*About two weeks have passed since the last chapter

To Serve at his Command| Confrontation

With the coming of autumn came the death of summer, a blanket of light snowfall crunching beneath the wheels of the sleek automobile. Traveling to a distant city across the state had exposed them to colder temperatures, the first signs of a frigid year's end upon them. With her nose pressed against the foggy glass, Luffy stared out in silence as the car came to a sharp stop, body pressing forward against the back seat.

Before them sat a nest of familiar buildings, lights from inside illuminating the ever growing dark skies outside. She had visited the brothel months prior, the scenes of men stringing in and out slowly coming to her memory. Strangely enough, however, there seemed to be a lack of people about, with only one other car parked along the street. It's as if the people of this town heard of this meeting and all fled, Luffy thought curiously as she sat back down upon her seat, eyes slowly gazing over to the small window separating her from the drivers.

The small piece of glass slid open, a pair of wide eyes peeping through. "We're here!" Bon Clay announced from the passenger's seat, body going stiff as a hand took to shoving him aside.

Daz appeared before the gap, expression strained, as if disgusted for having to touch Mr. Two. "We've arrived," he said calmly, eyes dead on Crocodile. With a single nod from their employer, the driver quickly closed the gap off, but the sounds of Mr. Two snarling harsh curses at him still seemed to seep through to the back section of the car.

Shifting in his seat, Crocodile went to open the door, hand pausing just above the handle. Turning Luffy's way, he glanced down at her attire, eyes giving her a once over. "Put on your gloves—it's cold out there."

Blinking, Luffy nodded twice, smiling weakly as her gaze fell to her lap. She slipped her hands into the fur-lined pocket of her coat—a gift from Crocodile just the day prior. It was soft, to say the least, and did the job at keeping her toasty warm as well as hiding any evidence of her pregnancy from those unknowing. She quickly tugged on the gloves and offered him an easy expression, thankful for his reminder.

Exhaling, Crocodile gave a nod of approval. "Make sure to keep by my side," he started before opening the car door, cold air seeping in, hungry to devour the warmth of the automobile. "And please try not to encourage any of Doflamingo's idiotic antics," he added sternly as he got out, hand reaching up to fix his scarf.

Luffy hopped out of the car quick enough, shoes sinking into the light layer of snow and causing her feet to grow cold. "I'll try my best," she agreed after huffing and slipping her hands under her arms for warmth.

"I suggest you try harder than that," Crocodile objected, expression amused as he closed the door behind her. Pressing her to the side of the car, he gently traced his cold fingers up her cheek before brushing part of her hair free from any snowflakes. "If you get tired, you can always go wait up in the room for me," he said.

Startled at his newfound kind attitude, Luffy shook her head lightly no. "I'll be fine," she said before pressing her gloved hand upon his naked one. It puzzled her at how differently he acted once they left the mansion, showing more signs of caring, acting in a gentle manner around her—he was a polar opposite of the man back at his home, and it would be a lie if she said she didn't like it.

Pulling away, Crocodile turned towards the brothel before offering her a bleak look. "Let's get this over with," he commented as he started forward, leaving Daz and Bon Clay to carry in the luggage.

Trailing after him, Luffy glanced down the road, taking in the one other car besides Crocodile's. It was familiar, prompting her to squint and then inhale upon realization. Stopping mid-way up the sidewalk, the maid stared at such a car, frowning as she remember Crocodile's guest just a couple of weeks ago.

Iceberg.

While the man himself wasn't worrisome for Luffy, it was his guard known as Lucci that was. He had invaded her personal space with ease, laying his hand upon his abdomen while offering her a cruel smile and an even crueler threat. She had failed to forward his words to Crocodile, in fear of what would happen after doing as such, but she in no way had her guard down.

I need to be weary around that man, Luffy reminded herself. He's not to be trusted…

"You'll catch a cold if you just stand out here like that!" Bon Clay sang as he took to Luffy's side, prompting her to half-jump up. "Oh!" he continued on, tone growing weak. "I didn't mean to startle you! My apologizes!" Spinning around so that he was facing her, he offered her the softest of apologetic expressions.

"It's alright," she responded, sending him a thin smile. Sniffing, she decided to take his words of advice and continue after Crocodile, with the guard happily following after her.

"I should get a raise after this," Mr. Two muttered, more to himself than to Luffy. "That idiot over there is supposed to be the pretend father and he isn't even tending to you like I am," he dramatically whimpered.

"Don't talk about me," Daz shot out, four or five feet behind them.

Reaching the gate to the brothel, Luffy glanced back at the guards, taking in the familiar scene of Bon Clay growing stiff in his posture and Daz's stare throwing daggers in return. "You two shouldn't fight," she suggested. She always figured that a good argument here and there was normal, but those two seemed to go at it night and day.

