Haki

"Huh?" Neo blinked when she thought the natural wind current, that was blowing through her hair, suddenly took an unnatural turn. She carefully scanned her eyes over every part of the island she could see from her perch in a tall tree she had landed in a few minutes ago. She didn't see or sense anything. A little gray squirrel, that had claimed her lap for a nap a second after she landed here, looked up at her. It tilted his furry head in question. She patted his head affectionately. "Maybe I'm just nervous after what happened on that last island. No more distractions now, little squirrel. I have to keep an eye on my crew."

She glanced down at the field before her. She had scoped out this area with Law long before the battle below began. She could easily see her crew and the crew they were engaged in battle with. She also had a clear view of the sea so she could keep an eye on incoming ships. So far things were going smoothly. Drawing in a long breath, she released it out as slowly as she possible could then refocus her thoughts on battle.

While watching the two crews clash below her, she quickly recalled all the information that Law had given her and the crew. The crew they were after call themselves the Wind Walkers. They are a very nimble crew who preform seemingly impossible moves for human beings, have thirty crewmembers, and have a high kill rate. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of pirates and soldiers this crew had fought only a small fraction have survived.

This made her extremely nervous. She wished Law had chosen an easier crew to fight. Neo sighed. She knew that wasn't completely true. She actually wished she could just take her crew and go live in peace with them on some island somewhere. But this is the life they all chose, including her. As long as she could be with them, especially Law, she was happy. She knew she could keep them safe. She was their sniper. And it was proving to be the perfect position for her. If this opposing crew pinned her family in any kind of way, she could easily remove them with her crystals. None of her crew was going to die with her watching their back.

Neo wiped her sweating palms on her jeans then focused in on the battle below her. Despite the Wind Walkers having over ten more members than they did, her crew was holding their own. With Law's powers in use, it didn't take long for the Heart Pirates to turn the tide of the battle in their favor. She smiled. This battle was going to end a lot quicker than she had thought. Suddenly, she felt the wind shift again in an unnatural way and the Wind Walkers started making their moves that should have been impossible for normal humans. "Hm? There's that shift again."

A Wind Walker charged directly at Topaz. She stood ready for the attack. When the man was close enough, Topaz struck out at him with her foot, but the man quickly darted to his right with impossible speed. She gasped, "What the heck?"

Before Topaz could react, the man roundhouse kicked a blow to her shoulder. She flew off her feet and right into Penguin's waiting hands. He asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Topaz nodded. "He just caught me off guard. I didn't think normal humans could move that fast."

"Then pick up your own speed!" Law shouted out to his crew. "Let's go!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" the crew shouted. They charged back into battle. Adjusting their own speed, they started to match up with the Wind Walkers move. They dodged then countered all of the Wind Walkers attacks. Some of the Heart Pirates teamed up. That proved even more efficient. Two Wind Walkers charged in on Tero. He stood ready for their attacks, but quickly dodged them as Bepo and Shachi jumped in with kicks of their own. Their feet slammed into the bodies of the attacking Wind Walkers, knocking them several feet away.

"They're faster than I expected," the captain hatted Wind Walker shouted out. "Increase your attacks! Take them down, men!"

"You got it, Captain!" the Wind Walker crew chorused back. The Wind Walkers pulled out their weapons. One with a sword ran towards two Heart Pirates. He leaped into the air and started to spin rapidly. The two Heart Pirates grasped at the impossible move, knowing they didn't have anything to defend against an attack like that.

"Room!" Law called out. He sliced up the spinning swordsman and several other Wind Walker pirates. "Enough of this. It's time to-ah…uh…"

Law stopped talking when he found it was difficult to breath. His lungs burned as all of the air in them left. He dropped his sword then his body to the ground. Pushing up on his left arm, he glanced at the victorious smirks of the other crew while they reassembled their divided crewmates.

"Captain! Wha-ah…uh…" Jean Bart shouted before his own voice disappeared with the air in his lungs. The large man dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Soon the rest of the shock Heart Pirates follow suit.

Neo gasped when she felt like the air was being sucked right out of her lungs. The squirrel on her lap jumped up on her shoulder and chittered nervously, asking her what was wrong. "I-I…don't…not me…Law…"

Panic and fear gripped at her chest when Neo ran her eyes over her crew again. A cold bead of sweat ran down her temple. All of them were down on the ground and gasping desperately for air. Her body temperature dropped when she finally noticed that the wind really was moving unnaturally. Someone else was manipulating the wind. And they were trying to suffocate her crew. She scanned her eyes as quickly as she could over the area. I know there's someone else here. They're obviously hiding. So that mean's they're in the trees as well.

