body up your side, holding them on each hip with a slightly strained look on your face.
“... We fought someone.”
You glance down at Shachi as he holds onto your boiler suit, his body now swimming in his own, as were Penguin, Uni and Bepo. You nodded softly and asked, “What do you remember?”
He's quiet for almost too long. You give him a slight squeeze to calm him and he finally mumbles,
“Captain went to look for you… some woman with a devil fruit came and tried to take the ship right after.” You praised Shachi with a gracious smile, thankful they had some memories intact.
“So the Captain didn't fight her?” Shachi and Uni both shook their heads with a soft “Don’t think so…”. You sigh in relief, knowing he'd be able to find out how long this would last, or finding some cure if need be.
“Y/N?”
You give another soft sound of relief at the sound of Law's voice, not noticing the tonal difference right away as you turn and start,
“Captain, I'm glad you're alr-”
Your words taper off as a young Law, no older than eleven or twelve, comes around the trees, a grumpy frown on his face and arms crossed over his now tiny chest. Your brows furrow as you take in the white splotches that decorate his skin. He'd always had light tanned tinted patches over his body from the healed white lead poisoning, but this looked like it had been untreated. He too, looked like he was drowning in his clothes.
Your heart sank as you put down Shachi, handing Bepo to him and Penguin who held their mink brother as gently as possible. Taking those few steps to your Captain, you knelt down and laid a gentle hand on his head, fighting back the tears in your eyes as he heavily flinched away from your touch.
“Law.”
Bright eyes stare up at you under the brim of his now too big spotted hat. You give him a bright smile and hold your hands out to him, palms up towards the sky.
“I'm not afraid of you, honey. Come on.”
Law's wide eyes stare at your almost familiar smile before he practically throws himself at you, clinging to your boiler suit as tears threaten to spill down his cheeks. All that trauma he thought he'd dealt with crawled up his throat like vicious bile, his heart aching as he wished he could call out for the one person he missed most. Luckily, you and your bright smile were close enough to his that Law found some strength in your arms.
Your arms wrap tightly around him as you promise,
“We're gonna figure this out, okay sweetie?”
Law pulls away to glare up at you and he mutters darkly, “I'm still your Captain…”
You grin in response before lifting him off the ground and holding him the same way you'd held Bepo earlier. “And for now, I am acting Captain until we figure this out- stop fidgeting, I swear to God I'll fuckin’ drop you.” Law glares again as he huffs, clinging with one hand on the back of your suit as you lean down to collect Bepo once more.
“Alright well, back to the ship for now. Let's get you guys fed and I'll see what I can do…” Worry eats away at you as the six of you make your way back to the ship. Luckily she wasn't that far, but with five whining kids drowning in their old clothes, it took a good hot second.
“Y/N, carry me!”
“She's already got me and Bepo, you can walk, Shachi!”
“Y/N! I want a snack!”
“Y/N, can I have a snack too?”
“I'm so tired!”
You were never so grateful to come up on the Tang as you were right now, overwhelmed and overstimulated with a snarking Law on one hip and a snoring Bepo on the other. You felt a tug on your suit leg and you looked down at a wide eyed Penguin.
“How are we gonna get on the ship?”
You grinned and knelt down, telling them to gather in tight and hold on as best they could. You clung to your grocery bags and the kids tightly before using your immense leg strength and jumped, ignoring the scared screams from the kids as you tried to focus on landing on the deck without a rolled ankle.
You let them down slowly, moving the bags off to the side as Ikkaku, Clione and Hakugan ran out of the main door, panic on their faces as they took in their now child-bodied crewmates and Captain.
“Girl, what the FUCK happened?!” Ikkaku was so much more than confused, anxiety and worry written on her face as she takes in the situation.
“Devil fruit lady, apparently. I had gone shopping and came back to them looking like they got their ass beat-” You ignored the shout of “Hey! That's rude!” as you continued, “I went to help Bepo, he said he wasn't feeling well, I asked for help and suddenly I turned around and… they were kids.”
They look down at the kids and Law is quick to retort, “Go and get the ship started, I want us out of here as fast as possible.”
Ikkaku looks at you and you give a small nod, grunting as Law's little hand grips at your cheek and pulls, shouting at you, “I'm still Captain and you still need to listen to me!” You gently swat his hand away and pull away from the kids, picking up the produce bags and motioning for them to follow you. Calling over your shoulder, you spoke to Hakugan,
“Bring me some old clothes, I'll hem some up so these guys don't have to walk around naked.”
You glance down at hearing a soft grunt, noticing how Uni struggled to carry Bepo. You leaned over slightly and plucked the small mink from his arms, giving him a smile as he grinned up at you in gratitude.
“Y/N, can I still have a snack?”
You sigh and reply, “Yes Shachi, I'll make you guys a snack once I have you dressed. I will not have five naked kids running around the ship.”
It felt like an entire day had already passed by the time you'd finished fixing up some decently presentable clothes for your crewmates and Captain, though in reality, it had been only about three hours.
