Arrival:
Dressrosa
Neo stood up from her chair. She followed Robin over to one of the shrouds that lead up to the Crow's Nest. Pausing, she turned and looked at the door that was between herself and Law. She shifted, bothered by his strange outburst a minute ago. It wasn't normal for him to yell out like he did.
"Neo?" Robin called.
Neo turned from the door and looked at the older woman. "I'm sorry. What?"
"Are you okay with climbing?" Robin asked, grabbing a hold of one of the ropes.
"Yes, I'm okay with it," Neo replied with a nod. "Despite using my crystals and wings to fly, Law still wanted me to be a good climber. He was very thorough in my training."
"And he seems to have trained you well." Robin smiles.
"He did." Neo nodded, her cheeks tinting a light pink with giddiness and affection for the man.
"Let's go," Robin beckoned. She pulled herself upon the railing of the Sunny and started to climb up the ropes.
Neo watched her for a few seconds before her eyes drew back over to where Law was. She wanted to go see him, but knew it was best to let him have his space right now. Sighing, she pulled herself up and started climbing the ropes. She made her way up and over to the ladder embedded in the mast that led to the entrance of the Crow's Nest. She smiled when her eyes met Robin's.
The call of a seagull drew both their attention out to the sea. Two seagulls swooped around in the sky before diving into the water. The sun glinted off their wet wings as they shot back up and took off with their prize of silver colored fish.
"Looks like we're close to an island," Robin said.
"Yeah." Neo nodded. She scanned her eyes over the blue horizon. "We should be about thirty minutes or so away from Dressrosa. Or I assume its Dressrosa. It could be another island or just a rock formation with no one living on it."
"Most likely it is Dressrosa," Robin said. She pulled her eyes away from the ocean. Her dark eyes landed on Neo. She noticed that Neo was staring out at the water with love for the environment she saw, but Robin could easily see the concern in Neo's eyes. She tapped the blue haired girl on the shoulder to regain her attention. "Let's go."
Neo nodded. She climbed up the ladder first when Robin gestured for her to. Soft grunts met her ears and the musky smell of sweat tapped her nose the farther she got up the ladder. Once inside the dome shaped room, she spotted the cause of the noise and smell. The swordsman was standing in the middle of the room with an extremely large barbell in his hand. She watched him pump the barbell once, twice, three times before her head tilted in curiosity. Her eyes ran over his sculptured features of his arms and torso. She thought he looked nice, but not as nice as Law. To her, Law's body was perfect. It perfectly fit against hers like no other man would ever do. She loved his body. She wanted his body. She wanted to climb back down to the deck, grab Law, and disappear into a room for another round of sweet lovemaking.
"What's up?" Zoro grunted while curling the barbell up towards his shoulders again.
Neo's thoughts were broken by the man's words. Disappointed settled in her chest, but it was probably for the best.
"I'm on look out," Robin replied.
"I see," Zoro replied. He curled the barbell three more times before stopping. He set the object back into its secure place before draping a towel over his shoulders. "I'll just get out of your way then."
"You don't have to go," Neo said. She slipped her right hand behind her and tugged on her hair. "We're the one's disturbing you."
"It's fine. I was done anyway," Zoro replied. He wiped off his chest and face before tossing the towel into a nearby bin. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head while walking towards the exit. He climbed down the ladder and disappeared from their view. "Later."
"I'll open a few windows for us," Robin said once the swordsman was gone. "The room will smell better in a minute."
"I really don't mind the smell." Neo glanced around the room again while Robin started opening the windows. Despite being dome shaped, the room seemed to be about the same size of their own training room back on the sub, maybe a little smaller. Tears gathered in her eyes as images of the crew training started coming into her mind. The tears dripped down her cheeks while she envisioned images of her crew sparing, lifting weights, joking around, Bepo besting Shachi and Penguin in martial arts at the same time, and even Tero training her as harshly as he did. She had a sudden strong desire to hug the man who constantly stated elementals were a pain. She wanted to hug all of her crewmembers, to cook for them again, to laugh with them, to train with them, to play with them. "To be honest, I'm kind of liking the way this room smells. It makes me think of my crew. And I'm crying again. Is this weird? I like the way this room smells, it making me thing of the crew and now I'm crying because of it?"
"It's not weird at all," Robin replied. She pushed opened the last window then walked back over to Neo. She placed her hands on the young woman's shoulders, noticing she didn't flinch at all. "Smell can have a powerful impact on a person since the perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the odors themselves but of the experiences and emotions associated with these sensations. To put it more simply, smells can trigger memories and memories can make us feel emotional. So it's normal that you feel this way right now. But I suspect that there's also something else on your mind."
Neo brushed her tears off her cheeks before asking, "Is that why you brought me up here? To talk?"