'Law! Someone else is here! It might be a devil fruit user! Just hold on! I'm going to find them!'

'H-hurry!' Law thought back to her.

Neo lifted her eyes to the trees directly across from her position. Locking onto the wind, she was able to follow it back to its source. When she finally pinpointed where the person was, anger burned her chest. She removed the squirrel from her shoulder and took off. Using the trees as a shield, she flew over to the other side of the field the crews were battling in. I just hope they can't sense me manipulating the wind. I should switch to my wings just in case. With as thick as these trees are, I should be able to sneak upon this person easily enough, but not knowing what all they can do would put me at risk of being spotted before I can stop them from killing my crew.

Neo summoned her wings. Once she had herself stable and switched to using them, she banished her wind crystals. Fluttering her wings carefully, she quickly weaved through the trees. She tucked behind a large tree when she spotted someone moving through some leaves. Sitting casually on a thick branch was a fairly fat, shaggy brown haired pirate. Her anger grew in her chest as she watched the man chewing so carefree on an apple while sucking the life out of her crew, her family.

Summoning her earth crystals, she snapped out a vine around the pirate's ankle and ripped him right out of the tree, actually feeling joy in seeing the shocked expression in the man's face and his surprised cries as she jerked him downward into a lower branch. She instantly felt Law's lungs refilling with air before pulling both herself and the brown haired pirate out of the forest. Before anyone could see her, she banished her wings and reclaimed the wind around her. She swung her vine like a whip and slammed the pirate on the ground before landing herself.

"What the heck, Captain?!" one of the opposing pirates demanded. "You were supposed to suck the life right out of them! Was that really so hard?! You've done it several times before!"

"Shut up!" the captain hissed after refilling his own lungs from being slammed.

"So," Shachi wheezed, pushing upon his arms. "That one with the captain hat isn't the captain after all."

"Sorry, everyone," Neo said. "I didn't locate him quick enough to stop this before hand."

"You did well enough," Law replied, pushing himself to his feet. He, and the crew, instantly knew by locate she meant sensed. He reclaimed his sword and pointed it at the opposing crew. "It all makes sense now. All those move you all were making were too erratic and quick for normal human beings to pull off. But with the help of devil fruit wind user, those moves are made possible. Your real captain there would always hide somewhere and use the wind to help you all pull off those impossible moves. Then if a battle turned against you, all your captain had to do is suck the air right out of the other crews' lungs rendering them helpless." The Wind Walkers growled at the Heart Pirate captain's deduction of the truth. He continued, "What you didn't count on was ever running into someone else who has the ability to control the wind. You became too over confident in yourselves and your plan. Now it's over. Your secret is out."

The Wind Walker's real captain laughed and said, "The secret might be out, but we're not defeated yet. So she can control the wind too? I know there are no two devil fruits the same. So how is it possible she can control the wind as well?"

"She doesn't have a wind devil fruit." Law smirked.

Neo stood confidently, but trembled lightly on the inside as the Wind Walkers took her in.

"She has control over all the elements," Law said. 'Neo, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need your help in fighting this one.'

'I know. As long as you're with me, I can handle this. Tero's lessons are helping. But I might not be able to stand up physically to this man for very long. I'm sure he's had more practice using his winds than I have of mine. And he's obviously physically stronger than I am.'

'Physical strength doesn't matter here. You're far stronger than he is where wind control is concerned. You were born with it. He was not. And you're not revealing your true strength anyway. Just distract him the best you can. I'll remove his heart before he can even think about touching you.'

'Right.' Neo smiled while her heart fluttered over Law's protectiveness of her.

"All of them, huh?" The Wind Walker captain scoffed. "Now I remember. I've read about you in the paper. Still, I'm not impressed. You haven't show much skill in your devil fruit powers."

The Heart Pirates chuckled. With a smirk, Law said, "If you're a devil fruit user then you should know that no one starts out as a master of their powers. We'll see soon enough who's going to be the victor here. Now that the playing field has been leveled, let's continue."

"Let's me and you dance, woman!" The Wind Walker captain wrapped himself up in his winds.

Neo copied his moves and stood ready.

'Remember, Neo, his body can turn into the wind just like other element type devil fruits. Solution?'

