Kisses, Plans & Decisions

"Huh?" Neo blinked. She looked around her and Law's room to find the usual steel floor had been replaced with soft, lush, green grass. The ceiling was replaced with an endless starry void. The walls remained in place, but slowly began to move away from her. She looked to where their bed and Law should have been. They weren't there. Panic started to prickle down her spine, but stopped when she felt a strong, familiar presence. "Who's there?"

Neo turned around to face the door. Slowly the door began to disappear, leaving the hollow space to walk through. Her eyes dropped down to the ground when a soft yellow glow caught her eyes. A bell shaped flower had appeared. She tilted her head in curiosity at the flower seconds before another one appeared six inches from it. A couple more glowing bell shaped flowers appeared after the first two. Each one was six inches apart from the next.

The first flower disappeared for a couple seconds. When it came back into existence the second flower disappeared. The third flower did the same then the first one disappeared again. Confusion filtered into Neo's mind when she felt like the flowers wanted her to follow them. "What? Are you asking me to follow you?"

The flowers glow brightened then died back down to their normal glow. Feeling that was a yes, Neo followed the flowers. The walls of the sub continued to move away from her as she made her way down the halls of her home. She glanced back over her shoulder to find that the flowers she was following were disappearing completely once she was past them.

She faced forward again just in time to see the large door of the sub disappeared just like their room door did a few short seconds ago. The bell shaped flowers appeared along the edges of the door frame. They lit it up, giving the passageway a halo effect. She continued to walk towards the door. The wind began to blow through the glowing door, bringing the salty sea air, an array of flowers and a very familiar smell of alcohol with it. Stepping through the door, Neo's tank top and shorts were replaced with a long flowing white sleeveless dress that trailed behind her and her wings.

She mindlessly flicked her wings while looking at her surroundings. She was standing in the flower field again. She glanced to her left and saw a forest. Glancing to her right she found a single mountain. Sensing the strong presence behind her, Neo turned around. She took in the tall, broad shoulder figure standing there hidden in a shadowy form. His strong presence demanding respect from those around him yet he took to his right knee and bowed to her.

Neo opened her eyes to Law's sleeping form. She pushed up on her arms and looked around their room, her mind hazy from her dream. The early morning rays streamed into the porthole, giving the room a warm glow. The waves gently rocked the silent sub made her want to sleep more. With a sigh, she laid back down. My dreams have gotten so weird lately. She watched Law snooze peacefully while letting herself drift back to sleep to his soft snores and warmth of his body.

"A hickey?" Neo blinked. Sitting on his lap at his desk she stared at him. The two lovers had snuck away from the crew, who was currently in the rec. room playing poker, so Law could move Neo into the next phase of their relationship. He had taken some time to explain all the different types of kisses to her and decided to demonstrate a couple for her.

"Mhm." Law nodded. "It basically just a bruise. A dark colored skin mark left on any part of the body, but usually the neck or arm, after having it sucked for a period of time. The sucking pops small blood vessels that heal within a few days. Some also see it as a way to playfully mark their territory."

"Mark territory? Kind of like your ring?" Neo asked, holding up her hand so the light glinted off the silver band.

With a smile, Law nodded and kissed her out stretched hand.

"And you're going to show me?"

"That's what this lesson is about. I'm going to do it on the bend of your elbow so you can easily see it." Law eyes sparkled when Neo nodded her head rapidly in excitement. He chuckled while moving her arm out so he could press his lips into the bend of her elbow. He paused to take her in as she tensed at the first suck he made on her arm. She showed no signs of fear. He felt no signs of discomfort from their bond. He placed his lips back on her arm and started sucking slowly. He closely monitored her comfort level through their bond while he started sucking harder on her skin. His lips curled in delight when a soft squeak escaped her lips as heat pooled in her chest and rushed to her cheeks. Her heart rate was steadily increasing with each suck he made on her. He paused to say, "If at any point you want me to stop, just say so, and I'll do it."

"Okay. Continue now. I-I like it," Neo said shyly.

Law nodded to the gentle order and proceeded to work his lips on her delicate skin. When he was satisfied with the time spend on her arm, he stopped sucking. He licked the spot with his warm tongue, sending waves of shivers up her arm and sending her head into the clouds.

She squeaked again at the wonderful and new feelings he was making her feel. "I-is that it?"

"Just about," Law said just before pecking her lips. "It'll take a few minutes for the hickey to appear. While we wait, I can start you on how to french kiss."

"O-okay." Neo swallowed. She started fidgeting nervously.

"Relax, love. Just follow my lead. I'll take it slow." Law tucked her hair behind her ear. "Just lightly tilt your head to your right like you do with a basic kiss."

Neo nodded. She tilted her head just as Law leaned in towards her.

He pressed his lips with a feathery kiss. "We start off with light kisses just like I did. Then we move to some tongueless kissing."

"What for?" Neo asked, unable to take her eyes off Law's soft, tempting lips. She traced her fingertips over his bottom lip, earning a shiver from him. She giggled at his unexpected reaction.