"Only if you want to talk. I get the feeling that you are a bit worried about something. And I do think part of it is because of what happened with Tra back on the deck. But I also did think that you would like the view from up here," Robin said. She glanced over at one of the windows. "I know you see a view like this all the time when you're flying, but I thought it might be nice if you could just sit down and enjoy the view without having to use up your magic and energy flying."
"That's very nice of you, Robin," Neo said. She glanced out the window. It was the same exact view as they saw when they were still outside of this room, but it was still nice. "I… I think it would be nice to talk."
"Shall we sit down then?" Robin asked. She led the way over to the cushioned bench that went around the room. She sat down and patiently waited for Neo to speak.
Neo remained standing for a while longer before finally walking over to the bench. She sat down, crossed her arms over the back of their seat, and rested her chin on her arms. She started out the window while the salty ocean air teased her hair and tickled her nose. "I'm worried about Law."
"I figured as much," Robin said.
"He just gets so wrapped up in his plans at times. And this particular time is…" Neo paused.
"Yes?" Robin prompted.
"I just wonder if this particular plan is getting to him," Neo said. She looked at Robin with her eyebrows narrowed. I mean because Doflamingo is the man that killed Corazon. The man who gave Law his life back. The man who, somehow, brought us together. Law is obsessed with wanting to take the warlord down. I'm afraid he'll do something stupid to make that happen, she thought to herself. She really wanted to tell Robin that that was her main concern, but knew she couldn't and wouldn't. So she settled for something else that was also bothering her. She said, "I mean, we've been away from the crew for so long. I know he can act like he doesn't care at some points, but he really does care about our crew. He sent them to Zou to protect them instead of taking them to Punk Hazard with us. But he's never done anything like he just did down on the deck. It's not like him to jump like that. He's typically more in control of himself. Usually, he doesn't hide things from me, but I'm wondering if this time he is."
Robin blinked. She forced herself not to look down at Neo's stomach.
"I'm also worried about my nightmare," Neo continued. She turned her eyes back out the window. "I'm trying not to think about it, but I can't help it. I don't like when Law gets hurt in my dreams anymore than when he gets hurt in real life. Sorry. I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again."
"There's no need for you to apologize," Robin said. "If you're upset, then you need to talk about it. And the number of times shouldn't matter. It's only natural that you're worried."
"I suppose you're correct," Neo said. She giggled. "I seem to always worry a lot."
"How about a change to a more happier tone?" Robin asked. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get back to your ship?"
"The first thing?" Neo asked. She hummed in thought while tapping her finger on her elbow. "Well, I think the very first thing that I'll do is hug and kiss every single one of my family. And then, I'll probably fly around the sub to make sure everything is still where it's suppose to be like I did when we left Luminous. Then, I'll probably stare at my Luminous corner for at least an hour."
"Your Luminous corner?" Robin questioned. "What's that?"
"Yeah. It's what I call this one corner of our room. It's where I keep my large stuffed teddy bear that Law, er, won for me back on Sabaody. There's also a crystal shelf there we brought back from Luminous. Only Topaz and me can open the shelf. It holds a couple pictures of my parents, my brother, Kailen when he was younger, my godfather and a journal of another elemental royal that was bonded with another elemental. He kept the journal when he and his bonded were separated. It was given to me as a gift by a descendant of the royal. We thought the journal might hold some kind of clue to the point of our bond, but it didn't really reveal anything. I still want to keep it safe. So I keep it in that shelf."
"I see. Do you like historical stuff then?" Robin asked. "Do you read many history books?"
"I read as many as I can. Since I didn't get to read growing up I read what I can when I can. I like learning whatever I can since I never had the chance to learn until I came to live with the Heart Pirates. As long as I can understand it that is," Neo said. She then giggled. "I was so bored back on Punk Hazard. The only books I could understand were the ones that the kids had and some I had brought in by ship. I read them so many times that I memorized them. Although he'll never admit it, I think I actually annoyed Law a couple of times when I was complaining about not having many books to read."
"He sounds like a very patient man," Robin said with a small giggle of her own.
"He is. He had to be considering how-Ouch!" Neo winced. She shook out her hands then looked at them.
"What's wrong?" Robin asked.
"Law just got upset. He clenched his hands so hard his nails perched his skin," Neo replied. Her eyes remained locked on her palms. She watched them as the pain faded away.
"Do you want to go to him?" Robin asked.
Neo lowered her hands to her lap and thought about the woman's words. A minute later, she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. He probably just got annoyed by one of your crewmates or something. He's not angry or anything. What was I saying before?"
"We were talking about Tra's patience," Robin said.
"That's right. He had to be patient with me when he first found me. I was so scared I didn't really talk much to anyone. I just kept trying to get away. Then he had to be even more patient while I worked through getting use to using my crystals again." Neo leaned against the back of the bench with a tired sigh. She laid her head down on it and let her eyelids fall half lidded. "But I think the most patient he's ever been was with his feelings. For so long, he had romantic feelings for me and I never knew it. It must have been so hard on him to have to hide his feelings and not react on them because of my naivety. Sometimes I still feel a bit guilty for having putting him through all of that."