'Then normal attacks won't work on him. Since he's a devil fruit user I might not be able to take control of the wind he directly uses or creates. So the solution would be to pretend he's stronger than I am as a distraction so you can sneak up from behind and take his heart.'

'Good girl. Can you do it?'

'Yes. I should be able to keep far enough distance to keep him from touching me. Just stay close as you can. I'm still going to freak out if he does manage to touch me.'

'Don't worry, love. You can handle this. Just focus on keeping his attention on you. I'll handle the rest. I won't let him touch you.'

"Let's see who has the better wind control!" the Wind Walker captain cried out before charging towards Neo with his fists engulfed in his winds.

Neo lifted herself in the air about a foot. She flew herself backwards while using her winds to knock away his attempted punches.

"Interesting crystals you have there! What exactly is your devil fruit called?! I've never heard of a devil fruit that has conductors!" the pirate said.

Neo narrowed her eyebrows. She focused on his attacks instead of listening to what he was saying.

He laughed. "Not much of a talker, huh? That's actually a very good quality in a woman. You know your place. Let the man be in control."

Neo heard that comment. She raised her eyebrow in slight confusion. She lost her focus on the battle and almost took a hit from the man. She used her winds to push herself away from his hit.

The man laughed again. "I see you don't have much experience in battle."

Neo frowned, feeling disappointed in herself.

'Focus, love. Don't let his words distract you.'

'Right. He just threw me off with that knowing my place thing. What did he mean by that?'

'I'll explain later. Fight right now. Enact our plan.'

Neo nodded. She increased her level of control over her winds. She had to get him to increase his own so she could fake being weaker than him. She zipped up above him. When he tried to follow, she slammed a gust of wind down on him, knocking him off balance.

"Oh, you are stronger than you look." He chuckled in a way that made Neo shiver uncomfortably. "But you're just a woman. Men are always stronger than women. You are inferior to me, woman. And I'll prove it right here and now."

Neo faked a gasp when his body merged with the wind. The wind speed around them all picked up. The Wind Walker's captain started to fly through the air, taking swipes at Neo once close enough. She dodged each and every single one of them, making sure to show she was struggling with each attack to let him think he was winning. She allowed him to hit her with his wind. She hit the ground, but used her winds to cushion the fall as much as possible without the enemy noticing. She glared up at the man now hovering over her.

"See? I told you men are superior to women. I thought about killing you, but after seeing you in battle, I'm intrigued. You'll make a fine love slave." The man ran his eyes hungrily over Neo's body.

The way his eyes roamed over her made Neo's entire body shiver. She wanted to remove herself from this situation in that very second, but held her ground as she felt Law moving in. Forcing herself to keep her eyes on the man in front of her, she still saw Law's Room from the corner of her eyes.

The man held up his hand to move in for his finally attack on her, but suddenly whipped around and launched it at Law who was just about to attack himself. His winds hit Law directly in the chest. The Heart Pirate captain when flying back then slammed into the ground, losing his sword in the process. "Nice try, Surgeon of Death. I know all about your powers. Trying to steal my heart, huh?"

'Law!'

"Captain!" Bepo cried out. He charged at the opposing captain. The others soon followed the bear. A couple of them were still fighting the remaining Wind Walkers, but quickly knocked them out and charged.

"Not gonna happen," the wind-controlling captain said. He turned his winds on the charging crew and easily knocked them all down. Jean Bart managed to stay on his feet a bit longer than the rest. The large man pushed against the winds, but an increase of speed knocked him down as well. "This is too easy."

Neo gritted her teeth and growled at seeing her family get hit. Just when the man started to turn back to her, she focused all of her anger on her wind crystals and struck him in the face. He flew across the field and slammed into a tree. The tree snapped and cracked at the impact then fell over, sending several more snaps of other branches being broken along with it. She pushed to her feet. "Don't touch my crew!"

She braced herself when the man's winds picked back up. In a blink, the man was charging back at her. She managed to dodge his attack at the last second, but he did clip a few strains of her hair off.

He growled angrily at her. "You're going to pay for that, brat!"

Neo locked into a duel of the winds with him. She let him do the majority of the attacking, but occasionally tried to throw in some kicks and punches of her own to make him think she was trying. The crew watched the midair battle helplessly. All they could do was cheer her on until they saw an opening to help her. "Come, Neo! You can do it!"

"Take him down!"

"Don't give in!"

"Her body's wearing down," Tero said with narrow eyebrows.

"It's just a trick," Shachi said. "She's trying to give the captain an opening to attack."