"This builds the foundation for a french kiss," Law said, trying not to get distracted by her extremely soft fingertips trailing along his lips then across his cheek. His eyelids fell half closed when her fingers made their way up his face and into his hair. Uncertainty rose in her curious, yet cautious, blue eyes. She started to pull her hand away from his dark hair. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he guided her back to his tresses. "Don't stop."

"I don't know what I'm doing," Neo whispered. Her heart raced wildly in her chest. Her eyes looked at her hand in his hair, then his eyes, then his lip, then back to his eyes. "Kiss me."

"You're following what your body is telling you to do. Just listen to it. I'll help guide you along as well. Just follow my lead," Law spoke back to her in a mesmerized tone due to her hand being in his hair, his own heart picking up its pace. He vaguely remembered when she had done this before, he also felt like she was putting him in a trance then too. He wondered if it had something to do with their bond or if it was just something she was able to do to him without magical influence. Pushing those possible unanswerable questions out of his mind, he leaned back towards her and placed a few more light feathery kisses on her lips before pressing harder. He opened his mouth a couple times before she understood what he wanted her to do. A couple more times in leading her to part her lips with his, he paused to let her breathe. "Remember to breathe. You can do that through your nose. Or, if you need to, don't hesitate to pull back a bit from me. This won't be any fun if my girlfriend passes out on me."

Neo giggled. "I understand. Don't stop now."

Law nodded. He started moving his lips against hers again. Once he knew she had gotten the hang of what to do at this point, he advanced the lesson. He guided her mouth open and slid the tip of his tongue passed her lips. He brushed his tongue over hers, sending static tingles throughout her entire body. She squeaked. Her body tensed up tighter than it ever has before. Rubbing his hand on her back, he leaned back to observe her. "Would you like to stop?"

"No!" she squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

Law's lip twitched up into a smirk at her reaction and waited for her to give him a clearer answer.

With her cheeks tinting a darker red, she cleared her throat. "No. I want to keep going."

"Very well then. This time, when I pull my tongue out of your mouth I want you to follow with your tongue," Law ordered.

She nodded.

He started kissing her again without their tongues. Once back in the right rhythm, Law glided his tongue back into her mouth. She easily followed his instructions and followed his tongue when he pulled out of her mouth. Cupping his hand on her neck, they continued to follow each others tongues. A few minutes later, she pulled away from him and panted softly. "You did good."

"I…I did?" Neo's pants started to subside. She looked up at him, searching. If he was winded from their kissing he didn't show it.

"You did very good. The more we kiss the more bold we'll both become, but you are now definitely on the right track." Law rubbed his hand on her arm. He smiled when she tensed up then relaxed almost immediately. She was getting better at letting him touch her, but he suspected she would always tense up on him. He then noticed the small bruise he created earlier. Holding her arm up, he said, "Look."

Neo dropped her eyes to her elbow. There in the bend was a colorful love mark; the first of many Law was planning on giving her. She ran her fingers over it before looking up at Law with a smile. "We're bonding in more nonmagical ways, aren't we?"
"We are." Law replied, running his fingers through her blue hair. "Would you like to try giving me a hickey?"

"I can do that?" Neo's eyebrows rise high on her forehead.

"Of course you can." Law chuckled. He adjusted the neck of his hoodie for her and then tapped a spot on his neck. "It won't be any fun if I'm the only one doing love bites. Go ahead and give it a try."

Neo fidgeted for a moment before placing her hand on Law's shoulder. She leaned into him and placed her lips on his neck. She sucked gently on his skin while following his instructions on what to do. Feeling a bit winded she pulled back from him. "How long do I have to do this?"

"As long as you want. I think that will be enough for now," Law said. "What do you think?"

"It was fun. Definitely different," Neo said. "I enjoyed it. How long do men and women kiss?"

"As long or as short as they want," Law said. "We won't do much more today. I know you want to spend some time with Penguin."

Neo nodded. "He said he'd be waiting until I'm done."

"You can go after this," Law said.

"All ready?" Neo blinked.

"We've been in here for over two hours," Law said. "We have plenty of time to do this again."

"Okay." Neo looked down at his neck. Her love bite had finally appeared. She traced it with her finger. "Wow. I did that."

"You sure did," Law said. "You should go now."

"Okay," Neo said.

Law pecked her lips before allowing her to stand up.

"I'm showing off your love bite," Neo said heading for the door.

Law smirked. "Then be prepared for some teasing from the crew."

"I can handle it," Neo said. She waved to him before opening the door and leaving. There was a light skip to her step as she made her way to the galley. On her way there she ran across Archer and Conner. "Hey! Look what Law did!" She showed them her arm. "I have a hickey!"

"So you do," Archer said.

"Ah, that's so cute," Conner said, patting her head. "Our little girl is growing up. But why on your arm?"

"Law wanted me to see it," Neo said. "He'll give me more. I even gave him one."