"You look a bit tired. Would you like to rest?" Robin asked.
"No, I'm fine." Neo sat back up straight. "I'm not really tired. It's just… it's really nice and relaxing up here. I like talking to you. I love my brothers, but sometimes I do wish that me, Topaz, and Ikkaku had some more girl time together."
"I can understand that. And, if you'd like, we can consider this some quality girl time," Robin said.
"Thanks. I'd like that. I'd like to know more about you too, if that's all right," Neo said. A sudden wave of shyness washed over her. She did want to know more about Robin, but felt like she shouldn't ask. Robin just seems so secretive at times. "I mean, I know a little about you from what we've already talked about…"
"It's all right, Neo. I don't mind talking to you about my past. We have quite a lot in common," Robin replied.
"Can I ask what you're mother was like?" Neo asked.
Robin nodded. "Of course. We actually have a lot of similarities with each other. I've been told I look exactly like her. But she had white hair. She could also read the poneglyphs. She was strong. Like me, she also wanted to sail the world and learn of what happened in the void century."
Neo shifted herself into a more comfortable position and settled back down to listen with interest at Robin's words.
…
"Neo's pregnant."
The words echoed, bouncing around in Law's mind as his vision distorted before him. He wanted to reach out, grab those words, and shove them back down his throat. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. Now that the words were out there, nothing could make them go away, nothing could take them back. It was happening. Neo is pregnant. They were less than an hour away from Dressrosa. Dressrosa, the kingdom, and home of the one man that he despised most in the world.
Law's heart took a sharp jolt. He felt like he was going to be sick. He felt like his body had turned cold and hundreds of thousands of needles were stabbing his icy flesh. Those needles ripped through his flesh and punctured his lungs sending tiny ice crystals falling into the dark abyss below him. The burning of his damaged lungs was the only thing that kept his body from completely freezing over.
He dropped his head into his hands and gasped desperately for air. Or he thought he did. He really wasn't sure anymore.
"Law, take a deep breath," a familiar, distant voice said, breaking into the panic filled darkness that had taken over Law's mind. "Breathe! If you don't take a breath right now, you're going to pass out! I really don't want to have to explain to Neo why you're laying unconscious on the floor! So, for her sake, take a blasted breath!"
Law's lungs drew in a breath, then another, then another until the dizziness and the darkness had dissipated from his mind. He pulled his face from his hands. His skin was slightly cool, but it was flaking off ice crystals. His lungs were still burning slightly from holding his breath. Looking up, he saw Sanji was slightly bent over, looking at him with some concern. He watched as the concern faded from the blonde man's eyes before saying, "Sorry."
"No worries," Sanji said, straighten up. "You've suffered quite a bit of a shock. It's understandable."
"How could this have happened?" Law asked.
"I'll take that as a hypothetical question, since you're a doctor, and not answer," Sanji said.
"No, I mean, how did it happen?" Law asked. He scratched his head. "We were careful. I explained everything to her. I monitored her cycle like a hawk. We always used protection. I always checked the protection for rips af… ter…"
Sanji lifted an eyebrow when Law let off a string of curses. He blew out a puff of smoke then said, "I take it you weren't as careful as you thought you were?"
"Cora was right," Law said. He dropped his face in his hands again and groaned. "Stupid! I did make a mistake! There was one time we weren't… I didn't check! I'm such an idiot!"
"You want to elaborate on that?" Sanji asked.
"Back on Punk Hazard." Law dropped his hands between his knees. "One of Caesar's men tried to… to take advantage of Neo. I killed him then we… well, let's just say things got a bit rough. That was the first time we done it like that. We both were upset about what almost had happened. I didn't check the condom afterwards. That was the only time I didn't check." Law growled. "I was so stupid! How could I not have checked?!"
"Don't blame yourself," Sanji said, taking another puff of his cigarette. "It was an accident. You both were upset over an event that could have been really damaging."
"Could have? This possibly might do just that," Law said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't prepare her for this at all. Even thought I knew that it could still happen. I got over confident in thinking I could prevent this from happening. How could I have been so stupid? I know better than this."
"You made a mistake. There's no point in beating yourself up over this now," Sanji said. He went to open his mouth to ask an important question, but paused in considering before actually voicing it. "How far along is she?"
"If that really was when it happened," Law said. He clenched his teeth before finishing. "She's two and a half months. Or may three? I'm not sure. My brain is so clouded right now."
"Two and a half months to three months?" Sanji asked. "How could you have not notice until now? Did she not have any signs?"
Law nodded. "She did. She's been tired, having mood swings, food cravings, being abnormally playful, been more sexually aggressive. I just didn't… I wasn't paying close enough attention to her. I was far too focused on destroying the SAD equipment on Punk Hazard. Plus, those signs were far enough apart I didn't connect them. I never even considered them to be signs she was pregnant. I pushed those signs aside and just contributed them to her being away from the crew and sub for the first time."