"Possibly," Tero agreed. "But this guy is a logia type. And she's still physically limited. She needs to make her move soon or…I hope you have a plan for this situation, Captain. If he transforms into the wind to deliver the final blow to kill her, there's nothing we can do to stop it. And he just might do that."

Law gritted his teeth. His eyes remained locked on Neo's battle. He really didn't have a plan for this. All he could do was hope Neo could keep up this deception and wait for the man to make a mistake so he could intercept and take his heart.

Neo showed herself visibly panting. She wished the majority of it were an act. She knew she was wearing down a lot faster than this guy she was facing. She had to let this guy win soon or else she was going to lose this fight for real. So she braced herself for his next attack. When he delivered the punch, she let his wind make contact with her body. She let herself crash down to the ground. She could feel Law's body tense at seeing and feeling her get hit. She could feel his rage and frustration over this entire situation that he was unable to predict and prevent.

"And now it's over! I get the reputation of the Heart Pirates and their infamous captain, Trafalgar Law!" The Wind Walker captain laughed. He turned his body into the wind, earning an unhealthy string of curses from the Heart Pirates. He charged down towards Neo. "Time to die, girly!"

'Law! What do I do?!'

Law clenched his fists. His fingernails puncturing into his skin, filling the air with the metallic smell of his blood. His body charged forward when his crew shouted at him, "Captain! Do something!"

Neo raised her arm just as the man was only feet from hitting her. Before her arm got up to her face, Law's darkened fist slammed into the wind-engulfed face of the enemy. Stunned, Neo watched as Law's dark fist pushed the man down into the ground. The ground shattered and rumbled with the force of Law's punch. Law held out his left hand, which was still normal, and called out a Room before anything else could be said or done. "Room! Scalpel!"

Law jammed his fingers into the man's chest and claimed his heart.

The crew stared on in wonder before reality seeped into their minds that the battle was over and their captain had haki now. "Yeah!"

"You did it, Captain!" they cheered while running over to their captain and Neo.

Law turned his attention to Neo. She was staring wide-eyed at his strangely colored fist. Dropping the pirate's heart, he dropped to his knees, placing his normal hand on her shoulder. "Neo, are you okay? Neo?"

When she didn't answer him, Law cupped her cheek and brought her eyes to his. Or he tried to bring her eyes to his. Her eyes remained lock onto his haki coated hand. He didn't even realize he had his haki until he looked at his hand to see what held her attention so strongly. "Oh…it's okay, Neo. It's just armament haki. It doesn't hurt at all."

"It doesn't hurt at all," Neo parroted like a robot. She then blinked and raised her own right hand up to her face. She studied her pain free appendage then looked back at Law's haki coated fist. She released a relaxing breath when she realized they weren't in pain at all. "Oh geez. I hate new things."

The crew chuckled.

She then pulled Law's hand into hers and started to inspect the shield around his skin before noticing the throbbing heart lying on the ground. Her face turned green as she stared at it. She squeaked, "I really hate new things."

"Sorry about that," Law said passing off the heart to a crewmate who tucked it into his boiler suit so she wouldn't have to look at it. "Let's get back to the sub now."

"I second that," Archer said.

"You're not injured, are you?" Penguin asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Not really," Neo replied, running her eyes over herself. She ran her eyes over her crew, counting them to make sure they all were there. "Just more surprised or shocked, I guess. I was scared. For a moment I thought I was going to lose you all. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Shachi said with a wave of his hand. "We all got thrown off guard. There never were any reports of that crew having a devil fruit user. You saved us all. If it weren't for you, we would have died."

"He's right," Law said, regaining her full attention. "You did really well in calling your shots today. You have nothing to feel bad about. Now, let's get out of here."

"Right." Neo nodded with a light smile. She placed her hand in Penguin's outreached one and let him help her stand up, wishing she could latch onto Law but knowing she couldn't.

'Don't worry, love. I'll hold you once we're back on the sub. Just like I said I would.'

'Yeah. I know.' Neo smiled. 'And I'm gonna fly us all so we can get back there quicker.'

Law chuckle as Neo wrapped her winds around the crew and flew them back to the sub within seconds. Once inside, Neo pounced on Law while the crew scattered about the sub to prepare to leave this island. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, giving him no choice but to hold her. He chuckled again while she snuggled into his neck. She said, "There. That's much better. Now, what did that guy mean about knowing my place?"

"Some men think women are inferior to them. That women should just stay in the kitchen and have babies," Law replied.

"But I like cooking." She pulled away from him, confusion swirling in her blue eyes.