"You're upsetting her!" Bon Clay cried out as he gestured to Luffy. Dropping his share of the luggage, he made a fighting pose, expression hard. "As her personal guard, it is my duty to eliminate all potential threats to her wellbeing—physical or mental."

Exhaling, Daz shook his head, clearly annoyed by that point. "You're an idiot if you think you could take me on," he retorted, stilling holding onto his share of the luggage. "But if you want to go here and now, then so be it."

Rolling her eyes, Luffy decided to continue on ahead of them. There was no point in staying to watch—the two would duke it out only to end in a tie of some sorts, and most of the time it was just them throwing snappy comments back and forth.

Upon entering the brothel, she was greeted with the warmth and smell of a fireplace, crackling loudly from a nearby room. Assuming it was located in the casino portion of the building, she headed that way, straying from Crocodile's path as he continued on to the meeting room.

Sniffing, she smiled when she caught sight of the fire, orange and yellow flickers fighting back the darkness. She quickly took to the front of it, reaching her hands out to soak in the warmth.

"It feels nice, doesn't it?"

Stiffing to the sudden question, Luffy cocked her head to the side to find somebody standing beside her, his own hands reaching out for the flames. Frowning slightly, she inhaled and took a step aside, allowing her to fully take in Lucci's frame. His little feathered companion cooed out as he jumped from his shoulder to the ledge of the fire place, offering Luffy a beady stare.

Tilting his head, Lucci offered her a faint smile. "You look startled," he observed softly before returning his attention to the fireplace. "Are you not happy to see me?"

Huffing, Luffy quickly shook her head no, angry that he would even approach her as such. "Stay away from me," she firmly ordered him.

"Ouch," Lucci retorted as he winced, as if truly hurt by her comment. Half-laughing afterwards, he shrugged and began to rub his hands together before the fire. "I really can't do that," he admitted, prompting her to tense up. "You see, after our little chat two weeks ago, I had a strange feeling in my gut, as if I should look into you and your past, and well…" Pausing, he glanced her way, and smiled once more. "I've found some rather interesting facts about you—or rather, your family."

Luffy widened her stare slightly, heartrate picking up as she grew alarmed. "What are you talking about?" she questioned, keeping her tone as calm as possible as not to give her worries away. Could he have found out anything about Ace…?

"Don't play dumb with me," he said as he turned to glance about the room. After a few seconds, he nodded and went for a nearby sofa alongside a window. Sitting down, he looked to Luffy before patting the empty space beside him. "You should sit, especially in your state."

Lowering her brows, Luffy rejected his offer, but took to standing before him a few feet away. "I can stand," she informed him, arms quickly crossing over her chest.

Shrugging, he muttered out, "So be it," before slumping back in his seat. "It was hard, at first, to find out where you came from and who exactly you are," he started, voice calm, as if telling a story to a child. "But after a few ideas, and handful of leads, I found myself confronting a rather strange looking man—some clown of some sorts." Smirking, he closed his eyes. "It wasn't difficult to fish information out of him—after a few threats and maybe a punch here and there, he was more than willing to talk all about you."

"You…" Luffy started, angry at the revelation of finding out Lucci had harmed Buggy. "How dare you?" she finally spat out, fingers flexing to form small little fists.

Opening his eyes, he offered her a hard expression. "I'm not finished talking," he informed her coldly. "He told me all about your brother, and how you came to live in that city to help with financial problems. From there, I was given his name—Ace—and I took it upon myself to dig a little deeper." He took a moment to yawn, eyes trailing over to the right when his pet bird flew to rest upon the armrest of the sofa. "Seems your brother got into a bad case of debt with a rather dangerous man, hmm?"

Chewing on her inner cheek, Luffy answered him with only a wide-eyed stare. She was completely taken aback that he was able to dig up so much, and a deep fear began to form in her gut as she began to worry about exactly how much he had found out.

"Teach," Lucci continued, letting the name roll off his tongue slowly. "And believe me when I say this, I was surprised at discovering that out. To think, the same man that all of the people here today want to take down, and your brother is working off a debt for him—ah, but the plot thickens, doesn't it?"

Sitting up, he folded his hands together and hung them between his knees. "Not only is he aiding Teach, but he's also in an alliance of some sorts with another mob lord, right?" As Luffy made an attempt to deny him, he continued on. "Edward Newgate—otherwise known as Whitebeard."

"How…how did you find all of this out?" Luffy questioned quickly, the words falling from her lips desperately.

"It's my job," he softly answered with a warm expression. "I'm not like the others—I don't half-ass things. I make it my soul mission to do an in depth investigation when I'm planning to extort somebody."

"Extort…?"

