6 months later

"Leila-ya! Hurry up!" Law called out from the hallway of the submarine, sighing as he leant against the door of her bedroom.

Leila scurried across her room to the mirror, concentrating as she tried to push her earing in and unleash her hair at the same time.

"Wait will yo-" She ushered Law but soon lost her footing as she tripped on one of her many clothes scattered across the floor. She landed with a thud, making her eyes widen. In an instance Law had opened the door, looking down at her with concern yet disappointment as she sat in a heap – her hair a mess with her room in an absolute state.

"…Do I even ask?" He sighed, coming over to help her onto her feet. She pressed her lips together as she tried not to laugh, taking his hand as he heaved her into standing. He radiated impatience, turning her to continue buttoning up the back of her dress without saying a word.

"We're not even that late" She sulked, fixing her hair. It was growing out, although slightly unruly due to her natural curls. It had reached just past her shoulders and she was having difficulty trying to manage it.

"It started 20 minutes ago" He responded curtly, patting her on the shoulder once he was finished. Leila blushed slightly as she realized she had indeed made them quite late. "What took you so long?"

Leila glanced at herself in the mirror. Her dress was a nude-ish colour, falling mid-length against her legs. She wore a lacy shawl over her shoulders and she bit her lip in thought, analyzing herself. Law raised an eyebrow as she didn't respond to his question. She simply walked past him, picking up her bag on the way.

"I didn't want to show my scars…" She murmured quietly. Law almost missed it as he closed the door behind them. His eyes widened for a moment and he grabbed ahold of her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"I thought we were late…" She muttered, not looking up at her handsome partner. He guided her hand to his lips to which he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. He continued kissing up her arm, interlacing his arm around her waist to pull her close.

"Why are you trying to hide them? They're your battle scars" He smirked at her, making her meet his eyes with confusion.

"You think a woman wants battle scars all over her body?" She scoffed with a playful glint in her eye.

"Sure, they're sexy" He smirked. "Show's how resilient you are, how strong, how much you've overcome". Each attribute he listed he would kiss closer to her neck, eventually nipping at her skin.

"Hey!" She pushed him away wide eyed. "Don't leave a mark – we're going to a wedding for god's sake"

"I can't help it when you look so entrancing" Law's cool eyes had a mischievous glint and suddenly Leila thought they better get a move on before they miss the whole thing.

It was sunset, the sky painted pink with barely any clouds in sight. It was perfect weather for the occasion. Law and Leila walked through an archway of leaves and small spring flowers, greeted immediately by two royal servants dressed smartly. They offered drinks of sparkling champagne and Leila took one gratefully, smiling as they proceeded through the bright entrance. On the platter was a small greeting card –

'Joined in the ceremony of –

Vince Marshall & Abby Silver'

The wedding was being held in a romantic garden with varying flowers and colours; the aroma was sweet and fresh with warmly lit lights hidden snugly between the bushes, creating a magical glow. As they reached the end of the entrance path, it opened up into white wood, an arch and a classical band playing melodically in the corner. Although they were royalty, they did not come of high money – it was quaint and fairytale like.

They managed to sneak in successfully. Law quickly found his crew, being passed drinks as they on looked at the happy couple. Abby was dressed in a white cinched gown as her husband twirled her around. She looked thrilled.

"Took you long enough…" Shachi smirked, looking at his captain with a wary eye.

"Yeah, blame it on this one" Law scoffed, gesturing to Leila nonchalantly. She shook her head at his incessant teasing.

Bepo was by the snack bar with Penguin, happily munching and talking to nearby servants whilst Jean Bart was seemingly retelling old battle tales with some of the older men. Leila continued to glance around at the guests until her eyes met with Eloise's.

Upon immediately seeing her, Eloise squealed with high-pitched intensity, causing many to laugh. She raced towards Leila, practically jumping at her and enveloping her in a tight hug. Law turned around in surprise as he got shoved out of the way and he huffed at the sight of Leila being stolen away from him.

"Hey, watch it! You almost made me spill my drink" Law reprimanded Eloise, making her roll her eyes and scowl at him from over Leila's shoulder.

"Yeah right, your jealousy is overflowing you know" She teased him, hugging her even tighter. Leila laughed and tried to pull her off, but her hands were quickly grasped as Eloise took her in.

