Hey everyone! My first story back! This one was a great exercise for my coming back since it really got my creative juices pumping and my mind thinking on what to do!

It's an odd couple that I honestly haven't heard of, but you know what I tried my hand at it! I had a guest request for it and I definitely tried! I hope I made you proud with what came out with it!

Thank you everyone who stuck with me! I'm sorry I was gone for so long!

"Baka! You going to cry? Just cuz you're a girl doesn't mean you can get what you want by crying!" Baby 5 shouted at another woman who was trembling in fear. Buffalo let out a laugh at the joy of making someone fear them.

"What are you doing?" DoFlamingo asked, suddenly behind Baby 5 and Buffalo.

Baby 5 suddenly turned to Buffalo and started crying into him, looking at DoFlamingo ever so slightly with pleading eyes, hoping not to induce his anger upon her. The other woman stared in shock at Baby 5 who was doing the exact same thing she persecuted her against. DoFlamingo turned his eyes on the woman making her shudder in utter fear and run away quickly.

Gladius shook his head as he leaned against a building nearby with his arms crossed. Baby 5 has always been that way; telling others to stop whining, but the second something scary comes along (including Doffy) she acts like a coward and cries.

"Can't leave her be for a moment." He sighed, turning on his heel and walking towards them calmly.

Gladius could never seem to understand his need to watch over her. From the time she was a child and first came to be part of Doffy's family, he couldn't seem to stop watching her. Her childish antics made him roll his eyes and laugh at the same time, but then there were those moments as a child she acted as an adult, and they utterly baffled him by the maturity in her.

"Oi! Gladius!" Baby yelled up at him, making him come back to reality out of his thoughts. "It's time for the next mission!" Gladius jumped down and patted her head, making her scrunch her nose and slap his hand away. "Don't treat me as if I was a child!"

"Ok, ok," He teased, walking past her swiftly.

"Hey! Don't leave me!" She said with a shout. She ran quickly towards Gladius, grabbing onto his arm tightly and keeping up with his long strides.

"Careful, I might just shot you," He teased, flicking his other arm to let her watch it swell with a fresh explosion.

She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, lifting her other arm and turning it into a gun. "Go ahead and try if you think you're gutsy enough." For a moment they stared at one another and waited for one to make a move.

Finally both of them cracked up laughing, knowing neither felt threatened by their weapon arms. Baby acted like she wasn't scared because she had her own weapons for arms, but even as a child she had no fear against him really. She pretended at times to goat him along, but he knew she wasn't truly afraid of him.

"There they are!" Buffalo shouted, pointing them out.

Baby let go of Gladius' arm, leaving it cold and empty. She latched onto Buffalo instantly as she teased him for how big he was and how he looked. Gladius was always jealous of how close those two were, but if he ever mentioned something like that (especially in front of Doffy) he'd be a dead man in some way.

The mission wasn't a hard one, just a normal breaking into a safe to get money. It was standard for them now. Break into the place, use Buffalo as a decoy and block people from coming in, and Baby and Gladius break open the safe. It was so routine that most of them could do it while sleeping, but Doffy believed it was an easy way to get a lot of money, and would help them keep up their skills and powers.

"Woohoo!" Baby shouted, jumping up in the air.

Gladius looked away quickly as her skirt flew up and flashed her underwear momentarily, a slight blush creeping on his face. "Stop looking you pervert," Baby told him as she caught the blush across his cheeks and his quickly diverted eyes.

He hated being accused of things so obviously in front of the others. "Who would want to look at your flat ass covered by those granny panties?"

Baby's face flared up in bright red as she held her skirt down in the back and glared at him. "Well!..." She stopped, feeling angry, embarrassed, and slightly hurt by his words. "Well I didn't want you looking anyway!"

Baby picked up the bags of cash around her and turned on her heels with a huff, heading whichever way was away from Gladius.

"You didn't have to be so mean," Buffalo chided in, looking at Gladius sideways so he wasn't directly looking at the man. "Y'know she's always wanted you to see her as a woman. She just doesn't know how to say it."

"Buffalo!" Baby shouted, calling her friend over to storm off with her. He smiled and flew over to her readily, not minding the odd friendship they have.

Gladius stood there in shock as he took in what Buffalo said, that is until he realized DoFlamingo was staring right at him and that he had heard the whole thing going on there. Gladius scoffed a bit. "What the hell is he talking about? That brat? Maybe in a million years!"

It was taboo to hurt one another in the family, but it was even greater taboo for two of the higher members to be a couple. Doffy saw love as a weakness and was completely against it all. He'd rather kill one of the members than for them to be together at all.

"Really? I think she's grown up to look just fine as a woman." Doffy shrugged before tossing a couple bags to Gladius and picking up his own. "Now let's hurry up and get out of here."

"It seems you've got some rivalry going on here, Gladius." Jora laughed behind him, her eyes sharp and cunning. She could see right through him and his lie.

Gladius snapped out of his shock and tossed the bag over his shoulder. "Against Doffy? No. If he thinks of Baby 5 in that way, I will support him in it all."