Raising his hand to silence her, he amusedly answered, "We'll get there in a moment—let me finish my report. Now, I can only assume that you came to work for Crocodile in aid of your brother, perhaps trying to fish out information for him so he could feed it back to either Teach or Newgate—or even both. That really doesn't concern me, but after finding out about all of this, it doesn't compare to what I discovered next." Swallowing, he took a moment to calm his breathing, clearly growing excited. "Your father…"

"No," Luffy snapped out, cutting him off. "I…"

"You what?" Lucci questioned, cocking a thin brow. "Are you going to try and deny everything he's done—or rather, what he currently is doing?" Shaking his head, he arose to stand before her, prompting her to scoot back a foot or so. "I'll admit—I originally was planning on focusing all of my attention on Crocodile's wife, but after I pieced together that you were carrying his child…" Smiling, he went to crack his knuckles. "You are my key to becoming a richer man."

"What do you want?" she asked weakly, defeated by his mention of her father. Ace and his problems was one thing, but her father was on a whole other level of trouble when compared to her brother. "Is it money…? I don't have any."

"You don't, but Crocodile does," Lucci objected. "He's loaded, don't say he isn't. I know he has to have some cash lying around that massive mansion—and even if not, there is value in the artwork and decorations."

Lowering her brows, Luffy glanced away briefly. "You want me to sneak you his artwork…?"

Rolling his eyes, Lucci objected with, "I want you to first find any cash, and then go after the artwork and such after. You get me a good sum of money, and my lips are sealed in regards to your family."

"You're a jerk," she muttered, expression growing hard as she met his stare.

Smirking, he rejected the comment. "I'm an opportunist. Working for Iceberg has its perks, but I'd be damned if I didn't take this chance to become a happy and rich man." After all was said and done, he reached out for her cheek, only to be met with Luffy smacking it away from her. "You've learned," he observed, hand falling to his side. After a moment, he pushed past her before adding, "I hope you understand that not only do I have this information over you, but I also have no problems in getting physical when it comes to getting what I want. I'll visit you again soon."

With soft footsteps and the little bird flying overhead, Lucci made his leave, prompting Luffy to slink down to the couch and fall back. Air blew past her lips, eyes falling shut as she tried to mentally calm herself. It is one thing after the other, she thought. Not only do I have to worry about Ace and this…this baby, but now I have father to think about…Shaking her head, she sat up and opened her eyes. No…don't waste your energy on him—only focus on those who matter the most in your life.

But…

Could she really steal from Crocodile's wealth? She had done other shady activities in order to protect her brother, but it had been weeks—even months—since last doing as such. And it was always directly to Ace…

Except for that time I let everything slip to Law…

Covering her face with her hands, she leaned forward to rest her elbows upon her knees. This world is full of people like them—users and liars and crooks. But…but I'm just like them. I've lied, I've used, and yes, maybe I even am a crook…

Getting up, she went to rub under her eyes. I just shouldn't think about this right now. She pressed forward and out of the casino, figuring that if she returned to Crocodile's side, she would feel the safest.

As she neared the staircase that lead to the upper levels, Luffy was halted by the shrill and delightful scream of one Boa Hancock. "Luffy!" the older woman cried out from atop the stairs, prompting the young maid to glance up, expression bleak. She had dawn on some strange silky dress, cleavage bare and nape naked. "My dearest Luffy," Hancock heavily breathed out as she scurried down the stairs silently, as if light as a feather.

Trying to pull back, Luffy was greeted with a tight hug. Her face met the top of the woman's breasts, strangely warm for it being so chilly out.

"Luffy, Luffy, Luffy, Luffy!" Hancock sang as she swung Luffy right and left in the hug. Removing her arms from around her, Hancock offered Luffy the warmest of smiles. "I've missed you so much." Tears seemed to well up in the corners of her eyes, cheeks burning with a dark pink. "And I've thought of you every day since last seeing you."

Exhaling, Luffy offered the flustered woman a weak nod. "That's…nice," she commented before squirming fully away from Hancock. Her gaze fell down the woman's figure, taking in the gown now that it was so close to her. "That is a…interesting outfit," Luffy offered before meeting Hancock's stare.

"You think?" the older woman practically cried out, hands shooting up to cup her own cheeks. "You shouldn't say such sweet things to me~" she added with a little shake of her hips and a squint of her eyes. "But this…I just threw this old thing on!"

Nodding, Luffy made means to continue on to the meeting room, but was stopped as Hancock took ahold of her forearm.

"Would you say I am the most beautiful?" Hancock questioned softly—voice a whisper and brows furrowed.

Frowning slightly, Luffy shrugged. "Oh…I wouldn't know…" she answered, prompting the woman to squeal out and fall to her knees.

