His Ring
"How's the cake coming?" Shachi asked when he wandered into the galley. His mouth watered a bit at the sweet smell of the cake filling up the room. "Smells so good in here. It smells good outside, too. I think we've cooked up just about everything thing we have. Good thing we decided to buy extra food at the last island."
"Just fine. It'll be do-" Penguin, who was making the cake, paused when he turned to look at his friend. His hidden eyes blinked multiple times as he stared at the mess before him that used to be his best friend. Shachi was covered in glitter, tape, wrapping paper, confetti, and dirt. "What happened to you?"
"We're not having so much luck with decorating for the party," Shachi replied, sighing. "The banner is giving us fits. We're still working on setting everything up."
"Apparently," Penguin said. A chuckle was playing on his lips as he continued to run his eyes over Shachi again and again. His friend almost looked like a piñata. "Is there anything left for the party?"
"Of course there is!" Shachi snapped. "But we're pirates not party planners! If you wanted perfection, then you should have hired one!"
"Calm down." Penguin laughed. "It doesn't have to be perfect at all. She's going to love it either way."
"I hope so," Shachi said brushing some of the glitter off his boiler suit. "Is she awake yet?"
"I don't think so," Penguin said, looking towards the door. He then leaned over and opened the oven, grabbing the pot holder, and pulled the oven rack out. He then poked a toothpick into the yellow cake. It came out clean. He pulled the plain sheet cake out of the oven and sat it down on the cooling rack. "Finally it's done. For a moment there I thought there was something wrong with the oven and the cake wasn't going to get done at all. Now that that's done, I'm going to go check on her while the cake's cooling. Since you all are having so much trouble with the decorations, I'll ask the captain to keep her in the medical bay until we're ready for her. You better get back to it."
"Yeah, yeah," Shachi grumbled as the two left the galley. They separated once in the hall of the main floor. Shachi headed back outside while Penguin headed up towards the medical bay.
When Penguin got to his destination, he lightly tapped on the door. He entered when he heard Law's muffled, "Come in."
The calm beeping of the heart monitor greeted him when the door was open. Penguin forced back a smile when he saw Law was still on the bed with her. The shoeless captain was propped on three pillows that the crew had brought in the night before, with a book in his hand. The rest of the pillows were stacked up at the foot of the bed.
Law lowered the book and looked at his subordinate. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Just checking to see if she had woken up yet," Penguin said. He stepped over to the other side of the bed and smiled down at their sleeping girl. "The crew's having issues getting the party decorations ready. We could use a little more time. I was just wondering if you could keep her in here until lunch or shortly there after. They should be done by then. I hope."
"I suppose that will be fine," Law replied. He looked down at Neo then back at Penguin. "But much longer and she'll get suspicious. I won't lie to her if you all aren't finished by then."
"We will be, Captain." Penguin nodded. "Once she's awake I'll bring her some breakfast. Would you like me to bring you something?"
"No, I ate already. Just bring her a light meal. A couple scrambled eggs, lightly salted, and one toast should be fine," Law ordered. "She'll most likely be awake within a few minutes."
"Aye aye, Captain. I'll get that right now and be back soon," Penguin said with a nod. "Oh, there is one other thing."
"What is it?" Law asked with a bored tone.
"I'd like to be the one to escort Neo outside to her party." When Penguin said that, Law raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. Penguin just shrugged. "I just want to give her my gift in private."
"What?" Law demanded lightly as not to wake Neo up.
"Don't worry. It's nothing bad. It's just kind of a surprise for the entire crew." Penguin chuckled secretively and nervously. Keeping secrets from Law, especially when it concerns Neo, wasn't a good idea, but it was necessary. "Besides, she won't be so self conscious if the crew sees my gift at the same time."
Law mulled over the man's words for three intense minutes before finally agreeing, reluctantly. "Fine. Whenever you want to give her your gift, just tell me the crew wants to see me. I'll leave so you can give it to her. But you better not upset her."
"Of course I won't, Captain," Penguin chuckled. He then left the room so he could get Neo's breakfast started then get on with decorating the cake since it should be cool enough by then. He also left Law with his own thoughts involving the party.
Law lowered his eyes to Neo once more. She, like always, was on her right side facing him. Her left arm was draped over her stomach. He gently slipped his hand under hers. Her fingers curled around his hand in response, making him smile. He brushed his thumb over her ring finger. Soon his gift would be resting upon it. It made his heart and stomach start twisting again. When he could feel his skin starting to get clammy, he pulled his hand back from her. He didn't think it would wake her up, but he didn't want to take the chance that it would.