"Yes, but you choose to cook. I don't force you to do it. That guy thinks women should stay in the kitchen. No fighting, no going out, just staying in the kitchen cooking for him and having his babies," Law explained.

"Oh," Neo drawled. "I get it. That's not nice."

"No, it's not," Law said. He then smirked at her. "Thought, you might have made him second guess his thoughts on that subject."

Neo giggled and snuggled back into Law's neck.

"Not fast enough! You got to move faster!" Tero barked.

"Right!" Neo shouted between her pants. She brushed a strain of hair from her face that came loose from her braid, which Penguin did for her, just before Tero bombarded her with a barrage of swift punches and kicks.

She brought up her left arm and easily blocked them, but her small form verses his larger form he easily knocked her down, again. He was at least twice Neo's size after all.

Tero didn't waste time in charging at her. The man leaped into the air and readied his fist to bring down on her. With all of the strength she had in her, she pushed herself away from his attack and retaliated with a kick of her own. She aimed for his head, but he easily blocked it with his wrist then grabbed her arm and flipped her onto her back.

Law gritted his teeth and mentally nailed himself in place when her small body hit the floor. The captain was leaning against the wall of the training room watching the sparring session. His arms were crossed over his chest and right leg was bent up slightly so the toe of his boot allowed him to bob his knee erratically as he watched his love spar against his subordinate. It took every fiber of his being to not put an end to their sparring sessions permanently every time she took a hit. It took every fiber of his being, and then a fleet of ship loads more, not to rip out Tero's heart -with his bare hands- each time the man landed a blow on her. But, somehow, Law was able to keep his anger and protectiveness over Neo in check. He didn't interfere with them at all when their sessions were in progress.

As a distraction, Law glanced over at the other two in the room with them. Topaz and Penguin were the only other two, besides himself, who remained in the room during Neo's sparring sessions. A few others would start off in the room as well, but it wouldn't take long before they wandered away, unable to watch Neo get hit anymore. Occasionally, a few would return and peek into the room to check on how she was doing then would quickly leave. It was hard for them all to watch their favorite girl get hit.

Law could easily tell from Neo's first sparring session that Topaz and Penguin really didn't want to watch this either. They too wanted to leave the room or stop it all together. He figured Topaz was only staying because she felt like it was part of her duty in serving her princess and honoring the agreement for being on the pirate ship in the first place. And he knew Penguin was just being his typical big brother self to Neo. While watching the sparring, the black and white hatted man always held a disapproving and worried frown on his lips, but he and Topaz remained silent. They all knew this had to be done. They all knew this was helping her. The proof of that was in their battle with the Wind Walkers the other day.

Law turned his eyes back to the fight when a stab of pain shot through his bottom lip. Neo was once again on the ground. She was brushing the back of her hand over her chin. Fire burned in Law's chest at her split lip. The fire died down when she shot him an 'I'm okay' thought before leaping up and charging at Tero. She threw several punches at his head, which he dodged easily, before she switched into a roundhouse kick. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tero anticipate her move and prepared to block it. She quickly switched her plan. Instead of aiming the kick to his head, she dropped it down to his legs and knocked his feet out from underneath him.

Law smirked when he saw a glint of surprise in Tero's eyes. Neo had finally landed a blow on the man after hours of training with him. The two locked into another round of kicks and punches for ten more minutes. When Tero threw her on her back, again, she tried to get back up, but her body refused. Mentally she wanted to keep going, but knew she physically couldn't do it anymore today.

Law wasn't sure, but he thought he saw his subordinate panting slightly as the man studied Neo on the floor. It happened to quickly for him to be positive. He turned his eyes back to Neo. She had lasted a lot longer against Tero today so it was possible he really did see Tero winded. He pulled his eyes back to Tero when he spoke.

Tero said, "That's enough for today."

Law was finally able to get his body to relax. He pushed off the wall just as Penguin and Topaz ran over to Neo. He passed by Tero as the man walked towards the door of the training room. He grabbed a quick glance at him when they passed each other. He had to admit, to himself at least, that Tero showed signs of being a very good sparring partner for her. Tero was pushing Neo to get better as fighter, in a way that he and the rest of the crew couldn't, while also recognizing where her limits were and to not push her past them to the point of seriously getting hurt.

"Neo, are you okay?" Penguin asked.

Law pulled his eyes over to the group of three.

The two were kneeling down beside Neo, who was now sitting up. Penguin had her chin tilted up a bit, checking out her busted lip. "Doesn't look like there's any dirt in the cut."