"You speak so cruelly to me," she cried, hands hiding her face. "Yet I know it is because you love me and are only playing hard to get!"

"No," Luffy objected with a firm shake of her head. "That isn't it at all."

Reaching out for Luffy's hands, she drew the maid down to her knees. "And I love you as well," she admitted, clearly ignoring Luffy's last comment. "We were meant for each other—I your mistress, you my cute little pet~"

"Oh, no," Luffy tried to object, weakly so. "I…I have to go now…" With words falling short, she grew mute as soon as Hancock took both of her cheeks in her warm hands, drawing her face towards hers.

"We could…" Hancock whispered, breath hot of Luffy's face. "Right now…?"

Heavy breathing could be heard nearby, but all Luffy could really focus on was the advancing pair of lips. Inhaling, she pressed both of her hands to Hancock's shoulders, pushing the woman far enough so she could attempt to wiggle free; however, as soon as she glanced to her right, she found a pair of sunglasses glaring her way.

"Don't stop," Doflamingo muttered between heavy breaths, knelt down to their level.

Widening her stare, Luffy whimpered out in surprise, prompting Hancock to glance said way, which only lead her to scream out in horror.

"YOU!" the older woman yelled, releasing Luffy to point one slender finger towards the direction of the curious blonde. "How dare you sneak up upon me and my darling like that?"

With enough distance between them, Luffy scooted back to freedom, eyes glued upon the arguing duo.

"Hancock, babe," Doflamingo tried to explain, hands lifting in a half-shrug. "Can you really blame me?"

Getting up, Hancock jabbed her finger at the man's face before bending over backwards. "You are a disgusting man and I have no patience to deal with the likes of you!"

Shaking his hand, Doflamingo arose and smirked. "You know, whenever you make that pose, I get a really good peak at the girls?" Laughing, he moved quickly over when Hancock made an attempt to strike him down with her foot.

"You are disgusting," Hancock repeated, expression hard and cruel and opposite to the flustered mess she was only moments prior.

Huffing, Doflamingo nodded twice. "I know," he agreed. "And I've never denied that about myself! See, I can come to terms with my issues, but you…you gotta sneak around with a little maid in order to express yourself sexually, when in truth, you could have just come to me!"

Hancock made a startled gasp, as if truly offended by his words. "How dare you suggest that I ever do such an intimate act with a man like you?" Shaking her head, she turned to glance down at Luffy, a look of hurt taking over her expression. "My poor pet!" she whimpered out, reaching out to tug the maid upwards. "This terrible man has frightened you so!"

Frowning, Doflamingo took Luffy by the arm to pull her away from Hancock, leading the woman to look with a horrid expression ten times worse than Luffy had ever seen before. "Stop drooling all over this one," the blonde started after he had her standing behind him. "She's practically one of my baby birds by this point."

"What does that even mean?" Hancock snarled back as she tried to reach out for Luffy once more, only to be met with Doflamingo's hand upon her arm. "DON'T!" she screamed, pulling her hand away and proceeding to wipe her skin with the sleeve of her dress.

"Hancock, there are things that you clearly don't understand yet, with the most important being that I can do good for your body, just ask anybody else I've been with." Smirking, he started to lift his fingers one by one. "Each one will say I was the best lay of their life—trust me."

Blinking, Luffy took her chance to turn and scurry off. She had no desires to linger around to see how their conversation ended, and she feared that with the arrival of Doflamingo only meant the arrival of Law, somebody she wasn't ready to confront just yet.

Unfortunately, said doctor-in-training wasn't too far off. She found him nearing the scene, alongside a tall blonde male, somebody she remembered to be as Corazon. Swallowing, Luffy was met with Law's wide-eyed stare, a look of pleased surprise developing upon his face. As he began to mouth out her name in greeting, Luffy quickly turned back around, figuring that she'd rather just barge right through the mess that was Hancock and Doflamingo than deal with Law.

And so she did, quickly squeezing past the two and making her way down towards the meeting room. She could hear Law's voice grow weak as he called out her name only once, clearly confused by her action. A moment later, she could hear Doflamingo laughing.

"You're special friend must be mad at you!" he had said, words growing fainted the farther Luffy distanced herself from them. "Couldn't get it up or…? Fufufufufufu…ouch! Don't hit me, Rosinante!"

Finally finding her way to the meeting room, Luffy was alarmed at the rather long table inside, covered with empty plates, glasses, and shiny silverware. She spotted Crocodile towards the back, already situated at the table, alongside both Daz and Bon Clay. To the opposite of him, sat Iceberg, Kaku, Lucci, and a woman she had never seen before.

Blinking, she took to the back of the room, eyeing the empty chair beside her employer. When he looked up her way, he motioned to it, prompting her to sit down.