“I wish my hat wasn't so big…”
You glanced up from hand stitching the last pair of pants that were for Law, seeing said Captain pouting with his hat sitting in his lap, his hands running over the spots sadly.
“I can try and make you one, if that would help.” You offer as your eyes flickered back to the pants. You miss the tired look in Law's eyes as he stares at you before going back to petting his current hat.
“... it's okay. I'm just hoping this will pass sooner rather than later.” He glares at the splotches on his hands before lifting one and murmuring, “Room.” He frowns deeply when nothing happens.
“Room.”
Your eyes flickered back up to your forlorn Captain, watching with sad eyes as his voice cracks a little. “Room!”
“Law.”
Teary-eyed and hopeless, Law stares back at you as he barely gets out,
“You have no idea how shitty this is.”
You give your own frown, shaking your head slightly as you validate him. “You're right, I don't have any idea what this is like, but I can imagine the pain you're going through and all I can tell you is I've got you.”
Law hops off the chair and settles in beside you on his couch, watching your hands as they weave the thread through the fabric. He rests his cheek on your arm, letting his eyes close as he admits softly,
“I miss Cora-san.”
Tears prickle your eyes as you lean over slightly to press a kiss to the top of his head. “He's still here, my love. He's still with you, in every breath you take, every beat of your heart - you know that.” You settle him back into the couch comfortably before getting up and rummaging through his desk, pulling out a slightly faded and dinged up picture.
You settle back into the couch and pull him close again, your one hand resting on his head as you hand him the picture. Immediately his eyes well up as he clings to it, his thumbs running over the crooked smile on Cora-san's face. You ruffle his hair gently before picking up the pants and finishing them silently.
“... thank you, Y/N.”
You give him a loving smile, pressing another kiss to his head before you murmur softly,
“You're so welcome, sweetie. Why don't you take a little nap and once I'm done these, I'll go make some dinner. I don't think that snack Ikkaku made is going to tide Shachi and Penguin over for that long.”
Law snickers with a sniffle, wiping at his eyes before laying down and curling into a comfortable ball, his head resting beside your thigh. You absentmindedly run a hand over his hair, lulling him to rest, only stopping when his breathing was slightly heavy and evened.
Your heart ached as you looked down at him, his small hands clutching the picture like a lifeline. You could nearly feel the love that radiated Cora-san, his smile warming you from the inside out and you can't help but think, ‘How warm and kind this man must have been, to love Law so unconditionally.’
You slowly stood and stretched, sighing softly as you placed the now complete pants off to the side. You had one important mission left before you could start dinner.
Rummaging through his office closet, knowing you'd seen something specific a while back, you give a silent cheer as you pull a certain sweater out, the black feathers matching exactly. You laid the sweater over Law, the feathers right near his face and as if on instinct, one of his hands reached up and pulled the sweater tighter around himself, hiding his face in the black fluff with a murmured, “Cora-san…”
You threw a hand over your heart with a muffle sob before turning and walking out of the office, turning the light down enough that he could rest properly. You had to walk away right that second or you knew you'd break out into tears.
Closing the door, you made your way towards the kitchen only to see Ikkaku and Hakugan running after a now clothed Shachi and Bepo, who were laughing and screaming as if they were on a playground.
“Oi, oi! What's going on?”
Bepo turned and gave an excited scream before running at you, arms up as he cheers out,
“Y/N Mom!”
You freeze with a choke, your tone incredulous as you mimic back, “Mom?!”
Bepo latches to your leg, clinging like a leech as he screeches happily, “You came back! I though you were gone forever!”
You must have had a look of panic on your face as Ikkaku comes over and claps a hand on your shoulder, giving you a slight shake as she laughs out, “Yeah, Mom, we thought you were gone forever!” Her joking manner helps simmer down the shock as you try to joke back, “O-oh, yep! No way, not me!”
You bend down and pick up Bepo, poking his nose gently as you begged slightly, “Don't call me mom, it's a bit much.”
Bepo pouts and holds tightly onto you, grumbling cutely to himself though you manage to hear, “Sorry mom- Y/N…”
There's another kid attached to your leg and you hear Shachi mutter to you, “I wish you were my mom, I bet you'd be the best mom in the whole world.” Your heartstrings pull at his words as your hand goes down to ruffle his hair.
“Come on, let's get some dinner started, I bet you guys are starving.”
Bepo, Shachi and Penguin cheer, the latter two running right to the kitchen to sit at the island as Bepo wiggles himself free from your grasp. You sigh and look to Ikkaku and Hakugan, who both simply shrug their shoulders and begin helping you prep.
“Did you tell the rest of the crew what happened?” You asked Ikkaku, who nods as she begins slicing somehow the veg you bought.
“I did, everyone said they'd stick to their current duties until the Captain says. I told them to come find you if there's any issues, for now.”
You give a hum of agreement, knowing this was the best course of action until something decides to change. You hoped and prayed silently that it would happen sooner rather than later.
Taking care of kids was definitely not on the register for the day.