"Really?" Archer smiled.

"Yeah! Well, I'm heading to the galley to cook with Penguin. See you later." Neo passed by them.

"Later," they said.

Skipping down the stairs, she landed on the third floor just as Penguin walked by. He said, "Done with your lessons already?"

"Yeah. Look!" Neo showed him her arm. "Law gave me a hickey! I gave him one too!"

"I can see that," Penguin said. "And where, may I ask, is the captain's?"

"On his neck. It's where he wanted it." Neo looped her arm through his and pulled him towards the galley. They entered into it and started getting out the tools they would need for cooking. "Let's make some fried pies."

"So I take it your lessons with the captain are going well?" Penguin asked. He turned his attention to the door when he saw movement. A couple of the scouters were trying to sneak in and get a sample of the pies. "Will you two get out of here? We've barely started."

"But you have some in the oven. They smell so good."

"Come back in a while," Neo said. "They should be done and we might have some filling left over you can eat."

"Great."

"Thanks, Neo."

"You spoil them too much," Penguin said as their crewmates left.

"I spoil you, too. And you love it." Neo winked at him.

"So I do." Penguin smiled.

"The lessons are going good. I never knew there were so many ways to kiss someone. And I never realized that the human, and elemental, body had so much stuff inside of them." Neo paused. Glancing up in thought at the ceiling while tapping her spoon on her mixing bowl. She breathed in the pie filled air. All of the cherries, black berries, pie crust, and sugar were making her stomach rumble. "It's like there's an entire civilization inside of our bodies."

"Hm…never hear it being put like that before, but I suppose it does kinda seem like that," Penguin said with a light nod. He pulled out a cookie sheet of their pies from the oven and slipped another one in. They learned that baking fried pies tasted just as good, sometimes even better, than frying them. Took up less time and was healthier. "And all that stuff inside of us has it's own job to do."

"Can I ask you something personal?" Neo then asked. She pulled her eyes from the ceiling and glanced at Penguin.

"I suppose so. What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering if you've ever had sexual intercourse before," Neo said slowly. She then quickly added, "If you don't want to tell me then that's fine. I know this is a very personal question. I guess I'm just trying to see where my boundaries are with you."

"I understand." Penguin smiled. "It's all right. I don't mind you asking me that. And, yes, I have slept with a couple women before."

A small frown tugged on the corner of her lips.

Penguin tilted his head. He asked, "Did you really not want to know that?"

Neo chewed on her bottom lip. Her mind wandering over her feelings of Penguin's honest answer and whether or not she really wanted to know that. Mindlessly, she pieced up a cherry and popped it into her mouth. She chewed it and swallowed before answering, "No, I really did want to know. It's just…I just realized I'm going to have to share my family with other women and men if Topaz sleeps with them too. Think I can have Law ordered the crew to not have sexual intercourse?"

Penguin couldn't help but laugh. He stepped closer to her. With a peck to her temple, he said, "I don't think it works that way, little sister. Don't worry about it. Some of the crew might go off for a while to fulfill their hot, passionate desires of the flesh, but they will always return to you."

"Hm." Neo tapped her spoon harder on her mixing bowl. "If I can't have Law order them not to do it, then I'm tempted to have that tattooed on their foreheads so other women will know you all belong to me."

Penguin's snickers blossomed into full-blown laughs. "You're so cute when you get possessive of us."

"Well, you all are mine. The commitment ceremony says so." Neo smiled. She winked her right eye and stuck her tongue out at him. She then laughed with him before they turned back to finish up their pies. While working on filling up the remaining pie dough, Neo's mind slipped into a daydream. She blinked and found the floor had been replaced with lush green grass and those strange bell shaped glowing flowers again. She glanced around the room, the table, the chairs, the counters, the sink, the stove, even Penguin faded away from her eyes. The walls started moving out again. Her shorts and shirt was replaced with the white dress and wings again. She flicked out her wings when the flowers started to lead the way out of the galley. Immediately taking to the air, she followed after the flowers. She followed them outside of the sub to where the same presence as before was already waiting for her. He sat down in the flower field they were in and gestured for her to do the same. She remained standing while blinking in confusion. She blinked a few more times and found she was back in the galley with Penguin calling her name.

"Neo? Uh, Neo?"

"Huh?" Neo turned to him. "What?"

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit out of it," Penguin asked. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms and legs.

"I'm fine. I just got lost in a daydream…I guess." Neo kneaded her eyebrows. It was that dream again, but as a daydream? It was a bit different again too. "What did you want?"

He pointed at the pies she was working on. "That's the last batch. We should get started on dinner. What did you have planned?"

"Oh, well, Bepo's been craving fish so I figured we could have Law's favorite tonight," Neo said with a smile. "The crew did catch some fresh fish earlier. They're cleaned and waiting in the fridge."

"Bepo always wants fish," Penguin said with a snicker. "I think he'd eat his weight in fish at every meal if the captain would let him."

"Yeah, I bet he-Huh?" Neo paused when she felt Law getting angry.