"Where have you been?" Crocodile questioned, tone stern and suspicious.

Pouting slightly, she folded her hands together over her lap to generate some warmth. "I got distracted along the way," she answered, glancing up to meet his stare. "Doflamingo just arrive, though," she added, causing him to exhale dully.

"Oh," Iceberg commented, clearly not ashamed to have been eavesdropping on their conversation. "I will need a strong drink then."

"Sir, I would not recommend you do that," Kaku objected as the woman beside him sent a hard glare towards the mayor. "We don't want a repeat of last time."

"No," Crocodile agreed, reaching out for Iceberg's empty wineglass and placing it across the table. "I barely have the patience for Doflamingo—I don't need you acting a fool again."

Sending him a dismissive wave, Iceberg slumped back in his seat before amusedly saying, "I truly have no recollection of this event. Exactly, what did I supposedly do?"

"You practically assaulted my servant and declared yourself to be her father, for starters," Crocodile began before shaking his head and leaning back in his seat. "Not to mention the damage placed upon my furniture during your little frantic fit."

Laughing, Iceberg cocked a brow. "I did all of that? It's too funny for me to believe."

"It's true, boss," Kaku dully added, prompting the mayor to frown slightly. "You were rather deranged in a sense—very frightening."

"It was more hilarious than anything, coo-coo!" Lucci's pigeon cried out as he hopped from shoulder to table top.

Grimacing, Crocodile said, "You shouldn't bring pets to the dinner table—it's disgusting."

Meeting his stare, Lucci blinked once before motioning for his bird to return to his shoulder. "It's also disgusting to wear such ugly vests, coo-coo!" the pigeon retorted, prompting Crocodile to stiffen in his seat.

"This vest is worth more than your entire outfit put together," the older male shot back, tone laced with frustration and clearly giving away to how insulted he was by the comment.

Lifting his hand, Iceberg made means to silence the two. "Stop it, both of you. We're here to make alliances, not bicker and fight."

Huffing, Crocodile ended his share of the argument by turning his attention towards the door, eyes narrowing as people entered.

"You sit over there," Hancock spat as she took to her seat directly across from Luffy, eyes hard as she glared at the tall flamingo man.

"Ah," Doflamingo objected, sticking his tongue out in distress. "This seating arrangement is just terrible! Who thought it was a good idea to sit me next to this long-nosed weirdo?"

"Rude," Kaku muttered, shifting in his seat when the mess of pink feathers plopped down beside him. Following suit was Corazon and Law, finishing the full circle of the table.

"The farther away you are from me, the better," Iceberg commented dully as he gave Doflamingo a once over. "But more importantly—Hancock, where is the food and drinks?"

"It's coming!" she snapped out, tone heavily frustrated. Quickly enough, though, she became that high spirited girl in love when she glanced over to Luffy, fingers reaching out to touch her own cheek. "I made a special cake just for Luffy~"

Exhaling lightly, Crocodile ignored the comment, leaning forward as he motioned at the group of people around him. "Our main focus isn't when the food will be ready to serve," he reminded them sternly. "We need to finalize the last stages of the plan tonight."

"Uh," Doflamingo started, flopping back in his seat to stretch his legs out, "you might be able to plot evil things on an empty stomach, but I can't. I'm a big boy who needs food in him to work."

Rolling his eyes, Iceberg pointed two fingers in the blonde's direction. "Oh, shut the hell up," he requested. "I didn't drive all the way out here to hear you squawk about yourself."

Doflamingo's lips fell ajar slightly, a heavy exhale escaping him. "And who exactly invited a no name like you?"

From her spot, Luffy watched as the mob lords and the mayor continued to argue with each other, with Iceberg and Doflamingo going at it, Hancock snarling out for them to be quiet, and Crocodile making offhand comments about pretty much everybody in that room. Frowning slightly, she found her stare upon the woman beside Lucci, her arms folding across her chest and a deadpan gaze forming. "This is a waste of time," she muttered, to which nobody but Luffy heard.

It wasn't until the food was brought out that the arguing fell silent, different platters of glistening food placed about the table. Drinks were poured soon after and Iceberg, unfortunately, got to the bottle of wine before anybody else.

"Don't," Iceberg snapped at Crocodile when he made means to remove the bottle from him. "I need something in my system to get through tonight."

"Very well, but I will not tolerate you acting up again," Crocodile agreed before reaching out for his own glass of wine. After a long sip, he nodded, clearly pleased to the taste, and proceeded to start the real conversation. "Hancock," he began, earning the woman's full attention away from Luffy, "did you happen to find out which base Teach likes to frequent the most?"

"Yes," she answered after a small bite of food. "I sent out a few of my girls to seduce his men into revealing some information in regards to locations and such." Pausing, she made a half-shrug and proceeded to say, "I'm pretty sure I've found out where he lives—or at least, I have been show photographic evidence of him at a particular place multiple times."