"Two and a half months, huh? That's almost three months," Sanji mumbled. "And she doesn't have her baby bump yet?"
"She might not get it yet," Law said.
"When do elementals get their baby bumps?" Sanji asked.
"I don't know," Law replied.
"You don't know? But you know the signs of an elemental pregnancy," Sanji said, his eyes widened in shock.
"No." Law shook his head. "I only know a small handful of their signs."
"What do you mean?" Sanji asked.
"Like Neo has already said, we decided long ago, because of our lifestyle, that a child was out of the question. Also, because I didn't want her to go through the pains and risks of childbirth because of all of the pain she's already been through," Law explained. "So I never studied up on elemental pregnancies."
"But you said you know some of the signs," Sanji said.
"That's because of that healer woman back on Luminous," Law said. "She snuck some books on elemental pregnancies into all of the books Neo brought with her. I just happened to open one up when my navigator pointed it out. I only read that one part. I was so stupidly over confident that this wouldn't happen that I shoved the book back into the box and stored them in one of the storage rooms."
Sanji considered Law's words and the man's expression for a minute before realizing something. He said, "She doesn't know about the books, does she?"
"No, she doesn't. Most likely she wouldn't have given them a second thought if she did know about them, but I still didn't want her to think that a child was possible in our future," Law said. "So I never mentioned them to her. And, even though she knows she can go anywhere she wants on the sub, she still doesn't snoop into unfamiliar boxes."
Sanji couldn't help but chuckle at that last part. "Why am I not surprised? But if you two are bonded, how was it possible that you kept this from her? Wouldn't she have noticed you hiding your thoughts? Don't you think the exact same thing, at the same time or something?"
"No, it doesn't work like that. We have to want to know or read what the other is thinking. It's not really a constant flow of our thoughts passing between each other. And since I forgot about the books, she never came to know about them by searching my thoughts during the times that she has looked," Law explained.
"I see. This bond this is rather complicated," Sanji said.
A stiff silence passed between the two, only being broke by the calls of a seagull or the distance thudding of someone's feet in another room once. Law's mind was still muddled with everything, but things were starting to clear up for him while they just sat there in the silence. That's when he asked, "How did you know? You haven't even been around her for an entire day. I've known her for over two years."
"That's probably a lot of the reason why I noticed before you did. I'm not as close to her as you are. I easily saw the signs. Despite her being an elemental, I just assumed that the signs were the same. But what really confirmed it was my observation haki," Sanji said. "As I'm sure you already know, when using observation haki I can see her spirit is multicolored."
"Yeah." Law nodded. "That's because of her magic. Those colors are actually representations of the elements with in her."
"Well, there's one spot that doesn't change with the rest of her." Sanji pointed to his stomach. "There's a small red dot right here. That's how I knew for sure."
"Does anyone else on your crew know?" Law asked.
"Robin was the only other one who figured it out. I told Chopper a little while ago because he was so worried about Neo. I didn't want him to make himself sick over this. Also, I thought it might be best if our own doctor knew about her condition, just in case. Nami was sitting there when I told him so she knows now too," Sanji said. "But that's it. We haven't told anyone else. And no one else has figured it out. There's a small chance that Momonosuke could figure it out since he's a dragon, but he's still so young if he does happen to smell the baby, he most likely won't even know what is it. Other than that, we thought that it might be best if everyone didn't know, especially Luffy. He would undoubtedly go running around shrieking about it. We especially didn't want Neo to find out and freak out on us with us being this close to Dressrosa. We're also sorry for keep this a secret from you. We probably should have at least told you what we figured it out. We just weren't sure how you would handle it."
"Not telling Neo was the correct decision. And, if you had told me, I probably wouldn't have believed you," Law said. "I still don't feel like I really believe it."
"So I take it you're not going to tell Neo?" Sanji asked.
"Subconsciously, she might already know," Law replied.
"Subconsciously? Why would you say that?" Sanji asked.
"Because of another event that happened back on Punk Hazard," Law said. "Neo got into a conversation with Caesar's secretary, Monet, about having children."
"And how would that make Neo subconsciously aware of being pregnant?" Sanji asked.
"Because during that conversation, Neo's crystals came out on their own and she shot her hands up to her stomach like she was guarding our child," Law explained. "An elemental's crystals will protect their host and their child when the elemental can't protect themselves. That's happened to Neo before."
"But subconsciously aware isn't the same as consciously aware," Sanji reminded him. "She still doesn't know."
"And she's not going to. At least, not right now," Law said. "She's going to be so scared when I do tell her. We're less than an hour from Dressrosa. There's no possible way I would be able to calm her down and get her coherent again if I told her now." Law paused for a second. Another string of curses, including some he invented on the spot, rolled out of his mouth. "I can't let her near Doflamingo. He already has an interest in her, especially after our fight with Vergo. Crap! What do I do? She's not going to let me go face Doflamingo alone. If he finds out about this… if he finds out that Neo is pregnant… if he hurts her or our child… I won't be able to handle it. I'll kill him in the most horrific way possible."