"What is it?" Penguin asked.

"Law's angry for some reason." Neo glanced over at the fridge before pulling her eyes back to Penguin. She studied Law's feelings for a few seconds before deciding it would be best to go check on him in personal rather than use their bond. "Would you mind starting dinner without me? I'm going to go check on Law then be right back."

"Sure." Penguin nodded.

"Thanks." Neo laid her spoon down and headed for the door just as two crewmates wandered in.

"It smells so good in here!" one said.

"Yeah! Can we have some pies now?" the other one asked, drooling over the pies.

"No!" Neo snapped playfully. She shook her finger at them. "No touching the pies until after dinner!"

"Aw!" they whined, but with smiles on their faces.

"You can have the left over filling as I said before. I'm leaving Penguin in charge of the pies. When I get back none of them better be missing," Neo threatened as she exited the galley. "If they are, I'll tie the culprit to the stern of the sub with my vines until we enter the New World."

"That's harsh. We have to travel underwater to get to the New World," the first crewmate pouted while the other two pirates in the room laughed.

Neo winked at him before disappearing down the hall. She quietly greeted a couple other crewmates who were standing in the hall talking then waved at Shachi, Bepo, and Topaz when she passed the rec. room. She paused to take in the elemental. Topaz was going through some training moves with Bepo while Shachi was at the table playing solitaire. She smiled. Topaz seemed to be adjusting well to her new life as a pirate. Neo was glad. She felt so guilty for asking such a request from the elemental woman, but that had quickly faded when it became clear that Topaz had no regrets in her decision to join them. She just wished that Kailen had changed his mind and came with them as well. She hoped that someday he would join them like he said he would. Hopefully, that would be sooner than they both expected it to be. Neo took a deep breath to keep herself from crying at the thought of leaving her brother behind on Luminous and continued on through the sub.

Neo found the door open a few inches when she finally reached their room. She slipped inside the room, closing the door once inside. She paused when she saw Law sitting at his desk. His eyes glinting with a dangerous light, even more so than when the mercenaries took her, his hand and pen furiously scribbling on a piece of paper as one name repeated over and over in his head, Doflamingo. Anger and hatred was radiating off his body and through their bond. Wrapping her arms around herself she forced back a shiver. In that moment she finally realized how much Law really hated Doflamingo. Just hearing him think of the man made her chest seize up with tension. This man had such a strong hold over Law. She didn't like it. She rushed over to him. "Law?"

Upon hearing her voice, Law relaxed a whole lot. His legs automatically pushed him back from his desk so she could sit on his lap.

She immediately curled upon his legs; wrapping her arms around his neck like she needed to anchor him down or he'd blow away from her. "Stop that. I don't like this feeling. You're too angry. It's scary."

"I'm sorry, love." Law dropped his pen. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close to his tense, but now relaxing body. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's him isn't it? What's going on, Law?" Neo asked. She caught a glimpse of the hickey she made on his neck a few hours ago.

"Yes. I was working on my plans of taking him down and got too caught up in the moment. I should have been more careful with my feels and closed them off to you. I'm sorry." Law tightened his hold on her. He placed a gentle kiss on her neck. "I'm calm now."

Neo pulled away from him. She cupped his cheek while sensing out his feelings. He was calm now, but a little anger still burned in the back of his mind. She nodded. "What exactly were you doing? What plans did you come up with?"

Neo noticed he flinched inwardly, but remained quiet for his answer.

"Well, I need to become a warlord."

"A warlord?" Alarm bells went off in Neo's head. "You're going to willingly work for the navy? Your enemy?"

"It'll only be temporally. I need to get into a certain room on an island called Punk Hazard. I can't do that as I am now. Being a warlord will give me more room to move freely without getting chased or reprimanded by the navy." Law ran his hands over her back and arms to calm her down.

"What's so important about this room?" Neo asked. She leaned back into him while he kept his hands moving over her back and arms.

"It holds a chemical that creates a man made devil fruit. It's called SAD. One of the four emperors, Kaido, the King of Beast, uses this to give his crew devil fruit powers. He has hundreds of devil fruit users in his crew. If I can take out that, then it will weaken his forces and it will cause friction between him and Doflamingo since Doflamingo is the one in control of Punk Hazard and of making the SAD. He has a scientist on Punk Hazard who used to work for Vegapunk. His name is Caesar Clown."

"So you're working on a plan for the crew to take down one of the four emperors," Neo felt Law flinch again, but didn't pay much attention to it, "and since you want to take down Doflamingo you're going to use Kaido to do that? When did you learn all of this stuff about this Punk Hazard and Doflamingo?"

"That's the basic idea. Every time we stop on an island I've been searching for any information I can find dealing with Doflamingo and Punk Hazard. Plenty of pirates, who have been to the New World, talk about it, especially when they've had too much sake. But the crew, and myself, are still too weak to go up against an emperor just yet. That's why I need to become a warlord," Law said.