He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He couldn't believe how nervous this was actually making him. But it would be over soon. He just had to figure out exactly when he was going to give it to her. He definitely did not want to give it to her with the crew around. It would be too much pressure. And not just for her. He was going to have to find the right moment to get her away from the crew. The crew should easily supply that means without realizing it.
Law slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the little silver gift. It looked so tiny and fragile laying in his large, calloused hand. Tiny and fragile, just like she was. But he knew it was safe in his hands. Just like he knew she was safe in his hands as well. He moved the ring closer to her hand and imaged what it would look like on her finger. His stomach flipped again just as she shifted. He quickly pocketed the ring when she started to stir from her slumber.
He pulled his hand from his pocket at the same time her eyes cracked open. She blinked then raised her eyes to him. He rested his hand on his lap with his book and smiled at her when the beeping of the heart monitor increased slightly. "Good morning, Neo. How are you feeling?"
"Good morning, Captain. I'm feeling okay." Neo rubbed her right eye while rolling over onto her back. She closed her eyes with a low sigh. "Still a bit sleepy. I'm not awake yet."
Law chuckled lightly. He waited patiently for her to completely wake up. After three minutes she reopened her eyes and looked at him again. He said, "Penguin will be here soon with your breakfast."
"Okay." Neo nodded before sitting up. She cautiously looked around.
"You're still in the medical bay, remember?" Law asked carefully.
"Yes, I remember." Neo brought her eyes back to him. She shifted a bit closer to him, giving him the impression that she slightly forgot where she was. "How long do I have to stay in here now?"
"Well, since nothing happening to you during the night, it won't be much longer. I would like to monitor you for a couple hours longer now that you're awake. I'd say about lunch time I'll let you leave this room completely," Law said. He instantly felt guilty when a hint of disappointment flashed through her eyes. But, like always, he knew she would obey him. "Don't worry about it. I'll get you one of your books to read. The time will fly by fast. Afterwards I'll take you outside for some fresh air."
"All right, Captain." Her lips turned up into a smile, but not a real one. The light in her smile wasn't present at the moment. She then tilted her head. She was inspecting him. "Captain?"
"Yes?"
"Did you…" Neo paused. She bit her bottom lip before continuing. "Did you stay awake all night?"
Law's eyebrows rose. He wasn't expecting her to notice that he did stay awake all night to watch over her. "Yes, I did."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were resting and not in pain anymore," Law answered honestly.
"I'm sorry." Her eyebrows turned up. "I didn't mean to make you worry."
"You don't have to apologize," Law said. "You haven't done anything wrong."
"But I made you worry. And I made you stay up all night," Neo said with a sigh. "That's the second time I've done this. You should sleep. Sleep is important. Rest is important. You told me so yourself."
"I did, didn't I?" Law said with a light chuckle. Neo nodded in response to his question. He tucked her hair behind her ear before cupping and brushing his thumb over her cheek. "But I am all right. One night of no sleep won't hurt me one bit."
"But you should have slept." Neo reached up and grabbed a hold of his wrist. "You should have."
"I'm sorry. I'm making you worry now. How about I take a nap while you're reading? Will that make you feel better?" Law asked.
"You want to nap while I read?" Neo asked back.
"If it will make you feel better." Law smiled.
"It will." Neo nodded. "Thank you, Captain."
A knock at the door caused Law to pull his hand away from her. He turned his eyes to the door. "Yes?"
"Just me again," Penguin called cheerfully.
"Come on in," Law replied back.
The door opened and Penguin stepped inside carrying a tray of Neo's breakfast in one hand and two of her books were tucked under his arm. He greeted Neo with a warm smile as he walked over to her. "Good morning, sweetie. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Neo replied while shifting the blanket on her lap a bit. "But the captain wants me to stay in here for a while longer."
"I see." Penguin nodded. He sat the tray on her lap while Law grabbed a couple pillows from the foot of the bed and placed them behind her. Penguin then held up the books he had. "I brought you a couple of books to read."
"Thank you, Penguin," Neo said. Law shot Penguin a light glare. Penguin flinched when he realized he could have blown their party secret by bring the books with him. Luckily for them, Neo didn't notice that Penguin already knew Law wanted her to stay in this room longer. Her attention was on her scrambled eggs and toast. "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"Oh, their out on the island all ready," Penguin replied carefully. "They can't wait to see you. They'll be glad that you're feeling better, too. Well, I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I have orders I need to attend to."
