Paradise

Part Four

Neo chuckled as she watched Law fumble with his tie. She couldn't believe he actually had bought a suit. She couldn't figure out when or where he'd bought the thing. He hasn't left her side since the pool incident so she was sure he didn't buy it here. And she's been in his closet countless times, even before they were married. Never had she seen anything resembling a suit. She was starting to wonder if Law had planned on doing something like this from the beginning.

Living on a sub never allowed much in the terms of dates. So they were going on their first official date. It was just another surprise Law had for her. That and their date was at a fancy restaurant that he got reservations for.

She walked over to him. "I was beginning to wonder if there was anything the infamous Surgeon of Death couldn't do. Here, let me do that."

He just huffed at her as she tied it for him. "And how do you even know how to do this?"

"Penguin taught me as a distraction when you were-" Neo cut her words off as a flash of guilt shot across Law's eyes. "Will you stop torturing yourself over that? It's done and over."

"Sorry," Law dropped his eyes to the dress she was wearing. He ran his eyes over it appraisingly. It was the black one she got when Nami and Robin took her shopping.

"Hey," Law brought his eyes back to hers when she finished with the tie. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "My love, I might not like what you did, but I do understand why you did it. You did what you knew was right. You did what you needed to do to protect me. So no more guilt, okay? You're here now. Be with me."

"I'm here, love," When Law pressed their foreheads together.

"No more guilt?"

"No more guilt."

"Good," Neo pecked his nose with her lips. "Because I really didn't want to have to punish you from my love until you got over it."

He chuckled while grabbing his jacket and put it on. The two left together and walked over to their destination. When they were seated the waiter immediately sat down a small tray of breadsticks. Law glared at them. Neo choked back her laughter. She rubbed her ankle on his leg to calm him down. He shot her a playful glare then turned a real glare back to the offensive food before turning to the waiter when he asked if they would like some wine.

Since Law like to keep his mind clear he never drank much of any kind of alcohol. Neo never drank and Law didn't want her too. So they declined. They looked over the menu and decided they'd each other something different. Law got a fish dish, that Neo couldn't pronounce even after Law and the waiter did with ease. Neo got a spaghetti dish. When their meals came they tried their own first then picked off the other's plate.

"I'll be right back," When they were about done she excused herself from the table. Law nodded and watched her carefully as she weaved through the tables.

After drying her hands, Neo cast a glance at herself in the mirror then left the bathroom. On her way back to Law someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. Her eyes met a man she's never met before, but he seemed familiar. He was tall, broad shouldered, his dark brown hair was cut short and he worn a striped business suit. Beside him was a tall, lanky woman with black hair, light green eyes and worn a revealing dress that didn't fit in with the classiness of the restaurant and was chewing gum in a very unladylike fashion. His dark brown eyes drilled into her. "So you're the one, huh?"

"Excuse me?" Neo asked.

"Yeah, that's her," The woman said as she looked Neo up and down. "I saw her myself at the pool. I don't understand your brother's taste in women. He always goes for the young ones. He needs a real woman in his life. She looks like a child."

Neo raised an eyebrow at the woman. She wasn't sure if she should feel insulted or flattered by the woman saying she looked like a child. She looked back at the man. At least she knew now why he looked familiar. He did look like an older version of that guy who touched her at the pool. She tugged on her arm. "Release me at once."

He jerked her arm. "Don't take that tone with me, missy. Who do you think you are? Royalty?"

Neo smirked, if only he knew. She held up her free hand. She used her hand to shield a fire crystal. She used it to singe the man's hand. He yipped and released her. He smashed out the fire with his other hand then glared at her. He raised his hand to back slap her. "Brat! What did you just do?!"

Before he came close to hitting her, Law appeared and grabbed the man's wrist. He twisted the man's arm back to the point it broke. Neo flinched at the sound of the bone snapping. The man dropped to the ground in pain as the woman shrieked and ran away. The man picked himself up and pulled out a gun. "Y-You're going to pay for that! And for humiliating my brother!"

Women screamed and couples scrambled to get out of the restaurant. Law remained calm as he formed a Room and replaced the man's gun with a flower. The man blinked in confusion at his missing weapon. Law then grabbed the man by his neck. "If you ever touch or raise your hand to her again I will kill you."

The man didn't reply as he tried to get Law's hands off his neck. A waiter carefully moved over to them. The waiter tried to speak with confidence, but was obviously shaken from the skills Law was showing. "O-Okay, that's enough, this is a restaurant not some back alley bar. If you're going to fight then I'll have to ask you all to leave."