"And how exactly do you become a warlord?" Neo asked, pulling away again so she could look at him.

"Well, my plans are to send a hundred pirate hearts to the navy." Law gave her a sympathetic smiled when she turned a bit green at his reply. "Sorry. I didn't mean I was going to cut out their hearts and send them, blood and all, to the navy. I'm going to use my powers to take them."

"Oh." Neo nodded. She tilted her head when he lowered his eyes from hers and started to close his feelings off towards her. "Law? What is it? Why are you closing yourself off to me?"

"Neo…" Law spoke in a low, serious, almost regretful tone that she really didn't like.

She kneaded her eyebrows in an attempt to figure out what it was about this tone that made her feel so much dread.

He swallowed, hard, before forcing himself to speak. "I'm going to have the crew go to another island, Zou, instead of with me to Punk Hazard."

Neo gave him a quizzical look. "You're going to send the crew to another island while you-" Then it clicked. Reality of his words came crashing down on her like a virus. Her heart leaped into her throat, cutting off the words that were screaming in her head. She bolted off his lap before he could anchor her there with his arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she backed away from him. "No! No, Law! No!"

"Neo." Law pushed himself to his feet. He walked closer to her, trying to pull her back into his arms. She jerked away before he could touch her. "Neo…"

"No, Law! You can't! You can't just leave me like that! You promised you would never leave me! You just promised me that only a few days ago! Why?! Why would you even consider thinking about leaving me like that?! If you dare leave…if you dare order me to stay with the crew…I'll follow you anyway! I find someway to break your hold over me and follow you!" Neo shouted through her hot tears. She then paused in realization that she was angry with him, at Law of all people. She grasped her head in her hands, stumbling a few more feet away from him. Her head buzzing with confusion while she tried to figure this all out. She never thought she would ever be angry with him. Her legs suddenly felt unstable beneath her as her chest constricted. Unable to support her weight any longer, her knees buckled under her. She gasped. "Oh my gosh. I'm angry. I'm actually angry with you. Why? Why would you do this? Why?"

Law rushed over to her. Dropping to his knees, he wrapped her in his arms. "Shh…it's all right, love. Just calm down. I'm still here. I'm right here."

"B-but you're leaving," Neo whispered. She clenched a hold of his hoodie and cried into his chest. Her voice was muffled by the close contact, but her words sliced cleanly through Law's body and soul. "Why? I don't understand. I need to be with you. Our bond…our bond…we can't be separated. Bayan's journal…you know what happened."

"They died because they didn't think they would be reunited again," Law said as gently as he could. The words felt like poison in his mouth. It made his stomach turn.

"And you can guarantee that you will come back to me?!" Neo asked, almost hissed.

Law gritted his teeth. He knew he had no way to guarantee that he would return alive to the crew, to her. There never were guarantees on any mission.

More tears streamed down her face when he didn't say anything. "I can't do it, Law! I can't live without you! I can't live without knowing for sure that you're going to come back alive! If we die, I want it to be together not separated!"

"Shh, shh…it's all right, love. I haven't…I'm not going to leave you," Law said, stroking her hair.

"Wh-what?" Neo sniffled. She lifted up from his chest. His eyes were soft, yet filled with confusion, pain, and indecisiveness.

He sighed, brushing away her tears then beckoning her. "Come here."

Neo slipped her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and, when he stood up, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Carrying her like a scared child, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Holding her as close to his body as he could, he spoke softly to her. "It'll take months before we get to the point of going to Punk Hazard. Nothing is set in stone."

"Then why?" Neo's small voice asked. "Why even think about leaving me?"

"I'm just torn, love. By taking you with me, I'll be putting you directly in Doflamingo's sights. And he won't hesitate you hurt you, to use you against me, or even to k…kill you, especially if he knew you were my love." Law gritted his teeth. It took all he had not to think about how that man killed Corazon and what he would do to Neo if he got a hold of her. "But leaving you with the crew would cause a lot of damage too. It would be so hard for you to be separated from me. It would be hard for me to be separated from you, too. Leaving you with the crew would hurt you more mentally than physically. I just…don't know what to do. I want you to be safe, but which ever I path I chose you're going to get hurt either way."

"Law, I understand that pain is just a part of life." Neo pulled away so she could look at him. "Physical pain I can handle. I've dealt with that my entire life. But…being separated from you? That I can't handle. People might call that a weakness, and they might be right, but I just can't be separated from you. Please, Law. Don't do that to me. Don't to that to us. I can help you take Doflamingo down. I can. I might not be strong enough now, but you said you weren't either. We can get stronger, together. Law, please, don't leave me. Don't break your promise."

Law placed his hand behind her head. Gently, he pulled her back to him. "Don't think about this anymore. I haven't made any final decisions yet. There's still so much more planning I need to do. For now, I'm still with you. We're together. I'm not going anywhere."

Neo nodded against his shoulder. She took a deep breath and leaned into him as much as she could. They sat in silence for several minutes just listening to each other breath, taking in the others scents, and feeling out each others heartbeats. Law then said, "There is something else that I do need to talk to you about."