Law's eyes turned sharp with murder. He clenched his fists together so hard that his nails pierced into his skin. If it weren't for the iron smell floating into his nose, he would have kept clenching his fists that hard. But he didn't want Neo to become concerned so he loosened his grip, the dull stinging faded slowly.
"Look, I know it's hard, but try not to think about it. You have all of us backing you two up now. Luffy, Zoro, and I are the three strongest of our crew. If she's not with you, we'll make sure she's at least with one of us at all times," Sanji said. "This is just a simple drop off and destroy the factory mission after all. Everything will be fine."
Law dropped his eyes to the floor. His mind buzzed incoherently with the fact and fears that he and Neo were really going to have a baby and the impending threats that could and might possibly come from setting foot inside Dressrosa. He chest tightened with an icy cold grip of fear. Nothing felt like it was ever going to be okay again. Everything just felt so messed up to him right now. Still, through all the mess buzzing around in his head, he lifted his eyes back up to Sanji and asked, "Is that why you and Nico were talking to her about kids, parents, and fears when you two were doing the dishes this morning?"
"Oh, you heard that?" Sanji asked, snickering. He rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish.
"I don't like it when other men outside of the crew talk to her," Law said with a glare that made Sanji shiver. "Just like she likes to keep an eye on where I am, I like to keep an eye on where she is. She's still a bit naïve when it comes to a lot of stuff. And men often have ulterior motives when talking to a woman. And Neo has drawn plenty of attention from other men."
"You really are over protective of her," Sanji murmured. "I'm not going to hurt her in any kind of way."
"Do you blame me?" Law asked.
"With everything she's been through? I probably would do the exact same as you are doing," Sanji said. "But, you are correct. We were talking to her about all that in hopes to soften up the shock for when you do finally tell her. We saw how she was with those kids back on Punk Hazard. And we could tell those kids loved her a lot from how they spoke about her. It's amazing really. She really does have such a soft, caring side to her. Her maternal instincts are probably some of the strongest I've ever seen. And she's not even aware she has them. We really do believe that she would make a wonderful mother."
Law blinked. He felt a tiny twitch at the corners of his lips. A small bubble of warmth fluttered through his chest, thawing out the coldness that still had a grip on his body and mind, when his thoughts drifted back to his dream he had not that long ago. The dream that was actually going to happen. He was actually going to get to see Neo carrying their child inside of her and in her arms. He was actually going to see their child in his or her crib in their room.
The warmth quickly vanished when reality sunk its tentacles into Law's mind again. He was going to be a parent. And he had no clue what he was supposed to do. He wasn't good with kids like Neo was. He didn't want anything to do with those kids back at Punk Hazard after all. But their own child would be different, wouldn't it? He would be able to handle their child, would he? He would be a good parent, right?
Then again, what did he know about being a parent? After his parents were killed the only decent role model he had was Corazon.
"Law."
All he ever wanted to do since the destruction of his home was destroy and kill.
"Law?"
All he wanted to do was destroy everything he got his hands on until Corazon saved him.
"Law?"
Then, after Corazon was killed, all he wanted to do was take down Doflamingo. His hatred for the man had consumed him to the point he didn't even noticed the one person he cared about most in the entire world was pregnant. He was supposed to take care of her. He was supposed to protect her from this. He was supposed to keep her from hurting and yet he's going to be the cause of the most extremely painful thing a woman could possible go through. He failed her. He failed to take care of her. He failed to-
"Law!" Sanji screamed.
Law jumped and about fell off the couch. His heart thumped hard in his chest as he repositioned himself. He swallowed and looked up at the blonde man. "What?"
"You need to calm down. You're completely white. You looked like you're about to have a panic attack," Sanji said.
"Right," Law said. He dropped his eyes back down to the floor and took a deep, deep breath.
"Just tell me what you were thinking," Sanji said, despite having a good guess at what was going on in the warlord's mind.
"It's nothing," Law replied.
"It's everything," Sanji shot back. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I know what you're feeling or what's going on in that head of yours. But, what I do know is, you don't need to keep your thoughts inside. I know Neo would be able to get you to talk easily, but, at the moment, we both know you can't talk to her. If you were with your crew I'm sure there's at least one person there who you could talk to about this, who you could tell all of your fears to, but you're not with your crew. Now, I'm not telling you to completely spill your soul to me, but you have to talk a little bit about it. If you don't, then you're going to completely stress yourself out. And we need not only Neo to focus while we're in Dressrosa, but we also need you to focus. Just get the bulk of what's going on in your head off your chest here and now. That way you can focus more. You don't want Neo to find out about this at the wrong point in time, do you?"
"I don't," Law whispered.