"Ah! You look so beautiful, you always do" She smiled genuinely, her fingers coming up to catch strands of her hair. "Cute"

"Thank you" Leila smiled. "You look stunning Eloise". She soon directed the conversation to Abby and Eloise rambled on about how pleased she was for her older sister.

"You should have seen her earlier" Eloise laughed. "She was so stressed, her mind was a mess."

"She seems to have relaxed now though" Leila smiled happily, catching Abby's eye and waving from afar.

"He relaxes her" Eloise smiled, eyes landing on Abby's newfound husband.

"I wish someone would do that for you" Law coldly laughed, a teasing tone evident. Eloise rolled her eyes but she seemed to bite her lip, contemplating a secret. Law stiffened at her obvious response. "Don't tell me you have… You're only 18 you know"

"Hey, I'm mature for my age!" She protested, making Law give her a deniable look of doubt and slight distrust.

"18's old enough" Leila somewhat backed her up, taking a sip of her drink to distract herself from Law's penetrable gaze. "You're just protective, aren't you?"

Law didn't reply but let out a slight sigh. Suddenly Eloise eyes seemed to light up as she called someone over. She released Leila's arm and connected her own with a man with brown hair and blue eyes. Law stiffened and immediately snaked his arm around Leila's waist, pulling her close to his side as if he was claiming her.

"It's been a while" Law said threateningly, his gaze cold and icy. Leila raised an eyebrow at him and hit his back with her hand. She didn't recognize the man, it seemed like he was just being intimidating to Eloise's partner.

"Y-yes" The man bowed his head in greeting, a light blush across his cheeks. He seemed relatively harmless. Eloise smiled, her eyes practically radiating hearts as she clung to the man's arm.

"This is Tomas – Tomas this is Law and Leila" Eloise introduced happily.

"Yes we've met" Law sternly replied, making Tomas's eyes widen. He quickly recovered though, turning his attention towards Leila.

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself at the ball all those months ago" He bowed his head once more politely.

Leila's eyes widened in realization. "Ah, yes I do remember you! I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure to talk though, you're right" She kindly spoke to him, feeling slight guilt for Law's threatening behaviour. That only made Law more annoyed though as he gripped her waist tighter.

"True, Dr Trafalgar built up quite the standard for his wife!" Tomas joked, making Law's eyebrow twitch. Leila looked up at Law with a mixed expression but he avoided her gaze, looking away as if there was something interesting in the sky.

"Ah…he did, did he?" She smiled at him, although Law could immediately tell that it was disguising a nasty temper.

Eloise tugged on Tomas' sleeve embarrassed, making him look down to her attentively. "D-dear…they're not married"

"Ah….?" Tomas responded, his expression white and utterly confused. "I-I'm so sorry I must have been mistaken"

Leila let out a subtle sigh, feeling annoyed that Law had practically established ownership of her without her consent. Law however, felt like he had done what was needed at the time and refused to back down to Leila's look of fire.

"…Not yet at least" Law quipped, taking a sip out of his glass as if it was a normal admission. Leila's face burned bright red as she swiftly turned to face him now, her mouth agape.

"What are you talking about; you can't just say things like that!" She protested at him, her heart hammering in her chest at the thought of it.

Shachi, who was on looking the conversation sighed and went to find his crewmates. He already experienced the pairs flirting enough on the submarine. Eloise also blushed slightly but laughed happily as Tomas led her to meet some of his comrades which left Law and Leila bickering alone.

"Why can't I?" Law cockily replied, smirking down at her and letting his fingers brush against her blushing ears.

"B-because we haven't even talked about those kind of things yet" She whispered to him hurriedly. She thought they were on the same page, that they were content with how things were between them. Although considering the idea of marriage wasn't something she did often, the thought of being married to Law made her heart rate increase frighteningly.

"Fine then, let's talk about it" He said matter of a factly, somewhat already knowing the conclusion. Leila knew this too, but it only made her more irritated. She went to push his arm away but he grasped her back, pulling her into his chest with an arrogant expression.
The sun had fully set now, a darkness settling into the garden that was still being dimly lit by an array of lights. The smell of roses filled the air as guests laughed happily, all distracted by the beaming bride and groom.

"Leila-ya" Law whispered into her ear, his warmth breath tickling her skin as he tried to coerce her. She let out an unsteady sigh as her golden eyes met his.

'He's so unfair…with that face he can get away with anything' She thought to herself, annoyance still within her.