"I'm fine." Neo panted. She tucked her loose strains of hair behind her ears and gave them a small smile. She twitched when the smile shot pain through her lip. She looked up at Law when he stepped over to them. "All I need now is a hot bath."

'And to cuddle with you.' Neo thought to Law who smirked in reply. He reached down, offering her a hand. She gladly took it and let him help her stand up. He ran his eyes over her tired body. The only cut was on her bottom lip. Other than that she was only tired from her training session.

"Then a hot bath you shall have," Topaz said. She rolled her shoulders then looked at Penguin. "Watching that got my body all tensed up. How about we spar for a while?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Penguin replied with a nod. He gave Neo one last look before joining Topaz.

Neo and Law watched the two start their own sparring session before finally leaving the room.

"You're not going to use your solar crystal?" Law asked while walked down the hall with her hand in his. "You've recently been in a strenuous battle and now in another tough sparring session with Tero."

"I thought about it, but I think I need to get use to being hurt and tired like this." Neo looked down at her body then up at Law. "At least for a while."

"If that's what you want."

Neo studied him quietly. She knew he was doing his best to hide his concern over her. But she didn't need their bond to know that her fighting with anyone bothered him a lot. "You know you don't have to watch me train."

Law sighed. The two stopped walking and turned their bodies towards each other. He circled his thumb over her skin. "I know. But it's easier to watch you fight than it is to hide in another room and pretend you're not in pain. Plus, I want to be there just in case Tero tries to overstep his boundaries."

"You know he's not going to do that. He might not care very much for my people and me, but you know he's loyal to the crew." Neo gave his hand a little squeeze. "Besides, deep down, all fear the great Surgeon of Death, especially those who know not to mess with his bonded."

"That's right." Law chuckled. He leaned down and placed his lips over hers. A twinge of pain in their lips forced him to quickly pull back. He licked the small amount of metallic blood of his own lip. "Sorry."

"Ouch. It's okay." Neo gently rubbed below her throbbing lip. She summoned her solar crystal. It's glow washed over her lip, healing it almost instantly since it was so small. "Maybe I will use my solar crystal a bit. Just so I can kiss you." The two turned and proceeded down the hall with smiles on their faces. "I've been wondering about something."

"And what's that?" Law inquired.

"About my bond with my godfather," Neo replied.

Law cocked a sideways glance at her.

"I've just been wondering what all I can do with him. He can influence my dreams and daydreams. Do you think it's possible that he can sense or see what we do when we're awake?"

"I don't know." Law frowned. A dark cloud hovered over him as his mind became plagued with the possibilities of what Red Hair Shanks could possible do with his bond to Neo. His little mini storm didn't slip passed Neo's attention.

"You know…it's possible that you can influence my dreams too," she said with a light tease in her tone. "And I can probably influence your dreams as well. I do have a stronger bond with you than I do with my godfather."

Law's face flushed in a moment of weakness as an inappropriate thought flashed through his mind and spread to Neo's.

Neo laughed when she felt Law's heart rate rise. Though she still didn't quite understand the sexual thought Law had, which involved her being on her hands and knees with him behind her both naked, but she knew it was something Law really wanted to do to her. Composing her laughter, she looked at him. Her eyes shimmered with curiosity and seriousness. "Would you mind explaining that sexual situation to me?"

Law growled. Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her to his side and down the hall. "Yes! I do mind!"

"Aw," Neo whined playfully. She poked him in the stomach. "Come on, Law! You thought it. You shared it. Now you explain it."

"No!" Law's face blushed a brighter red. "You are not ready for it!"

"Not ready for what?" Neo teased.

Law grabbed the handle to their bedroom door and shoved the door open.

"The explanation? Or the act?"

"Both! Now you get in that bathtub!" Law snapped lightly when they entered into their room. He gave her a gentle push towards the bathroom.

"You going to join me then?" Neo asked. She ripped off her boots and socks, chucked the annoying things across the room, then collapsed her hands behind her back with her always innocent smile.

Law paused to take her in. A tempting thought of climbing into the bathtub with her passed through his mind and over to hers.

She snickered. "Is that a yes then? They said no to sexual intercourse before we were married. But a bath together isn't sexual intercourse, right?"

Law blinked. He tilted his head and studied her. He knew she was only joking, but it still came as a bit of a surprised to him that she was inviting him into the tub with her. He didn't think she'd become like that for a while yet. He released an audible grunt. He wrapped her into his arms. "You just want to see me naked."