"Then talk for her sake. I have a pretty good idea what you're thinking anyway. It'll just help you if you say it out loud. And whatever you say doesn't leave this room. It'll just be between you and me." Sanji crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
Law thought over the cook's words for a few minutes before releasing a deep sigh. He didn't like to admit weakness. In fact, he hated it. And he certainly didn't like admitting what he was about to say to a complete stranger and opposing pirate. But he couldn't deny that Sanji was correct. He didn't have his crew to talk to. He would only hurt himself if he kept it all inside. He knew that if he did, if he tried, he wouldn't be able to remain calm and in control. And that's what Neo really needed from him right now, despite being unaware of it.
And he had to admit, if only to himself, that if he was going to admit how scared he was, he would rather it be to this man than anyone else on the Straw Hat crew. Sanji seems a lot less stupid than the others, except for Nico Robin. With a deep breath, Law let it all go. He let the words tumble freely from his mouth. He said, "I'm scared. No, I'm not scared. I'm completely and totally petrified. I have no clue how to take care of a child. I have no clue how to be a parent. I've done nothing, but live to destroy ever since I was a child myself. I'm use to having control over everything, including Neo. But for this? I won't have a single ounce of control over any of it. I feel like I'm spinning around in a hurricane with nothing to hold on to. I can't afford to feel this way. Neo needs me to be the stable force in her life that I've always been. How can I be there for her when I feel like… like this?"
"All these feelings that you feel are perfectly normal, Law," Sanji said when Law paused. "I'd be worried if you weren't feeling like this. Every first time parent goes through all these same feelings that you are. There's nothing wrong with feeling like you have no control over this. It's perfectly normal. Eventually, that will settle down and things will look a lot better. You're just suffering from the shock of it all right now. You're going to be fine."
Law scoffed. "And how do you know I'm going to be fine? You don't even know me."
"You're right. We are still strangers at this point," Sanji said. He lifted his cigarette from his lips and smiled, causing Law to lift an eyebrow at him. "But I know that you are going to be fine and a great parent because you are already protective of your child."
Both Law's eyebrows shot up at Sanji's words. He was already as protective of their child as he was of Neo. He blinked a couple of times, trying to process that fact. How was it possible that he could feel such strong affection and desire to protect a person, a child, he's never even met before? He couldn't comprehend it.
Law's thoughts then involuntarily wandered back to his dream again. He remembered walking up to the crib and looking into it, but what exactly did he see? Was it really his and Neo's child? Or was it just a dream child he made up? What color was the kid's hair? What color were the kid's eyes? Was it a boy or a girl? Did he or she look like Neo or himself? He couldn't remember. It frustrated him that he couldn't remember what he saw. He wanted to know if that child was really theirs. But, at the same time, he also felt that it was for the best that he didn't know and couldn't remember. When he found out all of that information on their child, he wanted it to be when he was with Neo. He wanted to find out, together, if their child was going to be a boy or a girl, the color of their eyes, hair, who he or she was going to look like. Yeah. He wanted to wait. He could wait.
"I'm still completely terrified of this," Law admitted. "I don't want her, either of them, to get hurt."
"We've got your back. And just keep reminding yourself that her crystals will be there to protect them both," Sanji said. "And so will we. We're not going to let anyone hurt her or your child. You just need to decide if you want anyone else on my crew to know about this or if you just want to keep it between the five of us for now."
With his elbows still on his knees, Law laced his fingers together and pressed them to his lips in thought. Since he didn't know this crew well enough, he wasn't sure if telling them would be beneficial or not. Letting the top three strongest fighters know did have some benefits, and one of them already knew. Despite not wanting to admit it, it was obvious that with how Sanji was handling Neo that Law knew he could trust him to keep her safe from harm if the situation called for it and keep this secret from her. They had connected through their shared love of cooking. But Luffy and Zoro? Neo did bond with Luffy a little bit just on the fact that she's Red Hair Shanks' goddaughter. And she was comfortable enough with the young man to follow his instructions when they combined their attacks during their friendly sniper game. And with the swordsman, she held her own and even got him interested in going head to head with her if she improved her skills with the sword in the future.
Law lifted his eyes to Sanji, but kept his position. "I think we both will agree that not telling Straw Hat would be for the best. I don't think he'll be able to keep his mouth shut about it."
"I know that's right," Sanji said with a small laugh.
"Other than that, I don't know your crew well enough," Law said. "What would you suggest? If we told them, would they be able to keep it quiet and still be able to protect her if necessary?"
Sanji took a puff on his cigarette. He drew it in, thought about Law's question, and then released the smoke. He said, "Well, my crew can be brainless morons quite a bit of the time, but when needed they always come through. They are clearly fond of Neo in each of their own way, even that crappy swordsman of ours. They would protect her if the need were to arise. As for keeping this a secret… I don't think my crew has ever had any real problems keeping things a secret. But this is such a huge secret that I'm not sure they'd be able to keep their cool when around Neo and possible danger. Most likely, they'd blow it."