Smirking, Crocodile nodded to that. "Good," he praised calmly, eyes slowly trailing over to Doflamingo's side of the table. "And what of you? Did you do your share and figure out how many men work for him?"

Doflamingo smiled in response before taking a bottle of wine and drinking directly from the rim. "Not only that," he answered, huffing from the drink, "but I also managed to locate his routes as well as find information about whatever alliances he has—and it's not many."

"We need to strike hard and fast," Iceberg commented, which only caused the blonde to laugh out. Exhaling, the mayor ignored the man's reaction and continued on. "Who is going to go directly in and attack? And who will stay outside and keep watch and circle about the building?"

"My men will go in first," Crocodile answered firmly, placing his glass down and leaning back in his seat. "I hate saying this, but it would be best if Doflamingo and his men aid me in this task."

"I'm flattered," Doflamingo chirped out. "I think you just want me by your side to keep you safe, hmm? Fufufufufufu~"

Clearly trying his best to ignore the oversized bird, Crocodile turned his attention to Hancock. "You and Iceberg should stick to the outside forces. We need to make this attack swift and clean, no evidence left over of us being there. We only have one shot, and if we mess this up, then Teach will be on the lookout for future attacks."

Nodding, Hancock said, "We take out that man and all other enemy mobs will fall."

"And then it will just be us four that control this side of the country," Doflamingo cheerfully added with a clap of his hands. "To think, us four working together like this…its quiet beautiful, no?"

"Beauty is not the right word to use," Hancock objected. "Such a word is only used when describing me!"

Laughing, Doflamingo shook his head. "Listen, sister, you and I both know the most beautiful person in this room is me, so stop flattering yourself."

Widening her stare, Hancock brought one hard fist down upon the table. "How dare…"

"…I say such a thing?" he finished for her quickly. "I know, I know—I'm the worse, but I speak the truth. However," and he allowed the word to slowly roll off his tongue, "I'm willing to let you spend the night with such a beautiful person as myself!"

"I already regret coming here tonight," Iceberg quietly revealed to Crocodile, body slumped back in a relaxed posture—clearly already affected by the alcohol. "Was it you who suggested we have this meeting or…?"

"You, actually," Crocodile answered for him. "But remember, after we take care of Teach, we won't have to bother with those two ever again."

"Hopefully," the mayor agreed with a thin smile, eyes trailing over to the young maid beside Crocodile. "What serving are you on?"

Blinking, Luffy lifted her gaze from her plate in surprise. While all others were talking, she had taken it upon herself to actually enjoy the food before her, and yes, of course she had finished her first serving long prior. Humming, she half-shrugged and answered with, "the third, I think."

"Oh," Iceberg responded, eyes widening. "You hungry thing…" Smile ever growing, he sat fully up, lifting his glass up and tapping a fork to it. "A toast!" he cried out happily, prompting all eyes to look to him. "I have a toast."

"Boss, no," the woman started.

"Kalifa," he sternly said with amused eyes, "we need a toast." Standing up, he took a moment to gaze about the room. "I must admit, if asked a year or so ago, I would say that I would never see myself engaging in such an alliance…but here I am, among you all. And through this alliance, I have met some delightful people—others not so much—but most, yes, delightful."

The mayor's gaze fell to Luffy and Daz, a warm look taking to his face.

Luffy felt a hand fall upon hers, and after glancing down at her lap, she found it to be Crocodile's. Looking to his face, she discovered a strained look, with his lips mouthing the words oh no silently.

"And through such an alliance, I was able to bear witness to happiness and love," Iceberg continued, causing Crocodile's grip on her hand to tighten. "I hereby dedicate this toast to Luffy and that guard…that man…that…uh…"

"Daz, sir," Kaku offered, leading Iceberg to smile back in return.

"Yes, Daz," he said. "I dedicate this toast to them and the little baby they are about to bring into this world!" Lifting his glass, he offered them another smile and added, "I want to pay for a small vacation for you two to go on after the attack—you'll need it."

Not to Luffy's surprise, there was a sea of different reactions to such a toast, with her own being her stiffening in her seat and going wide eyed. To her right, Daz sat choking on his drink, and to his right, Bon Clay cried out dramatically in French. To her left, Crocodile went blank in the face, hand tight around her own.

Before her, Lucci smirked, and to his side, Kalifa shrugged. Kaku did his best to clank his glass, joining Iceberg in the toast.

Across the table, Hancock strangely sat still, eyes seemingly zoning out and lips slightly ajar. Doflamingo, on the other hand, was laughing up a storm, toasting greedily and kicking his leg between chuckles. His brother had his attention fully on the younger male beside him, panic across his face.