He put both of their glasses down and cupped her cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb gently over her cheek. He was entrancing; she felt the warmth heat of her blush still fresh on her cheeks.

"Leila Gallardo" He spoke lowly with a smoothness like honey, his lips pressing sweet kisses against her neck and around her ear. "Marry me"

Leila froze, she didn't know what to do and it was completely unexpected. She never thought this would be in their future at all, she almost felt cheated that he had surprised her like this.

"I-I don't kn-" She began to protest, pulling his hand away from her face.

He instantly pulled her close against his lips, kissing her in the quiet background of the celebration under the moonlight. "Marry me"

"Law…" She tried to scold him, unable to look him in the eye.

"Marry me" He insisted.

"We need to talk about i-"

"Leila. Marry me" He reiterated with a calm yet willing voice. She let out an unsteady sigh as she met his eyes that were exploring hers with intensity. She knew she wouldn't be able to say no when he looked at her like that.

"D-did you plan this?" She tried to joke, taking a step back.

He followed her steps, closing in on her. "I'll get down on my knee if I have to…"

"N-no!" She urgently grabbed his hands, shaking her head. "That's rude; we're at someone else's wedding!"

He smirked, lifting her hands to cup his face. "I love you"

"I love you too" She bit her lip to stop herself from grinning. In one fell swoop he lifted her, kissing her with passion as her arms interlaced around his neck. She felt safe in his arms, he was her home now. Their lives were busy on the submarine but she wouldn't want it any other way. She lived day-to-day life with him as if it were the happiest occurrence. She couldn't help but grin into the kiss, leaning into him despite the fact they couldn't get any closer.

As they pulled away breathless he put her down and bent to meet her eye level. He gripped both of her hands - pressing them to his lips. "Marry me"

There was a moment of silence, as if she was considering it. Her golden eyes were smiling despite the rest of her face trying to hide it. "Fine" She whispered. This time, she was the one to close the distance between them. As their lips met with a hesitant softness Leila couldn't help but laugh. "You're so arrogant, you know that?"

"Whatever, you're gonna marry my anyway" He smirked and she hit his arm lightly. He held her hand tightly in his own as he let her sit down. They took a moment to glance at the celebration.

The Silver family that they had grown so close with had seemingly found their own happiness, most of their troubles behind them. Abby danced happily, being held close by her new groom. Eloise was her vibrant self, although her physical health still played a large role in her life, she had seemingly traversed the worst of it. King Silver smiled with tired eyes as he watched his daughters enjoy themselves.

The Heart Pirates were as cheerful as ever, laughing loudly as Penguin made a fool out of himself. Bepo glanced at Leila and waved happily, a gentle smile on his face as he held great affection for his dear friend. Meanwhile, Shachi seemed to be looking out onto the dancing bride and groom in thought. He too, had experienced love on their journey. And yet, he had to say his farewell as his adventure was far from over. He hoped that one day when he returned to Kilika, she would still be waiting for him.

The sweet and gentle melody of the band played quietly into the night, many couples dancing close and intimately at the joining of two families. Leila glanced up at Law, the handsome surgeon of death she had such a mixed opinion of when they first met. She couldn't help but laugh looking back on it.

"What's funny?" Law asked with a raised eyebrow, pulling her close to him.

"I was thinking of when we first met"

"Ah…" He remembered with an amused smile on his face. He ruffled her hair "You were trouble from when I first saw you, huh? My little devil"

She looked at him accusingly before laughing. "Says you, you were so rude to me at first! Even back then you used to mock me…"

Law shook his head in amusement but looked down at her with a fond smile. She cocked her head to the side, as if asking what he was thinking.

"I'm proud of you" He spoke honestly, rubbing the back of her neck with his fingers. She was a bit taken aback and blushed with a sad smile on her face. "You've come a long way and overcome a lot. I'm proud that you're going to be my wife"

Leila felt her breathing hitch and she looked up at Law. Her eyes were teary and she was trying her best to hold it together. "T-thank you…" She sniffed. Law pulled her close in for a hug and she buried her face into his chest as he let out a sigh of contentment.

They had been through a lot. They had faced their own demons and the real life ones – coming out the other end with an abundance of scars and trauma. Despite this, they had each other. That was enough for them to look past the past events and look forward to what the future might hold for them. They were hopeful and filled with love. They would get through all of life's obstacles.

Together.

THE END