"Then we won't tell them unless the need arises," Law said. He reached down and snatched his sword off the floor before standing up. He then turned and headed for the door.
"Law, I really hate to ask this, but…" Sanji started. He dropped his eyes to the floor, unsure if he should ask or not.
"What is it?" Law asked, pausing to look back at the blonde. His annoyance rose when Sanji didn't say anything. "Just spit it out. It's about Neo, isn't it?"
Sanji nodded. He lifted his eyes back to Law. Swallowing hard before asking, "Once she finds out… will she try and hurt herself?"
"No," Law replied confidently. "Neo is long passed trying to kill herself. She, undoubtedly, won't be able to focus for a while and she'll probably hyperventilate or something, but she won't hurt herself. Or our child."
"I'm sorry. I hated to ask that, but…" Sanji said.
"I understand. Don't worry about it," Law said.
"So, when are you going to tell her?" Sanji asked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Law out the door.
"I'm not really sure. Preferably, I'd rather wait until we're back with the crew. She'll be more likely be able to adjust to this easier if she's surrounded by all the familiarity of the crew and the sub. They are her comfort zones after all. That is, if we actually get back to the crew," Law said, mumbling the last ten words.
"It will happen," Sanji assured him. "We'll make sure it does. But let's just take this one step at a time. You said that you didn't want Neo around Doflamingo, and that's understandable considering, but do you have any idea how to make that happen?"
"I don't," Law replied. "Like I said before, she'll want to be with me when I take Caesar to Greenbit. I don't know if I can get her to follow someone else or not."
"Follow someone else?" Sanji asked.
"We're going to be divided up into three teams," Law explained. "I'm leading one team to hand over Caesar. The second team is going to stay on the ship and guard it. And the third team is going to head into Dressrosa to destroy the factory and find that samurai. I plan on taking Nico and The Nose with me. The ship guarding team will consist of you, Nami, Tony, and the boy while the rest go destroy the factory and find the samurai."
"Out of those possibilities the Sunny seems like the safest place to put her," Sanji said. "But since you already said she wouldn't leave you…"
"I could order her to stay on the ship, but she would get suspicious," Law said. He stopped walking and looked out at the horizon. A couple fish breached the surface before disappearing back under the sun spotted water. "Staying on the ship or going to destroy the factory would put her out of immediate danger from Doflamingo. She would still have to deal with his henchmen, but she can handle them a lot easier than him. But then there's also the possibility of Doflamingo keeping an eye out for her. There is the possibility that he's going to try and take her away from me. He said that he has a wedding gift for us. I just wish I knew what that could possibly be."
Sanji walked a few feet ahead of Law before stopping. He stared up at the sky, thinking about their predicament. With an exhale, he turned back to Law and said, "Well, maybe we'll get lucky and Luffy will be stupid and pull her off to play like he said he's going to do. That way we won't have to worry about trying to get her away from you. She won't have a say in the matter. None of us will."
Law blinked, several times. On one hand, he knew that would be the easiest and least suspicious way to get Neo away from him and Doflamingo. On the other hand, he'd rather chew on a bunch of nails rather than let Neo go off anywhere alone with Luffy. Still, for some reason, a smile pulled across his lips.
"Hey! You can smile!" Sanji jabbed, teasingly. "And here I thought you were nothing but Mr. Serious all the time!"
"Whatever," Law mumbled, his smile fading, but the good feeling it brought to him remained inside his chest. He continued walking, but stopped one step past Sanji. The men didn't look at each other. They remained mere inches from each other as an air of mutual trust and understanding passed between them. "Thanks, Blackleg."
"Yeah. It was my pleasure," Sanji replied, knowing full well that Law was thanking him for helping him admit that Neo is pregnant and for talking him through everything the way that he did. He knew Law still had his worries and doubts, but he felt better now knowing the warlord was in a more stable condition to handle everything that was about to come their way.
Once they had rejoined the others, the two men separated. Sanji headed off towards the kitchen while Law stood at the top of the stairs. He glanced up at the Crow's Nest. He could feel Neo's interest was peaked so whatever the two women were talking about had captured her attention. He tucked his sword free hand in his pocket and trudged down the stairs. He reclaimed the spot on the mast bench he usually sat at and waited for Neo to come back to him when she was ready.
…
Robin was still standing guard inside the Crown's Nest with Neo, but the younger woman had fallen asleep almost twenty minutes into their conversation. Robin didn't mind at all. Despite never had been pregnant herself, she knew it could take its toll on a woman and happily let Neo sleep. She felt like sleeping herself. With the windows still open, she had her right elbow on the window seal before her. Her chin was resting in her hand with her eyes closed, she was enjoying the gentle breeze that was teasing her hair and the bright sun that warmed the room. The tranquil setting was disrupted when the fragrance of sunflowers entered her nose. She opened her eyes, but before she could say anything, Neo woke up.