It was nearly midnight when you finally got to cleaning the dishes. A heavy hand suddenly connects with your shoulder, startling you from your inner thoughts and a gasp of shock leaves you as you take in the now fully grown Shachi.
“You're back to normal!”
You fling your arms around his shoulders and he holds you just as tightly, his hands gently rubbing up and down your back as he gratefully agrees, “Yeah, finally. That was a terrifying thing that I never ever want to happen to me ever again.” You can't help but laugh in his embrace, relief flooding your system as you peek over his shoulder and look up at a now normal sized Uni and Penguin.
“Thanks for taking care of us, Y/N. You're the best Heart Pirate mom we could have asked for!” Penguin half-jokes, but there's a clearly appreciative look on his half hidden face. You wave him off and slowly let go of Shachi, who only jokes himself,
“He's right! You really are the best Heart Pirate mom!”
You pinch Shachi’s cheek before again waving the boys off as you ask, “Is Bepo okay? What about the Captain, has anyone checked on him?”
Shachi nods and gently moves you away from the sink, preparing to finish the dishes for you.
“Bepo is in his room, fighting off the embarrassment from calling you ‘mom’ multiple times, and Law is asleep, funny enough.”
If Shachi had seen the picture Law had in his hands, or noticed the sweater that covered him, he didn't say, though there was a shared feeling between the four of you that you all understood.
You nodded gratefully, giving Shachi's shoulder a quick squeeze before you excused yourself.
Making your way to Law's office, you knock gently before peeking in, watching as Law slowly sits up on the couch, rubbing a once again tattooed hand over his face. You sighed happily and smiled softly, pushing into the office and shutting the door behind you.
You kneeled at Law's feet when you made it to the couch, your hands on his knees as you gently asked,
“Hi my love, how are you feeling?”
Law blinks tiredly at you for a few moments before noticing the tattoos that adored his hands. His breath catches in his throat and he's quick to bite out, “Room.”
The familiar blue, shimmer orb surrounds you two and a heavy, relieved sigh leaves Law as he drops his hand, along with the Room. His hands cover yours and he lifts them, pressing a quick kiss to each of of them as he murmurs,
“Better, now.”
He then holds your palms to his face, his facial hair leaving a soft prickle against your skin which you've come to love. He leans down and catches your lips in his, his hands moving from yours to hold your cheek and cradle the back of your head. Both your eyes slip shut as you hold each other, the kisses soft and simple though full of adoration for each other.
When he finally pulls away, Law averts his eyes as he murmurs with a dark blush, “I… I think Cora-san would have liked you.”
You can help but grin at his words, tilting your head slightly as you ask, “You think so?”
Law nods, his eyes still off to the side as he continues, “You're a lot like him… in some ways.” You motion with a small nod for him to continue, but he doesn't, simply gracing you with a slight side eye and a small smirk.
“Thank you, Y/N. For everything you did today.” He pauses before adding genuinely, “And for everything you do for me. I'm incredibly lucky to call you mine.”
Your loving smile makes his heart skip a beat, as do the words that tumble from your lips before you pull him into another kiss. “I love you, and I'm so lucky that you love me too.”
As the two of you reconnect, a worn polaroid slips from the couch and hits the floor, the warm smile radiating brightly off the picture as if proud to see this joyous moment. Quick fingers snatch it gently from the floor and hide it back into the desk, two loving smiles looking down at the one before the drawer shuts as Law murmurs,
“Come on, let's eat. I'm starving.”
You don't have the heart to tell him you'd already eaten, so you simply agree, “Sounds good, Captain.”
Summary: When Shachi heard the clatter of wood hitting metal and a short cry of pain, he was quick to make for the source; his captain’s quarters.
‘Did he throw himself out of bed?’ Shachi thought idly as he briskly jogged down the Tang’s hallways to Law’s quarters, though nothing he could’ve thought would have been close enough to the truth before him when he opened the door.
Or: Trafalgar Law gets turned back into a child with only the memories up to that point to match. Going from the day after Minion Island to suddenly waking up within weeks after Wano in a ship he doesn't remember with a crew he doesn't know, how will the Heart Pirates deal with this? And how much will be revealed about their secretive captain along the way?
Language: English
Chapters: 2/?
Words: 5,316
Fandom: One Piece
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning(s): No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Relationships: Heart Pirates & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Bepo & Penguin & Shachi & Trafalgar D. Water Law
Character(s): Trafalgar D. Water Law, Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, Jean Bart, Ikkaku, Clione, Uni, Heart Pirates, Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante (mentioned), Donquixote Doflamingo (mentioned)
Additional Tags: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Character Death (mentioned), De-Aging, Minor Swearing, Partial Amnesia, Hurt/Comfort, Angst And Fluff
*The author of this fic can be found here on tumblr! If you liked their fic like I did, why not go give them some love @shingansoul ?*
Since it's the last day I wanted to include all the members of the crew but man my brain broke part way through this (don't ask why I made them what they are but Law is for sure a mage)