"Okay." Neo nodded lightly. "See you later then?"
"You bet you will." Penguin ruffled her hair a bit before finally leaving the room.
"How's your breakfast?" Law asked a few minutes later.
"It's good," Neo replied before taking a sip of her sweet tea.
"Well, since you seem to be okay with everything, I think I'll get that nap now," Law said while he shifted lower on the pillows. "Wake me if you need anything."
"All right, Captain. Have a good nap," Neo said as she gave him a smile.
Smiling back, Law lowered his hat over his eyes. He watched her finish up her breakfast then opened one of her books. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of secretly watching her every move, Law forced himself to pull his eyes away from her and closed them. He didn't want to lie to her after all.
…
Back in the galley, Penguin was drawing on Neo's name on the cake when Bepo came walking in. He said, "Is the cake done now? All the decorations and food is finally set up and ready."
"Just finished," Penguin replied as he finished up the 'o'. He paused to examine the work he had done. The majority of the icing on the cake was, of course, blue while the 'Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo' was done in yellow.
"Um, how exactly are we going to get this down to the island without dumping it on the ground?" Bepo asked as he pointed at the cake.
"One step ahead of ya, Bepo," Penguin chirped. He knelt down and opened a cabinet. He then pulled out a board that had one-inch boarder walls and a rope attached to each corner of the board. He laid the board on the counter then placed the cake, and the serving tray it was on, on the board. He then picked it up and turned to Bepo. "All ya have to do is lower it, slowly, to the ground with the rope."
"That'll work." Bepo blinked at the little invention of Penguin's. The bear took the cake in his paws. He got to the door before turning back to Penguin. "What about the captain?"
"I'll shoo him outside when I give Neo her gift," Penguin said with a bright smile.
"What did you get her anyway? You've been rather secretive about it," Bepo pointed out.
"You'll see soon." Penguin waved his hand at the bear like he was shooing away a fly. "Go on now. I'm going to go get Neo and the captain. We'll be out there shortly."
"I'm going. I'm going," Bepo said while finally leaving the galley.
"All right!" Penguin capped his hands together. He was so ready for this to finally happen. Today, Neo was going to be officially part of their crew. He looked around the galley one last time, to make sure everything was cleaned and put back into place, before finally leaving the room himself. He quickly marched down the halls of the sub.
Just in case, he glanced down both ends of the hallway when he finally reached his room. No one was around of course. He slipped inside and went right to his bunk. Kneeling down, he pulled out the white bag he had hidden inside of his bunk. It wasn't easy to hide his gift from the rest of the crew, but somehow, he managed to get it cleaned and placed neatly back into the bag. He also found a glittering golden bow that he decided to use as a decoration so it now looked like a real present.
Clenching a hold of the bag, he pushed back up to his feet and left the room. While walking back towards the medical bay, he wanted to feel a bit guilty for being as sneaky as he was being with his captain and Neo, but couldn't as it was going to be worth it in the end. This was a push that they both needed. Now at the medical bay door, he knocked on it again like he had twice before that same day. And once again, he heard Law's voice beckoning him to come inside. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping fully into the room, making his presence known.
Penguin took in the only other two people in the room. Both were still in the exact same spots that they had been in the previous times he's come in this room. The only difference was Neo was reading instead of sleeping and wasn't wearing the heart monitoring patches anymore. So Law had obviously taken them off at some point. He then said, "Captain, the crew would like to see you outside."
"Okay." Taking his planned cue, Law closed his book and stood up. He pulled on his shoes.
"Uh, Captain?" Neo called out with concern in her voice.
"It's all right, Neo. Penguin will escort you outside. I just got to go see what the crew wants. We won't be separated for long," Law said.
Neo nodded with a silent sigh.
Even though it really wasn't a lie, Penguin who was part of the crew really did want him outside, he still felt like he was lying to her. Law had no clue why his subordinate requested that he be the one to escort Neo outside to her party. What kind of gift could a person get someone that required the third party to not be in the room?
Not wanting to leave her so disappointed, Law stroked her hair before tickling her under her chin. Once she giggled for him, he stopped. He tweaked her chin, making her blush and tuck her hair behind her ear, then shot Penguin a warning glance. Penguin just smiled, shrugged and waved innocently back at him. Law sighed then continued his way out of the room, grabbing his sword as he went. He let his eyes roam over Penguin and Neo one more time before stepped out into the hall and closing the door.
"So are you ready to go outside now?" Penguin asked when he stepped over to Neo.