It was Law who made the biggest scene, glass falling from his hand and shattering across the table. Blank of face, he seemed to not notice the eyes slowly traveling over to him, and after a moment, he shook his head, arose, and quickly excused himself from the table.

Returning back to reality, Crocodile released Luffy's hand and went to slick back a loose strand of his hair. "What got into him?" he questioned, eyes turning to the laughing pink bird.

Sniffing a little, Doflamingo wiped a tear away from his eye before shifting his gaze over to Crocodile, and then down to Luffy. "I wouldn't have the faintest idea," he answered.

"I want to go lie down now," Luffy whispered, only loud enough for Crocodile to hear. "I…I don't feel so good right now."

Nodding, he gave her leave. "I'll be up as soon as I tie this meeting up," he informed her before she arose. "I won't wake you if you're asleep by then, but if you're awake…we need to have a talk."

Arching a brow, Luffy gave a weak nod of agreement before leaving, with Iceberg calling out her name.

"Anywhere you want, my dear!" he happily announced. "I'll pay the expenses entirely! My gift to you."

Failing to respond to him, Luffy slipped through the door silently. She gave a quick once over of the hall, in search for Law. She truly had left the meeting because she felt ill, but she feared running into him might be unavoidable. When there were no signs of such a man, she continued on, towards the main staircase.

Upon reaching the top, however, she found him. Grave of expression, Law stood leaning against the wall of the hallway, eyes slowly meeting hers, and then falling to her waist. Widening his stare, he pushed himself straight up. Lowering his brows, he approached her when she tried to worm around him, hand taking her forearm tightly.

"Are you really pregnant?" he questioned, voice a whisper. It sounded as if he were in disbelief—shock, almost. His stare snapped up to meet hers once again. "Are you?" he asked again, tone sharp when she failed to answer him fast enough.

Pulling away from him, Luffy sent him a hard stare. "I have nothing to say to you."

"You…" Shaking his head, he fought back a frown. "You have nothing to say to me?" he questioned. "Why do you say that? Why…why didn't you tell me you're…"

"It doesn't concern you," Luffy answered sharply, leading him to tense up in his stance. "After what you did…"

Huffing, he glanced down once more at her stomach before looking back to her eyes. "What exactly did I do?"

Frowning, Luffy pointed a finger at him. "You told the government about my brother, after promising not to do so!"

Lowering his brows, he looked to her with pure confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Flexing her other hand, she said, "Don't lie to me—I hate all these lies. I know you shared the information I gave you about Crocodile and Ace…this man, a detective, he said so after trespassing Crocodile's property! He said somebody that I should have trusted told the government everything. It had to be you—you were the only one…the only person I could trust to tell…"

Luffy felt horrible after she finished speaking. She had gone over this conversation a thousand times in her head, yet, when actually having it, all her words came out a sloppy mess. She was angry—pissed, really—and she found it difficult to convey her feelings properly. Shaking her head, she pulled back a foot. "I hate you…what you did…I thought I could trust you to keep that information a secret, but now people who can really hurt my brother know, because of you."

"I didn't say a word to anybody," Law started, hands lifting up as to calm her down. "Luffy, I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

"Stop lying," she shot back angrily. "Remember, you told me all about you and Corazon's plan to take down Doflamingo while working alongside the government? It only makes sense that you shared the information I gave you about both Crocodile and Ace." Taking another step back, she made means to leave, stopping when she felt his hand on her arm again. "Let go," she ordered through gritted teeth.

"You're angry, I get that," he started, "but I need you to know that it wasn't me who revealed such information. Luffy, listen to me: I did not do that." Pausing, he released her arm, licking his lower lip before glancing to her lower abdomen then. "But you have no right keeping that baby a secret from me."

Luffy remained silent, unsure of how to retort to such a comment.

"Is it his?" he asked then, malice growing in his eyes. "That guard…?"

"No," she snapped back. "I never even touched that man."

"Then…" he muttered, inhaling deeply afterwards. "Then it's mine?"

Again, she remained mute.

"Luffy?" he questioned, eyes searching her stare deeply. "Is it mine?" Shaking his head, he frowned and glanced away. "It has to be, you don't look that far along…unless…" Returning his stare back to the maid, disgust took to his face. "Have you been with him again? After you said you wouldn't…?"

Swallowing, Luffy gave a stiff nod. "He hasn't betrayed me," she answered, leading him to frown and lower his brows. "He hasn't brought danger to my family," she continued. "And he was there when I was hurt over discovering what you did to me."

"Don't," Law started, only to fall short with his words. "You're a naïve idiot to crawl back to him if you think I betrayed you. He's a manipulator and the only person who has brought danger to you and your family is him."