"Boo, no fun," She huffed at him, snubbing her nose in the air and walking off with him. She found it no fun when he gives everything up to DoFlamingo so easily. But she also wasn't going to let him off so easily if he agreed it was a rivalry; she would have told Doffy of the taboo immediately.

It wasn't easy for Gladius to knock off his jealousy of Doffy having feelings for Baby 5; and the more he watched them secretly, the more the rage bubbled inside of him, threatening to burst out. He breathed in and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down and tamper his feelings for good while he leaned against the trunk of a tree on a high branch. Slowly the darkness clouded his mind, letting it slip into sleep.

"Gladius!"

The tree shook underneath him, snapping him awake in time for him to realize that Baby was right next to him on the branch, looking at him with suspicious eyes.

"What the heck are you doing up here? Spying on Master and me?" She accused, sitting closer to him and looking for some kind of reaction.

"I was sleeping," He said cooly, not letting anything slip onto his face, though his heart was nearly leaping out of his chest with her being so close. She huffed and turned her head the other way. His eyes wandered over her legs and body as he got a good sight of her being so close. His eyes traveled to her chest which was the major point of her body that had changed from when she was a child, but by the time his eyes reached her face, he regretted looking her over so slowly.

"So you are taking a peep you old pervert." She said with a smirk on her face. She knew he couldn't hide or get rid of it this time.

"It's hard not to look," Before he realized he had said anything Gladius spoke. They both sat there in silence for a moment as they looked at one another, unsure of what to say even.

"Oi!" DoFlamingo shouted up at them.

They jumped slightly at the sudden shout up to them. Baby 5 however jumped a little too much as she slid from the branch of tree. She reached out quickly and grabbed onto Gladius, dragging him with her as they fell towards the ground. A loud crash was heard as the two of them bumped into one another.

"You idiot! Who in their right mind grabs onto the nearest person and drags them with them!" Gladius shouted as she pushed himself up onto his hands, looking over Baby 5.

"Well, you're awful direct with your actions huh?" DoFlamingo teased, making Gladius look at the situation more closely.

His face turned bright red as he realized it wasn't the ground he was pushing up from with his hands…..it was Baby 5's breasts! He had instantly grabbed onto the closest thing to push himself up on. Baby 5's face was red as a tomato and smoke was coming out of her head as she tried to calm her beating heart that was pounding in her ears.

"Oh! Gladius is making a move!" Jora sang, appearing next to DoFlamingo suddenly with an evil glint in her eye.

Gladius jumped away quickly and held his hands up, waiting for her attack on him for doing such a thing to her….even if it was by accident. "It was an accident! It's not like I really got a feel!"

Slowly Baby sat up and put her arms around her chest. "Baka!" She shouted, making Gladius and the other's flinch at her anger. She reached out towards Gladius, making him tense up ready for the pain she was going to inflict on him, but instead she grabbed his wrist and his hand touched something soft and squishy. "It's not hard to feel them! See!"

Everyone deadpanned as they watched Baby make Gladius grope her. Dawning seemed to smack on her on what she had just done and she dropped his wrist as her face exploded more so (if possible).

"KYA! NO!" She screamed, smacking him across the face and darting off away from him quickly.

"K.O." Buffalo said, looking at Gladius knocked out on the floor with his spirit slowly drifting out of his mouth.

I can die happy now the spirit spoke with a smile, drifting upwards.

"Don't die!" Jora said, shoving the spirit back into his mouth. She couldn't afford him dying and giving her more work to do than she already had.

DoFlamingo burst out laughing, grasping his stomach at the pain he felt from laughing so hard. He couldn't believe what had just happened before his eyes. He had only planned to tease them a little bit and it turned out so much better than he expected! In all truth he didn't care if Gladius and Baby 5 got together; he trusted them both enough that he knew they wouldn't turn against him…..at least that's what he thought at the time.

"Don't come near me you old pervert!" Baby shouted as she turned her body from him and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Coming from the one who forcefully made me grope her!" He argued back.

"You could have stopped me!" She yelled.

"My, my, they're at it again." Jora sighed, shaking her head in astonishment at the non-stop bickering between the two of them since the incident. "You think they'd get over it by now."

Baby punched Jora over the head, hearing what she said. "A woman can't get over a man groping her so casually!"

"Well it's not like you told him not to~" Jora said, looking at her with an evil smile. "In truth you wanted him to grope you huh?"

"No!" Baby shouted, face red and smoking once more.

"Oh? Then I guess you want some other guy to come along and grope those breasts of yours?" Jora teased on.

"Of course not! The only one who can is Glad….!" Baby stopped herself before she said his name and turned to see him standing there in utter silence.

He patted her head in encouragement. "I won't let any other guy grope you….I promise."

Baby's face exploded as she punched him in the side, but it wasn't enough to hurt him so he just smirked and blew it off. "After all, someone like you can't do much damage on her own."

"Shut up! I'll show you!" She said, sticking her tongue out at him and crossing her arms in an attempt at rebellion against him.

Little did he know, she wasn't entirely on their side and she would soon cause a rift in her relationship with everyone around her.