"I sense an island," Neo said. She pushed up on the bench, not remembering lying down, and looked around the room. She fixed Law's hat on her head that she still possessed. "I fell asleep again?"
"You're correct. I see an island," Robin replied. "And you fell asleep a few minutes ago."
"It's Dressrosa, isn't it?" Neo asked. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought and fiddled with Law's ring, anxiety gripping her chest and her stomach. She hoped she wasn't going to get sick and was grateful Law didn't let her eat anything stronger than broth earlier.
"I believe so." Robin nodded. She watched Neo for a few seconds, analyzing the growing anxiety in the young woman's eyes, before looking back out the window. There in the distance, an island started drifting into her sights. She opened her mouth to inform everyone below her, but paused. She turned her eyes back to Neo. This was it. They had finally arrived at Dressrosa. "Neo?"
"I'm going to go to Law now," Neo said. Instead of heading back to the actual door, she climbed out the window. Jumping from the Crow's Nest, she summoned a wind crystal and flew right down to Law. She heard Robin calling out "I see an island" while she was suspended in the air.
…
Law, sensing a small amount of distress in Neo, predicted her next moves easily. He stood up mere seconds before she flew into him. His arms automatically wrapped around her while her arms and legs locked around him. Carefully angling his sword so he wouldn't hit her with it, he rubbed his free hand on her back and whispered to her. He said, "Just breathe, love."
Neo tightened her hold on Law and buried her face in his neck, her lungs automatically obeying his words. Her heart took a sharp jolt. This was it. They were getting ready to set foot inside of Dressrosa, inside of Doflamingo's territory. She lifted up from him. Looking directly into his eyes with her own pleading, worried eyes. Her voice was low, childlike, scared. "Law, please, be careful."
"I will. I promise." Law leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.
"You are okay, right?" Neo asked, breaking their kiss. "You seemed a bit off earlier. And your thoughts are a bit distant and muddled."
"Yes, I'm all right," Law replied. He pecked her nose. "I was just startled a bit by a dream."
"A dream?" Neo asked.
"Yeah." Law nodded. "I dreamed about Cora. He was just being his typical annoying self and I jumped."
"Oh, okay," Neo said before wrapping her arms back around him and tucking her face back into his neck. "I guess you just dreamed about him because of where we are."
"Yeah," Law mumbled. He held her for another minute before she decided to release her close hold on him. He let her lower herself to the floor before slipping his hand into her smaller one. He kissed her temple before turning his eyes to the island they were approaching.
Neo's hand trembled in Law's. She repetitively took slow, deep breaths. Now wasn't the time to freak out. She wouldn't allow herself to. She had to focus. And she would focus for Law.
Her eyebrows rose on her forehead when she sensed someone stepping up beside her. Looking to her right, she found it was Sanji. The blonde haired man was currently cigarette-less and had his hands in his pockets. When his eyes met hers, she couldn't help but give him a small smile. He smiled back. She then looked around at the rest of the Straw Hats.
Usopp, Nami, Zoro, and Franky with Chopper hanging onto the cyborg's shoulder, looking totally petrified, were standing calmly on the deck with them. She instantly sympathized with the way Chopper was feeling before moving on to the rest of them. Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and Brook were up on the observation deck, just patiently waiting to officially arrive at their destination.
Neo's eyes then landed on Luffy. She watched him slid down the slide, run passed Franky and Chopper, and over to the side of the ship. He was wearing a bright smile as he took in the island as it came closer. He laughed and said, "I see it! We made it! That rocky island is Dressrosa, isn't it?! Yeah!"
"Shut up, you idiot! Don't shout like that! Doflamingo is going to hear you!" Usopp hissed.
"No, he won't," Zoro replied. "We're too far away."
"We'll save you soon, Kanjuro!" Kin'emon and Momonosuke shouted.
"I can't wait!" Luffy declared with what Neo thought was far too much enthusiasm. She rested her head on Law's shoulder and tightened her hold on his hand. She barely registered the circles he was making on her skin with his thumb. Her heart seemed to be making extra beats as it pounded in both her head and her chest.
Law felt the same as she did, but kept an extremely tight control over his emotions. If he even let a little leak out, it wouldn't only make Neo more anxious. And he could tell she was trying so hard not to get upset or scared, or anymore scared than she already was. She was being strong for him. He wasn't going to let her efforts go to waste.
This was it. There was no turning back now. No more planning. No more second thoughts. They had arrived at Dressrosa.
…
Inazumame1997: I also had the upcoming war in One Piece to consider. Moving up her pregnancy, I'm hoping to get baby born before that happens.
SilverHerron: I wasn't sure how to handle it either. Even after I posted the chapter I was still second guessing it. But it seems to have worked. I stressed for nothing.
Apple Bloom: True. And since Law was so confident about not getting her pregnant, I really needed him to be in denial about it.
Miss Sakurako: Well, glad I made your day and you enjoyed it.