"No," she objected before fully turning around. "This conversation is over."

"You're not going to keep that baby away from me," Law called out, standing still. "I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening."

Lying under a mountain of covers, Luffy opened her eyes to the sound of the door opening, taking in only darkness. Shortly after, it closed and the sound of somebody shuffling about filled the room. Sitting up slightly, she watched as a dark frame took to removing its clothes, and soon enough, the bed dipped beside her, a warm body pressing against hers.

"You're awake," Crocodile commented, breath heavy with the smell of wine. "It's late—you should be asleep."

Lying back down, Luffy took to her side, tucking a pillow between her head and her arm. "You smell like wine," she responded, prompting him to laugh lightly.

"I had a lot to drink after you left," he admitted. "You missed out on quite the show—Hancock was a pitiful—but hilarious—mess, and she was acting rather aggressively towards Daz." Pausing, he took a moment to yawn and shift over, so that his handless arm was lying over her arm and above her head. "I can't fathom as to why that woman is so obsessed with you, but I must admit that I'm glad Daz is taking all of her heat. I could barely get through tonight with just Doflamingo's foolishness…"

Rolling over onto her back, Luffy gazed up at the ceiling, barely making out the flat surface amongst the dark. "Is everything settled then? In regards to Teach and the plans…?"

"Yes," Crocodile answered. "We'll be making the attack in just a few short months." Pausing, he pressed his hand to her arm before sliding it across her body and down to her lower abdomen. "I don't want you around when this happens, though," he admitted. "At the mansion, I mean. It's dangerous, and in your current state…" Exhaling, he stretched his fingers out, palm flat on her. "I have a beach villa on the coast—it belonged to my adoptive father, but I never visit it. It'll be safe there."

"How safe?" she questioned softly as she pressed her hand on top of his.

"Only a select few know of its location," he answered. "And it's far away from where we'll attack."

Rolling back over to her side, she leaned her body into his, face nuzzling against his chest as her arm took to embracing him. "You better come back from the attack alive," she whispered against him as he fell onto his back, allowing her more comfort in such a position.

"And if I don't?" he asked, handless arm wrapping around her back.

"Then I'll beat you up," she answered, closing her eyes soon after.

To be continued…

Next Time: Now back at the mansion, Robin is starting to question Luffy more and more about the pregnancy. Suspicions grow and soon, somebody starts to piece together the truth.

As always, thank you so much for reading!

RazzleDazzle: Ohhh, I did not know you two shared a bday! That's so cool—I don't think I share a bday with any of the characters (;-;) I'm slowly getting more and more into Lucci, and because of such, his role in part two is going to bigger than first planned, haha. Thank you so much my trash baby!

Sellen: Lucci has his own issues and such to deal with, and he will definitely titter between "good" and "bad." But as of now, he's def. on the bad side, at least in regards to Luffy's safety. Thank you so much for reading!

Lunakins13: Haha, thank you! And there will be more Law drama to come! This was only the start :D Thanks for reading!

ManOfManyTales: Ah! I hope this confrontation was a good read for you. I tried to make him come across as more shocked than anything, and then finally, angry and threatening, but only because he believes he is the father and has every right to want to keep Luffy/baby away from Crocodile. In regards to Lucci and all the others, yes, you're on the right path, haha. I wasn't really intending it to be erotic, but I can totally see where it was—I wanted to just make him not care about invading person space, almost as a way to dominate the situation and assert himself as more powerful than Luffy, threatening and what not. Anyways, thank you so much for reading!

Kiki's Cat: Of course! I always try to reply to comments/predictions to the best of my abilities without giving away too much information. I will say, though, that there will come a time (part two) where Luffy Vs Lucci will become a very real thing. Ahhh, thank you so much for the compliments and for reading this story!

Staticy Fox Atra: Haha, he'd rather save face and have people think it's his servants getting it on rather them him doing it. Unfortunately, poor Daz is a victim to Crocodile's quick thinking. Thanks for reading!

VongolaDecima027: Both; laugh & panic over Iceberg because he is a mess. A full grown adult mess of a man. Haha, you're not the only person who mentioned LucciLu vibes from the previous chapter! I tried my best to make it come across as more threatening than anything, but I guess I let my inner trash out when writing out their interaction. LawLu may be mad right nowwwwwwwwww, but don't get your hopes down just yet. Thank you so much for reading!

Starlight555: hahaha, yesss, LucciLu will be the awkward pairing by the end of this story. Tis my evil plan all along. I think yes, sort of, especially on Law's part. I mean, him thinking that Crocodile could be a possible father is rather upsetting, maybe on the borderlines of jealousy (because he's on Luffy's good graces at the moment while Law is in the doghouse). Thank you so much for reading! :D