"Does it have anything to do with being separated for endless days?" Neo asked stiffly.

"No," Law replied with a light chuckle. "It is about our relationship and the public."

"What about it?" Neo lifted off Law's chest and looked at him.

"Although it might not do much good, I think it would be best if we didn't show much affections towards each other in public from now on," Law said carefully.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Neo asked, confused.

"It's for you protection. If people knew that we were in a relationship, some of them wouldn't hesitate to use that against us," Law replied.

"I guess so. But we've been together in public before. We've held hands and I clung to you like a monkey," Neo said with a lighthearted giggle. "I'm doing that now. And you showed plenty affection towards me on Luminous."

Law smiled. He was thankful that she had calm down enough to giggle for him. He really loved any chance he could get to hear her bell filled laughter. "Yes, you have. And we have held hands. I was able to show you more affection on Luminous because they weren't enemies. Well at first things were rocky between them and us, but they became our allies. They wouldn't hurt us because of that and you being their royal. The times that we've been on human islands no one's noticed that I've added a female to my crew. We've been lucky so far. Sabaody has really been the biggest issue we've dealt with since you've been with us. And the navy and reporters were too focus on what Straw Hat did to pay much attention to the other pirate crews on the islands. While the papers did mention our crew was there on Sabaody, they didn't mention that a blue haired beauty was with us."

Neo's cheeks flushed at his words. She pressed her forehead to his as he kept talking.

"Fire Fist Ace's execution announcement also helped take eyes off of us. But that won't happen in the New World. We're going to be gaining a lot of attention. And reporters aren't going to hesitate reporting that you are with us, especially since you're a young, beautiful woman among an all male crew. Plus, there are your crystals. They themselves are going to be gaining a lot of attention since, as far as I know, there's never been a devil fruit that comes close to your magic. Stronger people will be able to sense that you're different. I know people will most likely figure out that we're romantically involved at some point anyway. I just want to make sure I can ensure your safety as much as possible whether they figure it out or not."

"I think I understand." Neo bushed her nose against his. "I don't like that I won't be able to touch you, but it makes sense."

"We still have our bond. We'll always be connected that way. And I will always come to help you when you need me." Law ran his hand over her back. Somehow knowing where to press, he kneaded his hand into her shirt making her tense. "And we can always make up all the no touching when we get back to the sub."

"Mmm." Neo tensed up more when his other hand began to move over her back in suggestive movements that she didn't quite understand, but knew meant a good thing. "I think I like the sound of that."

"I was hoping you would," Law said, hovering his lips over hers, his warm breath fanning out over her skin as he spoke. They both smiled before closing what little distance remained between their lips. The kiss started off slow, filled with just the need to be close to each other. Then Law intensified it, filling it with passion and desire for each other. He broke the kiss with a satisfying hum. "You are going to be such a great kisser one day."

"Only because I have such a great teacher," Neo panted. She pecked his lips as if to reward him for teaching her how to kiss. "I should get back to the galley now. I left Penguin in there to start dinner. He'll be wondering where I am. We're making your favorite."

"Are you feeling stable now?" Law asked. His eyes shimmered with concern over upsetting her.

"Yes. I'm sorry I got angry at you." Neo brushed their noses together.

"Don't be. I was the one who upset you," Law said. He stood up, with her legs still wrapped around him, then set her on her feet and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll try not to upset you again."

"It's okay, Law. I know it's going to happen. It just does when we're in a relationship, right?"

"Right." Law nodded.

"I should go now," Neo said, pulling away from him.

Law watched her walk over to the door for a second before deciding he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. He rushed over to her. Placing his hand on the door before she could open it.

She turned to him.

"You're not allowed to leave just yet." Law leaned in towards her lips. "Penguin can wait a little bit longer."

Neo smiled just as Law pressed his lips to hers and instigated another kissing lesson. He cupped her neck with his right hand while his left slipped around her hip to her back, pulling her closer to him. Guiding her tongue with his, he began to, with out realizing it, push her back against the wall. She gasped when her back collided with the steel structure.

Law quickly pulled away from her, cussing under his breath. "I'm so sorry, Neo. I didn't mean to pin you."

"Law!" Neo grabbed his arm with her left hand while grabbing a fistful of his hoodie in the other. She stopped him from moving to far away from her. She locked her eyes onto his, feeding him her feelings that she really was fine. "It's okay. You just startled me a bit. I wasn't expecting it." She pulled him back to her. Keeping a firm hold and eye contact on him as she pulled his body back to hers. "I'm okay with you pinning me. I know you're not going to hurt me. Besides…I have to get use to it right? If not, then our sexual relationship is going to be quite a challenge, huh?"

Law searched her eyes and her feelings. Everything she was telling him, through her words, eyes and bond, was true. He saw that he did just startle her and she was fine with him being so close to her now. He drug his hand over her arm until he placed his hand in hers, fingers laced, watching her closely for the slightest sign of discomfort. She nodded. "It's okay, Law. I trust you."