"I guess so." She smiled at him. Her eyes dropped to the bag he was holding. She tilted her head at the bag, but she didn't ask him about it.
"Well, let's get to it then. Today wouldn't have been any fun if you were in pain still," Penguin said with his smile growing.
"What do you mean?" Neo asked. She placed her book on the bed beside her while tucking her feet under her legs. She then placed her hands in her lap. "And where's the crew? I know you said they were outside, but no one has come to see me."
"They wanted to come see you, but they've been busy with something. They're waiting for you right now. So we better hurry up." Penguin smiled and held out the bag. "Here, I have something for you. Go ahead and take a look inside."
Neo blinked in confusion while taking the bag from him. She opened up the bag and peaked inside. She reached in and pulled out what was inside. When she got it out enough to realize what it was, her eyes jumped back up to Penguin. His smile grew even wider. He said, "It's a dress. I wanted to get you a present. Do you realize you've been with us for a year now?"
"Uh…yeah, I knew it was coming up soon, but didn't realize it was today. Thank you, Penguin," Neo replied. She pulled the dress completely out of the bag. It was a mini sundress with thin shoulder straps. The chest part of the dress was pure white. The rest of the dress was a royal blue with a silky light blue sash attached to it right below the chest line. The tails of the sash flowed over the front of the dress, but stopped short about four inches from the hem. Her rising confusion only made him smile more. "But I don't understand. The captain won't like me wearing this. I can't train in it."
"Trust me, sweetie." Penguin chuckled as he walked back over to the door. "The captain is going to love you in that. Get changed now. I'll step out into the hall."
"Um…okay," Neo replied. "But why? What's going on?"
"You'll know soon. Just hurry and change." Penguin waved at her from the door. "The others are waiting for us."
He quickly shut the door so she wouldn't be able to question anything again. She huffed at his actions. She then looked at the dress in her hands before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. As if it was going to break, she gently laid the dress on the bed. She ran her hand over the smooth fabric before finally tugging off her clothes. She neatly folded up her clothes and placed them on the bed before taking the dress into her hands again. She almost gasped when the fabric brushed a crossed her skin. Her other clothes didn't feel this soft. She smoothed out the dress with her hands several times before remembering Penguin was waiting for her.
Her shoeless feet were silent as she made her way over to the door. She reached for the handle and paused. She felt nervous for some reason. It was just Penguin on the other side of the door. She shouldn't have been nervous. She whispered, "It's just Penguin."
She then opened the door.
Penguin gasped slightly when she finally revealed herself to him. "Oh my gosh! Look at you! You are just so beautiful!"
"Uh, th-thank you," Neo stuttered. Her cheeks were pink as she collapsed her hands in front of her. He stepped closer to her. When he took her hands in his, she timidly looked up at him.
"You are growing up so fast now." Penguin sighed. "I can't believe it's been a year already. Well, let's have another look at you. I want to make sure you're just perfect for it."
"For what?" Neo asked, again.
"You'll see," Penguin said as he flipped her hair this way and that way. Once he got it to lay where he wanted, he stepped back to examine his work. He nodded once. "Perfect as perfect can be in this imperfect world."
"What?" Neo tilted her head in confusion.
"Never mind. I'm just mumbling because you are so beautiful. We better get going before the others start wondering where we are." Penguin slipped his arm around her waist and guided her shy, confused form down the stairs and towards the front door of the sub. She paused when he walked her over to the railing. She squinted her eyes, trying to take in the crew and their surroundings. Penguin bit back a chuckle. He was glad they decided to move their camp farther away from the sub than normal. She couldn't read the sign clearly from the sub. "You should fly us down with your wind crystals. The captain won't want you climbing the ladder in a dress. It wouldn't be appropriate."
"Oh, okay," Neo said with an unsure nod. She summoned her wind crystals and lifted them both off the sub's deck. She placed her hand on the dress when her winds started blowing it up a bit too high. After settled them down on the beach, Neo inspected her dress to make sure she didn't rip it somehow.
"It's fine, Neo," Penguin said with a light chuckle. "It'll take more than a light breeze to rip a dress."
"I just don't want to damage your gift." Neo looked at him. "I mean it's very pretty. I really like it. But, um, are you really sure it's okay? I don't want to upset the captain. And I don't want you to get in trouble."
"Don't worry, little sister." Penguin kissed her cheek. "It's okay. The captain won't mind. And I'm not going to get into trouble. Let's go now. The others, I know, are growing impatient."