"While that might be true, you're the one who started this." Neo wrapped her arms around his waist. She tilted her chin up so she could look at him. "I'm just curious. You know that. Besides, we wouldn't be in this situation if you had controlled your thoughts better."

Law chuckled. "Okay. You're right. This was my fault. I'll do better to control my thoughts in the future."

"Aw," Neo protested. "But I want you to share your thoughts."

"Only the ones you're ready for." Law pecked her forehead. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Some thoughts are better saved for when we are married."

"And when will that be?" Neo asked.

"I dunno. You haven't given me your answer yet," Law replied. He rubbed his hands on her back when he sensed her frustration with herself rising. "Relax, love. There's nothing wrong with taking as much time as you need to understand all that comes with being married and in making the decision to get married. You're doing very well in handling this decision. I'm very pleased with your maturity in dealing with this topic. No more worrying over it now."

"Okay." Neo released her tension through a deep breath. She rested her head on his chest. "I still want you to join me in the tub though."

"I know. We'll bathe together one day. But in the shower instead of the tub," Law said then quickly pulled away from her. "And absolutely zero sex in the shower."

"Hey!" she protested against him moving away and switching the tub for the shower.

Law smirked at her. Leaning against his desk, he asked, "What?"

"You wanted to join me in the bathtub just a second go," Neo complained. "Why change it to the shower? It'll be more fun in the tub, not the shower. And why no sex in the shower?"

Law hummed in consideration of what they had said. "I never said I would join you in the tub. I insinuated taking a bath with you. That can happen in the shower or the tub. I prefer showers. And no sex in the shower because it's far too slipper for such acts. I don't want you to get hurt, especially because of me."

"Oh, I guess the shower would be too slippery. But, as for the tub, why do you have one in the bathroom then?" Neo asked with a confused blink of her eyelashes.

"For you." Law's smirk grew larger.

"Law!" Neo protested. She narrowed her eyebrows at him, but a small smile was playing on her lips. "You couldn't have possible known that I was going to be here when you build this thing!"

"True." Law nodded. "I just like being prepared. Besides, other ships have both a tub and a shower in them."

Neo opened her mouth to protest again, but found she had nothing to say. She didn't know what to say. Law was always prepared as he possible could be for any situation that they might face. And while she's never been on other ships before, that she could remember, she had seen some diagrams of them in books. Law was right. Some other ships did have both a tub and a shower in them. Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled. She walked over to him. Leaning into his chest, she said, "You're right. But I still want to bathe with you someday."

"And someday we will," Law promised. He wrapped her up into his arms. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered sensually to her. "And, trust me, when we do bathe together it won't matter if we're in the shower or the tub. You'll enjoy it either way. I guarantee that."

Neo squeaked at the tone of his voice. Her body shivered then tensed when his warm breath brushed over her ear. With her heart pounding erratically, she buried her face into his chest. She shivered again when his chest vibrated from his chuckle. He rubbed his hands over her back before leaning away from her. When she peeked up at him, he checked her eyes and feelings before pecking her lips. "Time for your bath now. Go on."

"Okay," Neo replied reluctantly. She kissed him again before finally pulling away from him. She grabbed herself her favorite pair of clothes to lounge around in, which consisted of her black tank top and dark gray sweatpants, and then headed into the bathroom, pausing momentarily to glance at her parents' pictures in the corner.

Law watched her closely. When she had the door to the bathroom closed, he pushed off his desk to sit down at it. He grabbed his pen and started working again on his plans to take down Doflamingo while listening to Neo fill up the tub, most likely using her crystals to do it. He looked up when she opened the door to the bathroom. He forced himself to ignore the fact that she had already taken off her shirt while she leaned out the door.

"Hey, Law? Do you think it's possible that my godfather just sensed everything we just said and did?" Neo asked. Her tone was serious, but her eyes were shining.

"Get in that tub!" Law snapped back playfully.

Neo laughed before disappearing into the bathroom once again.

He huffed while leaning back in his chair. He tapped his pen on his desk while thinking over what she had asked him. They had no way of knowing right now what all she could do with Red Hair. All Law knew was, if that was possible, he wasn't going to like having a chaperone watching their every move whether they were married or not.