There were several intense seconds before Law released the man. He put his arm around Neo and guided her out of the building. "I apologize for that."

"Don't," Neo slipped her arm around his waist as they walked away from the restaurant. "Apparently being a jerk runs in their family."

Law chuckled and kissed into her hair. The two ended up going for a walk along the shore. Once they reached grass Neo took off her sandals and carried them by their heel straps in one hand while linking her other hand with Law's. Their walk was a peaceful one. They could still hear the sounds of the amusement park, people's voices and a band that played somewhere near by, but it was nice and calming.

Law pulled her closer to him and placed his hands on her hips. Neo dropped her shoes and put her arms around his neck. The two swayed with the music. "You look very handsome in a tux. Though I have to admit I'm missing you in your hat. I'm so use to you wearing it."

Law smirked as he warped his hat to his hand. Instead of putting it on himself he placed it on her head instead. He put his arm back around her. "I like my hat too. I like it even more on you."

The two went quiet again after that as they continued to sway to the music.

"I'm going to have to remember to thank Nami and Nico," Law said as his eyes wondered over her form.

"For what?" Neo questioned curiously.

"For making you buy that dress," Law said as he pulled her closer to him. "You looked incredible in it. It's starting to drive me crazy. How about we cut the night short, go back to the room and you let me help you get out of that thing?"

"Or," Neo fiddled with his hair with a smile. "We could just stay right here. It's such a nice night. Why spend it in a stuffy room?"

"Are you challenging me?" Law teased.

"Absolutely. What are you going to do about it, pirate boy? Are you gonna punish me?" Neo teased back.

"Yes, I am," Law chuckled as he leaned down to her lips. Neo tilted her head to meet his lips with her own.

There were a couple small explosions and a very familiar voice that interrupted them before their lips could connect. "Give us back our stuff!"

"Was that Luffy?" Neo asked as they stared at each other with slightly widened eyed. Law sighed and dropped his forehead to her shoulder. When he cursed Luffy under his breath, Neo giggled. She stroked his hair and neck like he was a puppy. "Oh, my poor baby."

"Straw Hat and his rotten timing," Law grumbled as he lifted his head from her shoulder. She pecked his lips before they both looked in the direction the ruckus was coming from. They watched as three boys came busting out of some trees shortly followed by Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat crew. One of the three boys was carrying a bag, while another one was carrying Nami's weather staff and the third was carrying one of Zoro's swords.

"Come back here!" Luffy shouted as he threw out his fist and tried to grab the boys, but the boys proved too quick and dodged his attempt.

"Ha ha! Losers!" One of the boys cried back over his shoulder.

"I can't believe these pirates are so pathetic," Another boy laughed.

"Their bounties must be wrong," The third one laughed as well. "How could they ha-Hey! What's going on?"

Neo summoned her wind crystals and used the wind to raise the three boys off the ground. The Straw Hats blinked in confusion when the boys lifted into the air. It was Sanji who spotted Neo and Law first. "Neo! Law!"

"Neo!" Nami cried as the two groups met each other at the three suspended boys.

"Hey, guys," Neo greeted them happily as Nami ran up and hugged her. She exchanged hugs with them all as Law stood placidly by. "What are you all doing here?"

"Unexpected ship repairs," Franky reported. Neo could only nod as she looked the cyborg's new body up and down. Law had told her about the change, but seeing it in person seemed a bit surreal.

"These two idiots were goofing around and punched a rather large hole in the ship. Franky didn't have enough supplies to fix it," Nami explained as she grabbed Luffy and Usopp's cheeks and pulled on them. "While docked, those three kids stole some of our stuff."

"And what are you two doing here? Are you on a date?" Robin calmly asked with a grin as she noticed the clothes her friends were wearing. "Did we interrupt?"

"We were," Neo nodded, casting a glance at Law. He wasn't happy about them being here, but he knew she hadn't seen their friends in some time. He nodded at her. "And no you didn't interrupt, not really. It was kind of already over before you even got here."

"Give me that!" Zoro growled as he grabbed his sword back.

"Thanks for the assistance, Neo," Sanji said as the group turned to the boys.

"Why in the world would you kids steal things from pirates when you have an entire island to entertain you?" Brook asked.

"You wouldn't think that if you lived here," One of the boys answered. "It's all the same and very boring after a while."

"We needed a new way to entertain ourselves," Another boy said.

"And robbing pirates was the best thing you could come up with?" Usopp asked.

"Captain!" The group then turned to Bepo, Shachi and Penguin when the three called out to them.