"Okay." Neo nodded. She followed after him when Penguin took the lead. The closer they got to the others the more her nerves rose. When they finally got close enough, Neo's nervousness was quickly replaced with complete confusion. Their camp was different from the ones before.
Several crates had been set out. They were covered with bed sheets, as makeshift tablecloths. The edges of all the makeshift tablecloths were decorated with streamers and glitter. Two crates held colorfully wrapped boxes and bags. While a large variety of food, consisting of meat, fish, multiple vegetables, and fruits sat on four other crates. A decorated cake sat alone on its own crate beside the presents. But the most confusing of all for her was the large banner mounted on two poles that the crew must have found on the island or made from two long tree branches. The banner read: Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo!
"What…" Neo looked at the decorations then at the crew then back at the decorations. She looked over at Law for answers. "I don't understand, Captain."
She waited for Law to answer, but she wasn't going to get one anytime soon. Law was staring at her, wide eyed, and shocked. His eyes were locked onto the dress she was wearing. He didn't even register the fact she had addressed him.
Penguin couldn't help but roll his hidden eyes. He was satisfied with his captain's reaction to the dress. Now if the captain would just recover from the shock. Penguin took a hold of Neo's hand, pulling her attention from the mind blown captain. He guided her closer to the crew and addressed her. He said, "This is a surprise party we planned for your one year anniversary with us."
"A party?" Neo tilted her head.
Taking her confusion as his cue, and knowing Law hasn't recovered yet, Penguin explained to her what a party was. "It's a social gathering of people to celebrate something or someone. In this case, it's you. So…"
"Surprise!" the crew yelled, tossing small pieces of steamers and glitter into the air. Her cheeks tinted a couple shades when the crew started cheering, whistling, and giving her more attention than she was use to. "Happy One Year Anniversary, Neo!"
"You look so good in a dress."
"You're really surprised, huh?"
"I'm just glad we were able to pull this off without upsetting you. We all were so worried about that. We didn't want to make you feel like we were neglecting you."
"It…it's okay. I knew you all were up to something, but I didn't know it was anything like this," Neo said as she received a hug from each one of the crewmates. Even Jean Bart gave her a hug even though he was still fairly new to the crew. "This is just…um…thank you?"
"Don't worry. The confusion will pass soon," Shachi said. He then squealed before throwing his arms around her. "You are just beyond cute in that dress! Penguin has surprisingly good taste!" He paused for a second and thought about his own words. He then sent Penguin a cheeky grin. "Wait a second…how is it that you picked out such a great dress for Neo? Do you have a feminine side we don't know about?"
"What are you implying?!" Penguin shrieked with angry red cheeks. "I only picked out a dress that would match her hair! I also asked the sale's lady for her opinion about the dress!"
"Okay, okay!" Shachi laughed. "I believe you!"
"You do look amazing," Jean Bart commented. There was another round of agreements from the crew.
"Th-thank you," Neo timidly squeaked, tucking her hair behind her ear again.
"I'll say she looks good. She looks so good that the captain is actually speechless." Shachi chuckled while jerking his thumb at the awe struck man.
Neo gathered her wavering courage to pull her eyes up to the captain. He was still just staring at her with wide eyes. She swallowed then walked over to him with her hands collapsed in front of her.
"C-Captain?" she asked softly, tilting her eyes to him when she was a few feet in front of him. When he didn't reply, she got worried that she had upset him by wearing something that she couldn't train in. Her eyebrows turned up as tears gathered in her blue eyes. She dropped her chin.
"Captain!" Bepo, appearing beside the silent man, quietly hissed. He elbowed Law on the arm to snap the captain out of his trance. "Snap out of it!"
"What?" Law, finally snapping out of his transfixion, asked as he looked around cluelessly at his men. Some of the crew face palmed while others shook their heads and grumbled at their captain's uncharacteristic cluelessness. But they couldn't blame him for acting this way considering his feelings for the blue haired young woman before them, especially with her being in a dress.
"You're going to make her cry." Bepo pointed out and pointed at Neo.
Law turned his eyes back to the girl. He visible flinched when he saw she was on the verge of crying. He placed his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to him. He flinched again at the tears in her eyes. Even though they hadn't fallen yet, he still brush his hand over her cheeks like he was brushing the tears away. She tensed at his actions. "Neo…you did nothing wrong. I was just surprised that's all. I didn't know you got a dress."