Neo hummed to herself while she undid her braid. She placed her precious ribbon on the sink then stripped the remainder of her clothes off her body. She banished her water crystals when the tub was filled up to her desired depth before slipping into the steaming water. Her aching body relaxed instantly to the hot water rushing around her submerging body. She leaned her head against the tub while her mind ran over her questions of Red Hair at the same time Law's did. She wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of having someone watch her and Law's moves. The more she thought about it, the less she liked it. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Neo took a breath and dunked herself under the water then came back up to enjoy soaking her tired body before actually performing her usual bathing rituals.

Neo forced herself out of the tub a little over an hour later. She grabbed her towel and dabbed off the clingy water droplets then wrung out her hair with it before hanging it back upon the hook. After pulling on her clothes, she summoned a couple of crystals to dry her hair with while she exited the bathroom. She smiled at Law when she saw him working hard at his desk. Grabbing her brush, she ran the bristle through her hair, smoothing it out, then returned the brush to the nightstand and walked over to him.

Just like always, he pushed back from his desk enough for her to sit down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and curled into him as much as she could with him being in this particular chair. She placed a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry for teasing you before."

His chest vibrated with a soft chuckle. "Don't be. I actually like that you're become more open and playful with me. How's your body feeling now after your bath?"

"Better." Neo glanced at him before placing a very light kiss on his lips.

Law paused his writing and looked at her. That type of kiss from her was quickly becoming a silent single to him that she wanted him to give her another lesson in french kissing, especially if they were alone. He dropped his pen immediately and wrapped his arms around her. He slowly moved his lips along with hers before slipping his warm muscle between her lips. Ten minutes of dancing their tongues together, Law then trailed kisses away from her lips. He kissed over her cheek and down to her neck where he kissed, nipped and sucked until he made her gasp and tense from hitting her sweet spot. He continued to suck that spot while she panted softly, occasionally releasing a soft moan of pleasure. Getting lost in the soft, sweet sounds he gained from her, his hands rubbed on her back until one of them took on a mind of its own and moved around her side to her chest.

Neo gasped in shock when his skilled hand massaged her beast, her body filling with pleasurable tingles.

"Sorry." Law panicked and quickly pulled his hand away from her. "I shouldn't have done that. I lost control."

"I-it's okay," Neo stuttered, unable to look at him in the eye. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest while her mind went over the feeling Law provided for her. Feeling his concern that he went too far too quickly, she brought her eyes back up to him and feed her feelings to him through her blue orbs and their bond. She sighed softly when his guilt wouldn't leave his chest or mind. She removed his hat, placed it on the desk, and then ran her fingers through his wild mane. With her gentle strokes against his scalp, Law's body began relaxing at her touch. His eyelids drifted half close as she guided his forehead to touch her own. "It really is okay, Law. You just surprised me. If you want to start something new, it's okay to, just go a little slower next time. Is that okay?"

"Yes." Law replied softly. He hesitantly wrapped his arms back around her waist, pulling her to his chest. She slipped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck "That's perfectly okay. I'll go slower next time."

"Law?" Neo's muffled voice asked.

"Mhmm?"

"You're poking me in the leg," Neo said. She pulled away from him when she felt him jump. She took his red face in and his sudden inability to look at her. She shifted on his lap, causing him to bite his bottom lip and cut off a moan deep in his throat. Slowly, her mind put together the pieces of what was happening from their private lessons they had together, their kiss, the noises she made and the way he touched her breast. She felt her cheeks grow warm. "Oh…did I cause you to have an erection?"

"Yeah." Law nodded.

"That's okay, right? I mean, it's normal," Neo said in a low voice. She placed two of her fingers on his fuzzy chin and guided his eyes back to her. He swallowed then locked eyes with her. She slid her fingers over his cheek then up to his hair. She fiddled with his hair, causing him to slip into a trance state again. She guided his forehead to hers and nuzzled their noses together, her entire body growing warm. "I like this. I like the way you are making me feel right now."

"I do too," Law whispered. He brought his hand to her chest, lightly brushing the back of his hand on the underside of her breast. She shivered. "But we have to be careful. While I do like touching you, and want to touch ever single inch of your body, we could end up crossing the line."

"I understand." Neo sighed. "Should I go?"

"No." Law lowered his hand to her hip. "I want you to stay. We'll just stop touching each other so sensually and hold off on kissing for a while."

"I don't have to get off you, do I?" Neo pouted.

Law smile. "No. Just try not to move around for a few minutes."

"I can do that." Neo leaned back into him and froze. "How's this?"

"Good," Law replied. He then picked up his pen and forced himself to focus on his plans to take down Doflamingo instead on how the woman in his arms was making him feel.