"Are you two all right?" Penguin asked once they were close enough. "We saw the commotion then saw you two over here."

"We're fine, Penguin," Neo answered.

"Straw Hats?" Shachi inquired and the reason was shared again.

"Hey, what's that?" Chopper asked as he pointed behind Law and Neo. The group turned to see what he was pointing at. There was some kind of floating blob hovering three feet off the ground. It was almost black in color with glowing blood red veins running through it.

Nothing else was said as they orb struck out right at Neo. Law grabbed her and jumped away from the attack. "Wings out, now!"

"Right," Neo summoned her wings as Law stepped in front of her. He ditched his jacket before warping his nodachi to him and immediately unsheathed it as his three crew mates and the Straw Hats stood for a fight. The boys cried out in a panic, she released them from her winds and they ran off.

Luffy charged at the blob. "Gum Gum Pistol!"

The blob easily dodged it. Zoro jumped at it and sliced right through, but it had no effect. It was like his blades just sliced through air. "Huh?"

"That can't be good," Sanji said as he tried to kick the thing. It just dodged him like it did Luffy.

"Defiantly not good," Usopp cried as his shots passed right through it as well.

"Neo, try your fire," Law ordered. She engulfed the orb in its own personal bonfire.

"Yes!" Usopp cheered, but he was cut short as the orb shot into the air and fired several shots back at them. Once it had the two crews dancing around to avoid it's attacks the orb itself went after Neo.

Neo took off into the air just before the thing smashed into the ground where she was standing. Law growled. "Room!"

"It's after Neo?!" Shachi asked in an alarmed tone.

"But why?" Penguin asked as the orb proved itself just as fast as Neo was. It was starting to catch up with her. She began to fly backwards and fired several attacks at it. She formed an ice cocoon around it and jammed several ice spike into it. She was hoping to stab the thing to death, but it smashed through it with no injuries. It shot out a sharp point of itself at her. She gasped as she dodge it, just barely kept it from impaling her stomach. She returned several more attacks at it while starting to fly backwards again.

"Shambles!" Law switched himself with Neo. The blob didn't notice the change and still flew towards him. Using his Room, he sliced it up into several pieces. The orb separated and floated in place like it was stunned before dropping down to the ground as he did.

"Is it over?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not sure," Sanji replied as Zoro poked one of the small blobs with his sword.

"What was that thing?" Chopper asked at the two crews gathered closer to the stuff.

Law sheathed his sword as Neo flew over to him. She landed and wrapped her arms around his waist as he put his arm around her and scanned for injuries. "Are you injured?"

"No," She replied back while looking for injures on him. They turned their attention back to the blobs as the two crews tried to figured out what this thing was.

"Do you think it's dead?" Usopp asked. He bend down for a closer inspection.

"It wasn't alive in the first place," When Neo spoke they all turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked.

"I'm not really sure. But I don't sense a life force coming from it," Neo looked at her friends then at Law. "Whatever it is, it's not organic. I felt it when I jammed it with my ice."

"So, it's some kind of…," Nami paused but couldn't come up with a possible guess.

Suddenly Neo was jerked from Law's side. She grabbed his wrist. "Law!"

One of the blob's pieces had wrapped around her without anyone noticing it was moving. She formed her crystals and attacked the thing slithering up her body. Law tugged on her arm, trying to free her. When he couldn't do it one handed her when to unsheathe his nodachi. But he couldn't move his arm at all. He looked to see he was also trapped in one of the smaller blobs as well. They all were.

"What is this thing trying to do? Kill us or capture us?" Sanji asked as they all struggled to try and get free of their own blob traps.

Chopper was about to be complete covered. He expanded into his human form. It kept him from being taken over, but just for a while. The blob continued up his body like the others. "It didn't work! Luffy! What do we do?!"

"I don't know!" Luffy shouted as he ballooned up. It didn't work either. Panic set into all of them as the blobs began to cover up their faces.

"Neo, hold on!" Law cried as he tried to keep hold on her hand as she started to slip from his grip.

"La-" Neo's voice was cut off as they all were completely engulfed and her fingers slipped from his.

…

Author's Notes: Cursed cliffhangers! And Luffy for interrupting our lovely couple again. Someone really needs to have a talk with him about his timing. Ya know this is the first time I've ever had so many cliffhangers. They just keep popping up all over the place. At least I don't take forever to update, but still. Cursed cliffhangers!

This is also the first time I've have two characters kiss so much. Hee hee. It's so fluffy! Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. I love reading ya'll reviews. They make me go 'squee'.