At that point, Law shot a glare at Penguin. Penguin jumped and waved guiltily at his captain. Law mentally growled. He should have known Penguin, of all his subordinates, would pull something like this. After all the black and white hatted man had become a best friend and a big brother in one to Neo. He would be the most comfortable pushing the boundaries that Law had set up for Neo. Law turned his eyes back to her. "You actually look very pretty in it."
"Really?" Neo fiddled nervously with her fingers. Law nodded with a smile. She bit her smiling bottom lip lightly as her cheeks flushed.
Law, unintentionally, let his eyes wander over her dress covered curves again. He blinked and took in her curves. Had she always had those curves on her body? The crew chuckled when their captain let his eyes linger far too long on her. He blushed and pulled down his hat with a low, borderline 'I'm going to Shambles you all' growl.
"Neo, come see what else we have for you," Bepo said, knowing it was time someone saved their captain before he did use Shambles on all of them, especially Penguin. He put a paw on her shoulder and guided her over to the pile of gifts and the banquet they had laid out for her. "Would you like to open your presents first or are you hungry?"
"Oh, um…" Neo ran her eyes over the gifts and food before her. "I'm not sure."
"Well, there's an easy solution for that," Jean Bart said. "You can eat while you open your gifts."
"That's a good idea," Archer said. He grabbed Neo's shoulders and guided her to the logs they had pulled over for their camp. He guided her down to one.
Neo sat down properly. Her knees were pulled together and her hands were gently placed in her lap like she had always worn a dress and knew how she should sit in one.
At that point, Penguin walked over to her with a plate filled with just about everything they had in one hand and her favorite drink in the other. He paused to take her in. He never noticed, until that moment, that Neo had a very natural grace about her. He started to recall how she moved. Her walk, her run, even her battle movements had a graceful flow to them. It was like she was trained her whole life to be a proper lady instead of suffering from the abuse that she did.
"Uh, Penguin?" Neo's soft voice called out to him. "Is something wrong?"
"What?" Penguin blinked and looked at her.
Law, who was leaning against the log beside her, had his eyebrow raised in a curious way.
"You have this funny look on your face." Neo tilted her head and took the man in.
"Oh, sorry." Penguin smiled. He continued to walk over to her. He handed her the plate and tea. "I was just thinking about how much you have grown up this past year. I guess I was just distracted by it. So much has changed for us all in the year that you've been with us."
"Has it really?" Neo asked, setting her teacup on the ground, so she wouldn't spill it, and the plate on her lap. "I know I'm different now, but have I really changed things that much for you all?"
The crew, who were getting their own plates of food and inspecting that the gifts were fine, paused what they were doing. They all looked at her then at Law with a quiet, hopeful look on their faces. Bepo was the one to speak up for them all. He said, "Captain? Can we tell her now?"
"I suppose its fine to go ahead and tell her," Law said with a light nod.
"Tell me what?" Neo asked curiously but cautiously.
"That this party isn't just to celebrate your one year anniversary with us," Penguin said. He knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled brightly. "It's also to celebrate the fact that you are now officially part of our crew."
Neo stared at him for a while before letting her eyes wander over the rest of the crew. They all held bright grins and nodded to confirm Penguin's words. She then dropped her eyes down to Law. Though his eyes were once again covered with his hat and looking down at his lap, he nodded too. Her eyes went back to the crew. They all jumped and shrieked when tears spilled down her cheeks. "Eek! We didn't mean to upset you! Please don't cry! The captain's going to kill us if you cry!"
Neo rubbed the back of her right arm over her eyes while keeping her plate still in her lap with her other hand. When she started to laugh, the crew relaxed a little bit but looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying and laughing. I'm not sad. I'm not hurt or scared either. I shouldn't be crying at all. What's wrong with me?"
The crew exchanged smiles of realization before letting their eyes settled back on Neo. Penguin shifted his position and sat on the log beside her. He put his arms round her and pulled her into his side. With a soft chuckle, he said, "Neo, you're crying because you're happy."
"I'm crying because I'm happy?" She looked up at him.
"You are." He smiled and brushed her tears away with a nod.
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Neo insisted. The crew chuckled.
"I guess it doesn't make sense," Penguin said. He rubbed his hand over her back.
"But this is okay?" Neo asked. She looked at them all before resting her eyes on Penguin. "It's really okay? I can be happy?"
"Of course you can be happy, Neo." Shachi knelt down in front of her. He placed his hand on her knee and smiled at her. "That's what we want for you. We all want you to be happy."
Neo looked at Shachi before running her eyes over each and every one of the crewmates again. When she got to Law, he lifted his eyes to her and smiled at her. His smile made her stomach flutter. With more tears running down her cheeks, she said, "I'm happy. I'm actually happy. You all make me happy. It's all because of you guys."