Pulling her hand up, he pressed her arm to the wall while pressing his free arm to the wall as well, pinning her in place. A tiny amount of concern flickered in her eyes before dying like an ember snuffed out by the wind. Feeling secure about her feeling secure, Law leaned back down and recaptured her lips.

"Sorry about ditching you earlier," Neo said between bites of her pie. She took another bite and let the cinnamon and cherries dance over her tongue before chewing it.

"Don't worry about it," Penguin replied. The two were leaning against the railing of the sub, looking out at the moonlit ocean. "I'm sure whatever you two were doing was important."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. She wasn't sure if Law was ready to reveal his plans to the crew yet. He didn't tell her to not say anything, but he didn't tell her to say anything either. Of course it was hard for either of them to talk when their tongues and lips were busy being tied to each other. Her heart strummed in her chest. She decided to keep quiet about them for now. The two fell into comfortable silence while watching the soft glow of the moon dancing over the calm waters and ate their pies.

Neo blinked. The reflection of the moon and stars on the water changed to glowing bell shaped flowers. She blinked again and found herself in a field full of flowers. She stood looking out at the ocean. The sub was anchor in a nearby cove. She turned to her left and saw a small fire had been made and logs had been moved over for the crew to use. She looked back out at the ocean and saw another ship sailing towards the island. She felt his presence and alcohol coming from the ship. It floated in on the breeze with the salt of the sea. She took a few steps closer to the edge of the island. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a pirate flag whipping in the wind. And the jolly roger on the flag had a realistic skull, two swords crossing behind it and a distinct red mark over the skull's left eye.

Neo gasped. Her hand loosened on the last bite of pie in between her fingers. The pie dropped into the ocean with a distant plunk.

Penguin looked at her with concern. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Or something," Neo mumbled. She placed her fingers on her temple as her repetitive dreams, and now daydreams, started making sense to her. "I think he wants to see me."

"Huh? Who? The captain?" Penguin asked. He popped the rest of his pie into his mouth and waited.

"My godfather," Neo stated bluntly.

Penguin choked on his pie. He leaned over the railing. Coughing, he tried to clear his windpipe. He choked out, "Y-your godfather?!"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I've been having these strange dreams lately. And now I'm having them in daydreams. I never said anything about them, not even to Law, because I thought they were just dreams. But now…I think it's him calling to me through our bond."

"Uh…" Penguin stared at her.

"I know." Neo nodded. She felt his uncertainty about this radiating off him. "You're, well, we are technically enemies with him, but he's still my godfather. And I seriously think he wants to see me."

"But how? I mean, are you sure?" Penguin asked.

"I'm not really sure if I'm sure since the dreams seem so random. But these dreams and daydreams do have a couple things in common that never change. Bell shaped flowers that glow like little lamps, a familiar feeling presence that smells like alcohol and an island. And in these last couple of dreams, my wings appear and I'm dressed in a sleeveless white dress very similar to the ones I brought from Luminous. He wouldn't know which ones I took but he would know white is a royal's color." Neo bit her thumbnail. She pondered over the dreams, wondering if she was correct. "I think he's trying to lead me to an island where he wants to meet me."

"Hmm." Penguin hummed in thought. "I'd like to think that's true, but…"

"You have your doubts since we both are in pirate crews," Neo concluded.

Penguin nodded guiltily.

"It's fine. I understand. But he is my godfather. And I just know he won't hurt me or you all."

"I still have my doubts, but I do trust you. Since you are bonded with Red Hair Shanks you should be able to tell if he's being sincere or not," Penguin said. "At least, I assume you'll be able to. We only know you bonded once with him and three times with the captain. And, speaking of which, you should tell the captain about this."

"Yeah. That's going to go over great," Neo said. She puffed out her cheeks, making Penguin laugh. "He doesn't really want me thinking about other guys. He's just gonna love me dreaming about them, godfather or otherwise."

"Hey! Look!" Penguin pointed up to the sky. They smiled when meteors began to shoot across the sky. "We should get the crew!"

"I'll do it," Neo said. She summoned a couple wind crystals and flew a strong enough breeze into the sub that would alert the crew to her desire for them to come to her. Thinking Law might have the door closed, she summoned him through their bond. 'Law! Come outside! Quick!'

'I'm coming.' Law replied back clearly getting the message that everything was fine, but she really wanted him to come to her.

"What is it, Princess?" Topaz asked once she and Bepo appeared on the deck.

"We're gonna have to work on getting you to stop calling me Princess so much." Neo smiled at the orange haired woman.

"Habit. So what is it you called us all out here for?" Topaz smiled back with a shrug.

The rest of the crew started coming out onto the deck.

"Meteor shower," Penguin replied, pointing up to the sky.

The crew gasped in awe at the display before them. Soon all of the crewmembers were out on the deck watching the sky above them.