Bang!

Never in a million years did Gladius ever think he'd find himself having to shoot her. But his priority to protect DoFlamingo came first over her. It was taboo to go after Doffy, punishable by death….she knew that, and yet still she tried…..why?

He watched her drop to the ground and he could feel his body get cold. It was as if he was watching from far away. Ah….so this is what they call escaping inside oneself….. He couldn't deal with the thought of hurting her, so now he was going to let his instincts take over…is that it? Maybe it's for the best…

It was never expected that DoFlamingo would lose the battle, and by him losing that battle, it made Gladius rethink everything he believed.

He sat staring down at Baby as the fever seemed to finally be going down. He was lucky he found her once more and got her to a safe place before everyone took over once more. The fever had already spread across her from possible infection and it took all his might to not slap her awake to make sure that she would forgive him.

"Why did you have to be so stupid?" He sighed, putting a hand to his face in irritation. He furrowed his brows, feeling the mask that was over his face still. "I guess it's time for a new me huh?"

He unlatched the mask from behind his head and slipped off his long coat, giving a more casual look with his shirt and pants. Finally he took of his goggles, giving his face fresh air. He breathed in deeply, trying to remember the last time he didn't have the mask on.

Baby groaned on the ground as she turned her head and let out a few deep breaths. The fever wasn't quite gone yet and still she hadn't woken up from her slumber. He was starting to get worried himself over her condition. After all, it's not an easy feat to walk away from one of his explosion. He furrowed his brows in irritation again, but all the irritation was aimed towards himself and not at her.

"You could have died," He whispered, brushing her hair from her head and replacing the rag on her head with a fresh cold one. He stood up once more and grabbed the bowel of warm water. "If I hadn't altered the path of my shot, she would have died then." Even though he was complying with Doffy on how actions should be taken, he couldn't bring himself to kill her….he just couldn't.

He left momentarily to gather fresh cold water, and came back to find her breathing regularly finally and her face looked less strained. "Good, it seems that you're doing better." He grabbed the rag and dunked it in the water again, before wringing it out and going to place it on her head.

Just as he did that Baby 5 slowly cracked her eyes open. She blinked a couple times before diverting her gaze towards Gladius who was slightly hunched over sitting next to her. She furrowed her brows in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on and where she was.

"Who are you?" She asked, sitting up quickly. A dizzy spell caught her quickly as she tried to get up too fast, and she placed a hand to her head that was spinning.

"Careful," He said, putting an arm around her to hold her up, and being careful not to harm her shoulder where he had shot her.

Her eyes widened in utter shock as she looked him up and down repeatedly. She reached out and grabbed his face on either side, turning his head every which way as she looked closer and closer. She couldn't believe it! It was Gladius! His face was so much more handsome than she thought it would be with sharp angles that defined his masculine face. His skin was smooth and slightly tanned. But his eyes…..they were so soft and gentle than what she had imagined. This was the first time she was seeing his face…

"Gladius?" She whispered, looking at him with eyes full of awe.

He grabbed one of her wrists and pulled it from his face, making her snap back to what was going on. "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" She asked, before looking over herself and seeing the bandaged arm. Finally she remembered what had happened!

She had attacked DoFlamingo in revenge for what he had done, and Gladius ended up shooting her in the shoulder to keep her from doing so. She could have sworn he was aiming for her heart; ready to shoot her dead at any moment! Why was she still alive?!

She scooted away from him quickly on the floor, nightmarish thoughts running through her head over what kind of torture he was going to do on her by order of DoFlamingo. "I d-d-d-don't know w-w-what you're planning, b-b-b-but I won't g-g-give in so e-easily!"

"Doffy was defeated…." Gladius said, sitting exactly where he was before with a calm expression over his face. "He no longer rules over Dressrosa."

"No way…."

"It's true. That straw hat kid defeated him." Gladius told her with a nod. He looked at her dead in the eye before dropping his head and looking at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Wha….?" She never expected to hear an apology from him ever. It made her heart grip in pain knowing he was sinking so low to do it. "You shot me! There's no way an 'I'm sorry' will cut it!" She shouted at him, still angry he would do it.

"I know," He looked up once more before suddenly reaching out and pulling her body into him. "I know not even a million apologies will suffice for what I have done to you." He mumbled into her ear. He squeezed his arms around her slightly, needing to know that she was going to forgive him somehow. "I will spend the rest of my life repaying you for what I have done."

"The rest of your life?" She asked, blinking in shock at his words. "Then you won't ever leave me?"

"If that is what you want." He agreed, nodding his head next to her.

Baby was feeling elated now. She never expected their relationship to come anywhere near this, but to think all this was happening. It was like a dream! She smiled and leaned back, looking at his new face that she was finally seeing in her life. She never wanted to forget it!

"You loser!" She laughed before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his. It didn't take him long to slid his arms to her waist and pull her closer to him onto his lap where they could be even closer.

It was hot between them, whether it was from the feelings that were racing between the two of them or her fever, she didn't care. She wanted to melt into him right then and there. She wanted to bind him to her so that he would never leave her side.