The crew cheered again at her revelation.
"So how does it feel to officially be part of our crew?" Bepo inquired once the crew's cheers settled back down. When Neo looked at him, the bear held a worried look in his eyes.
"Uh." Neo let her eyes wander over the crew and the captain again. A bright smile spread across her lips. "I think I really like it. I really like it a lot."
"Yeah!" the crew cheered, yet again. They then start to hand their gifts to her and had her open them. She nibbled on her food between opened them all up. They got her several books, reading books and some cook books, some shirts, and three glass figurines. The glass figurines consisted of a multicolored hummingbird drinking out of a pink flower with three green leaves, a blue and black colored butterfly and a red with white spots toadstool with a tiny blue haired fairy wearing a green leaf style mini dress on top of it.
While she was busy opening her gifts, Law slipped his right hand into his pocket. He had his sword resting on his left shoulder instead of his right like usual. He grabbed a hold of his gift her for and started to figure out when he was going to give it to her. And how he was going to get her away from the crew so he could give it to her without them around.
…
"Hey, Captain!" Penguin suddenly called out hours later when the sun was on the verge of setting. "When are you going to give Neo your present?!"
"Hn." Law flinched. The entire crew turned their teasing grins at him. Apparently they all knew he had gotten her something. He wondered from their cheeky, teasing grins, if they somehow figure out what he got for her. He knew it really didn't matter. Once he got up the courage to actually give it to her, they'd all know anyway.
Neo turned her eyes to him, but didn't say anything.
Law cleared his throat as he stood up. Now was the right time to take her away from them. "Neo, come. We're going for a walk."
"Um, okay, Captain." She allowed Bepo to take her half eaten cake slice from her when she stood up. She ran until she was by Law's side. Her pace slowed down as she walked beside him.
"Don't keep her out too late now, Captain! You know she's not ready for that!" Shachi sang out causing the crew to laugh.
Neo paused and looked back at the crew and blinked. "Not ready for what?"
Law just grumbled under his breath and continued walking. He summoned her again. "It's nothing. Come on now, Neo."
"Right. I'm coming." Neo turned and ran up to his side.
…
Law, keeping himself between her and the sea because of the weird wave attack, secretly glanced over at the young woman walking beside him. She wore a content look on her face. His heart fluttered in his chest when his eyes roamed freely over her dress. He felt his cheek grown warm once again when he realized he was tracing her curves with his eyes. He silently cursed, and thanked, Penguin under his breath while forcing himself to look away from her before she caught him looking at her.
When he did, Neo paused and looked out at the setting sun painted sea in an array of yellows and oranges. Law took a few steps away before noticing she stopped. He turned back to see she was looking at a couple dolphins. They clicked and chirped at her.
She giggled when they started to jump out of the water, doing some flips. "Sorry, I haven't been in the water. You better get back to your pod now before the sunset completely sets. They're probably worried about you."
"What did they say?" Law inquired when the dolphins disappeared under the water.
"They were chasing after a fish and asked if I had seen where it went," Neo replied, collapsing her hands behind her back and turning to him. She gave Law a closed eye smile. "They were being silly."
Law's eyes roamed over her body, again. The salty wind started to blow off the calm sea, making her hem dance against her legs, revealing more of her naturally tanned skin to him.
Neo tilted her head when Law swallowed and quickly averted his gaze, and flushed cheeks, from her. "Captain, is something wrong?"
Law didn't reply. His heart was pounding so hard that he almost didn't hear her question. He just pulled his hand out of his pocket and quickly held it out to her. She looked to see lying in his palm was a small silver circle. He said, "It's…it's my present for you."
Neo didn't say anything as she plucked the item out of his hand. She remained quiet while inspecting the small circle. It had blue gems embedded into an intricate shape of a heart. It looked very familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she had seen the heart before.
Law watched her quietly and wondered if she recognized the design or if seeing him with his shirt off was too much for her to remember the design of his tattoos.
"It's very pretty, Captain. Thank you." They looked in each others eyes at the same time. Neo tilted her head when his cheeks tinted darker. "Captain, are you feeling okay?"
"Why do you ask?" Law asked.
"Your face is red." Neo reached out her left hand for him. "Are you getting sick?"