Law had stepped behind Neo and wrapped his arms around her waist, letting her lean against him. They stayed like that for a while before he warped them upon the highest point of the sub. He leaned against the mast while keeping her firmly against his chest.

She continued to watch the meteor shower while listening to the crew chat softly below them.

Law started to nibble on her neck, making her tense up and lose focus on the sky.

"Law, I called you out here to watch the shower not give me multiple hickeys."

"I can do both," he mumbled against her skin.

"Well, aren't you just the multitalented one." Neo giggled. He hummed against her neck, making her skin vibrate, and sending pleasurable shivers down her spine. She didn't want him to stop. So she tilted her head a little to give him better access to her. He kissed and sucked her neck for several minutes before she finally decided she needed to tell him about her dreams. "Law?"

"Hm?"

"What would you do," she bit her bottom lip before forcing herself to continue, "if my godfather came to see me?"

An intense pause passed between them before he asked, "What?"

She turned to her right. Draping her legs over his so she could look at him. She then told him what she had told Penguin.

Law sat quietly, listening to her descriptions of her dreams and how she felt about them. "Well, if you feel that going to this island is what we need to do, then I won't do anything. We'll go see him."

"Really?" Neo's eyebrows were turned up in worry. "I know we're two opposing pirate crews. And with your plans to take down Kaido…"

"My plans to take him down have nothing to do with you wanting to meet your godfather. You told me that you still didn't feel complete. Meeting him could resolve that. After all, he was one of the few people who saw your parents before they died. It's only natural you want to meet with him," Law said. "It's natural for him to want to meet you since he knows you're alive now and you're also bonded."

"I guess so. But we'll be meeting him in the New World. That's where his territory is. I don't think this island he keeps showing me is in his territory, but still…" Neo paused. "It's kind of a lot to take in."

"I know." Law nodded. "But he is your godfather. He won't hurt you or us. Let's go and see what he wants."

"As long as you're sure. I won't do this if you don't want me to," Neo said. Her eyes filled with worry knowing this would be difficult for them all.

"We're going to the New World anyway. We can take some time to go see him. You need this." Law stroked the back of his fingers over her cheek.

"Thanks, Law." Neo smiled.

"Just one thing."

Neo tilted her head. "What is it?"

Law gave her a stern, serious, yet slightly playful look. "Don't ever mention him again when I'm kissing you."

Neo laughed. "I'm sorry. I killed the mood, didn't I?"

Law nodded stiffly, but also smirked at her.

Law was lying on his left side, propped up on his elbow with his head in his hand. He was watching Neo in the soft glow of the nightlights. She was sleeping peacefully beside him like always. The humming of the sub's engines faded away from his ears long ago as worry penetrated his brain. He couldn't stop thinking about his plans. His plans that hurt her earlier that night. His plans that made her cry. He was going to have to be extra careful to not let her feel his thoughts when he obsessed over his plans.

He let his eyes trail over all of the scars of hers that was visible through her tank top shirt. He reached out, brushing his fingertips over one of the scars. He noticed that the scars seem to have faded some with the help of the cream the healer gave her back on Luminous. The scars were a constant reminder of what she had suffered in the past. She had come so far since then. She wanted to stay beside him no matter where he went. But could he let her do that? Could he really let her go with him and face the one man he absolutely hated? That he absolutely feared? Could he really let her get so close to him that he could kill her?

Then again, he could come after them at any point in time. Law didn't have to actually go anywhere near Doflamingo for the warlord to decide he wanted to kill Neo to hurt Law when he finally took notice of the blue hair woman.

A whole new wave of fears penetrated his chest.

What if he ordered Neo to go with the crew and Doflamingo went after the crew? It didn't matter how strong his crew was or how strong they would become, Doflamingo was always going to be on a whole different level from them. And while Neo was a force of nature and would do anything to protect her family, she still had her limits. And while she was able to bend nature to her will, he wasn't sure if that would be enough to stop Doflamingo's devil fruit strings. She's only had months of training compared to Doflamingo's years of fighting. Doflamingo was ruthless, a ruthless madman that wouldn't hesitate to kill every single one of their crew right in front of her eyes.

Law couldn't let that happen. It would damage her too much to see that. That would leave mental scars on her that he wouldn't be able to heal at all. She still had her mental scars of the past to deal with.

Law snapped. He unintentionally released his control on blocking his emotions from her. She felt him then. In her sleep, she felt his worry, his fear, his anger and shifted with a low whimper. Not wanting her to wake up, he struggled quickly to regain control over his emotions while wrapping her up into his arms. He held her close to him, stroking her hair. He didn't release his tension until felt her relax against him. He relaxed himself when she snuggled into his warmth.

With her soft breath washing over his bare chest, he knew he couldn't live without her just as much as she couldn't live without him. He couldn't abandon her, even if she was going to be with the safety of the crew. There were just far too many risks of leaving her behind. Many more risks than there was of taking her with him to Punk Hazard.

He had made the decision.

She was going with him.