"No, I'm not getting sick," Law said, quickly grabbed her hand before she could touch him, causing her to tense. He then plucked the ring from her other hand and purposefully slipped it onto her left hand's ring finger. Once the ring was firmly in place, he paused to inspect how it looked, and just as he suspected the ring looked great with her coloring. It stood out like it should have. The gold would have blended into her skin more. That wouldn't do at all. The ring was supposed to get people to notice it, to protect her. He then gently pressed his lips to the back of her fingers, making her gasp lightly and tense. "Neo?"
"Y-yes?" she whispered unable to get her voice to go any higher.
"Never take this ring off, okay?" Law lifted his eyes back to hers. She was blushing. "Promise me you'll always keep it on."
"I-I promise," Neo replied softly, her chest tightening, her hands trembled. "C-Captain…I feel kind of strange. I'm not sure how to explain it. I'm kind of scared. What do I do?"
Law quietly studied her before answering her. He said, "You don't do anything. Just let yourself feel these emotion for now. They're not going to hurt you. I know they seem scary, but it'll be all right. I'm still here."
"Thank you," Neo said, her voice still soft. "Thank you for being so patient with me, Captain."
"Law," Law's voice cracked as he spoke his name. She tilted her head in curiosity at the odd tone in his voice and wondered why he said his own name. His heart soared at her innocence. "This is another gift I want to give you. I want you to call me by my name when we're alone."
"But, Capt-"
"No," Law said sternly while finally releasing her hand and pressing his finger to her lips. "We're alone. Call me by my name. Call me Law."
Neo stared at him.
Law waited patiently for her to speak. He knew this was going to be slightly difficult for her since she's been calling him captain for so long and was still lacking in her social skills.
Neo swallowed before finding her voice several seconds later. "L-Law…"
Law smirked when she finally said it. Just like it had before, her voice made his heart skip, several beats this time. He watched as the corner of her lips twitched into a smile. She then giggled. And with the innocent look she held in her eyes now, it made her look and sound like a child who had been up to mischief.
He brought his eyes up to hers before they slid back down to her lips where his finger still was. Without thinking, he lightly brushed his finger over her smooth lips. He then dragged his finger down to her chin, tilting her head up a bit and started to lean in towards her.
"C-Captain…Wh-what are you doing? My chest is tight. It's hard to breath. I…I'm scared," Neo said.
Law pulled back and studied the scared, confused look she held in her eyes. He sighed and pulled away from her. He mentally cursed himself for almost losing control. She just had that effect on him when they got into situations like this. "You don't have to be scared. I wasn't going to do anything that would hurt you. Let's continue our walk now, okay? You'll feel better then."
"Y-yes, Captain," Neo replied with a nod then started walking beside him again.
"Neo," Law said, casting a sideways glance at her. She turned her eyes to him and his captain tone. "I told you to call me Law when we're alone. And we are still alone, right?"
"Yes, C-Law," Neo apologized. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You'll get use to it in time." Law smiled and turned his attention back in front of him. He stole glances at her while they walked along the beach.
She kept looking at his ring with a light smile on her lips. She just couldn't seem to stop staring at it. It was probably about fifteen minutes later when her arm finally got tired of being in that position. She had no choice but to lowered her arm back down to her side. That's when he shifted his sword to his other shoulder. He then let his hand drop to his side.
Slowly, he reached for her hand and wound his fingers in hers. He felt her tense up from his touch, but she didn't pull away. He kept his eyes forward for a while before finally stealing another glance at her. She was still smiling, but had her eyes down to the ground. His lips twitched into a smile when she slowly closed her fingers around his and took a step closer to him. A familiar white glow emitted from her body. She looked up at him at the same time the glow passed to him. He noticed she started to hesitate, but the hesitation vanished when she spoke.
"C-Law, can I ask you something?" Neo asked.
"Of course you can," Law replied gently.
"This, uh, this change that's happening between us." She paused before continuing. "It's a good thing. Isn't it?"
"Yes, Neo. It is going to be a good thing," Law said.
"And you'll explain it to me when I'm ready," she said though it came out both as a statement and a question.
"Of course I will. Whenever you're ready, I'll tell you," Law said.
She nodded in understanding then let her eyes dropped back to the sand before taking another step closer to him.
Law could sense in that moment that it wouldn't be long now before she finally asked him to completely explain why she felt the way she did around him. He couldn't wait. But he would. He would wait until she was ready. It would only make it the more sweeter when he could explain it and finally confess his own feelings for her. Though he always thought it was corny when people said they would wait forever for the person they loved, he knew he would do just that. He would wait and wait for Neo. Nothing would ever change that. And there would be nothing in the world that would get in the way of that.
