"You're going to be late!" Killer called from the front door with obvious amusement.

You threw on the final touches to your makeup and left the bathroom, heading for the front door.

"I'm ready!"

"Shoes." He grinned, holding up your sneakers.

"Okay, almost ready." You giggled, sliding into the shoes.

"Got your phone?"

"Yep." He'd bought you a new one, this time in a deeper shade of blue.

"Money?"

"Always."

"Don't drink any unless Ivankov is driving or someone they trust is."

"Already planned on that."

"Stay safe, get feathery if you need to."

"I've got it big guy. No one's going to mess with me, especially if Ivankov is there." You pat his broad chest.

"Just making sure." He bent down for a kiss, making it last as long as he could before straightening back out. "I don't want a repeat of what happened with Scratchmen."

You frowned for just a second before smiling again. "That won't ever happen again, I promise."

"Alright, they've been downstairs for a little bit now. Wire's been blowing up my phone about them, you better go rescue him."

"Ohhhhh Wire's probably their type." Ivankov did love fishnets after all.

"Then you really should go rescue him."

You smiled up at him. "I'm on it. See you later, love you!"

"Love you too." He replied as he opened the door for you to scamper through.

Killer watched you head for the stairs, deciding they would be faster than the elevator. When you were out of sight, he shook his head and silently chuckled before heading back in to spend the night by himself. At least until you got back from your date.

When you got down to the first floor and peeked into the common room, you saw a female Ivankov getting very close to Wire. She was going on about something while he was practically sweating bullets, ready for you to come rescue him.

"Hiya Ivankov!" You marched into the room confidently, making your company reluctantly leave Wire to greet you.

He mouthed a quick thank you before leaving the room quietly to avoid dealing with Ivankov any more than he already had.

"Blue my dear! You look perfect!"

That you weren't so sure of. After dealing with Scratchmen, you'd gained an aversion to any kind of restrictive clothing and Ivankov was very understanding of it. She had made sure you could go to a place with a lax dress code, hence your outfit. You kept it simple with jeans and a tee with a light jacket thrown over the top. The makeup was just because Ivankov always wore some and you felt the need to do the same.

But she came over looking like she was ready to go somewhere fancy. Heels, a skin tight, black leather skirt, and a blood red silky blouse that hung low enough to give ample view of her breasts. Enough so that you could tell she wasn't wearing a bra.

"And you look like you're ready to go to a five star restaurant."

"That's because we are going to a five star restaurant."

You visibly deflated. "I'll uh, change into something better then."

"Nonsense Blue! You're fine how you are. They won't turn us down for you dressing comfortably."

She linked her arm with yours and marched you out the door. It took a lot of effort to keep up. She was already tall, throw in the heels and she practically towered over you. Very much like Wire now that you thought about it.

You walked out to a very expensive looking car and she pushed you into the back seats, following close behind. In front sat a stoic looking man. Sunglasses hid his eyes from you but there was no hiding his strange hair style. It was formed into three sections, reminiscent of a three leaf clover but it was split into two different colors. One side was pure white, the other was orange. A thick fur coat with the same colors, split right down the middle, covered him. He glanced back at you through the mirror and gave a nod in acknowledgement.

"Blue, this is my very good friend Inazuma, Inazuma, this is Blue."

"Wonderful to finally meet the dragon." He smiled slightly before his mouth fell back into a straight line, leaving him unreadable.

"Nice to meet a friend of Ivankov's."

"Inazuma has been very sweet and offered to drive us around tonight."

"Oh, well thanks." You smiled at him again. Though stoic, he had to be a good person to be a friend of Ivankov. You were sure about that.

"It's no problem." He got the car moving and your friend turned to face you as much as the seats would allow.

"Treat anything said around him as if you were just speaking to me, I promise he's not loose lipped."

You nodded.

"So the Kid gang has been busy as of late. You've gone through quite a few other groups at an eye popping rate."

"I think it's been a couple months."

"That's impressive."

"The alliance makes it easy."

You didn't expect to talk about work but it wasn't unwelcome. It wasn't really ever brought up at home unless it was about the next big plan.

"I'm sure it does." She hummed. "Now, be honest with me Blue, how do you feel about all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Taking on the city, removing so many other gangs, fighting so much. I know these kinds of things weren't something you did on a regular basis. It was rare in fact, and I remember you always needing time with other, simpler work between jobs like that."

You hadn't thought about it, but she was right. Bigger jobs like what you did on a regular basis now used to leave you completely drained. They still exhausted you now, but you'd been learning how to work through that.

"It's tiring." You admitted. "My schedule's pretty much work, eat, and sleep but it's the same for Killer. And he's pretty sure when this is all done we'll have much more down time."

You thought that'd be a good enough answer for her, but apparently you were wrong. Ivankov shook her head and took your hand in hers.

"That's not what I meant Blue. How are you handling all this? This line of work is violent and unforgiving. It can be harsh, shocking for many people, I want to make sure you're dealing with it well, that you're doing okay mentally."

And that was another thing you'd never paused to think about. It wasn't even something that crossed your mind only for you to ignore, you just flat out hadn't thought about what you were doing. Kid made the rules, Killer followed, and you did the same. It was written all over your face, that much was obvious.

She let out a sigh and peered out her window. "It looks like we're here. How about we get settled, you take a bit of time to think, and then we'll talk some over food. How's that sound?"

"Good." Relief washed over you.

This was something you would have to look internally about. You hadn't taken the time to process what you'd been doing so now was the time. You wouldn't have more than a few minutes to gather your thoughts, but that'd be enough for Ivankov to work with. Though you puzzled over what exactly had you suddenly stressing. Why was this relieving to be able to talk about?

----

Talking about your job in a public setting didn't sound like a good idea at first but your worries about being overheard be the wrong person went away fast. Ivankov had managed to reserve the entire outdoor dining space for the two of you, leaving it completely clear of other people besides the wait staff that would come by occasionally.

The place was extremely high dollar, much more so than you originally thought. There were many raised eyebrows are your attire but no one said a thing. They knew the dragon when they saw you and decided it would be smarter to let you in than suggest you coming back with better clothes.

The restaurant itself felt more like a place for couples, all done up in vibrant reds and golds. Anywhere they could put softer textured things, they did. Fine table cloths, entirely too fancy solid wood seating, thick drapes separated rooms, candles and oil lamps everywhere. You'd say this was a fire waiting to happen.

Outside was very similar with wrought iron latticework separating the patio from a pond with a few koi swimming around in it. String lights lined the awnings and gave just enough light to cast the scenery in a soft yellow glow. If anything, this felt like the most high dollar place you'd ever gone.

You were a little worried when you couldn't find prices next to the food choices but weren't about to ask someone how much stuff was. That'd suggest you were broke and you by no means were. It was just hard to get used to spending so much still. When your food arrived and Ivankov had given you time to mull things over and engage in small talk, she switched back over to the original conversation.

"Alright Blue." She gave you an encouraging smile before sipping at her wine. You'd stuck with water, drinking outside of home didn't sit well with you anymore. "Why don't you tell me about your work now."

"Well....when I first started with the Kid gang, I laid out some rules and they've stuck to them. Y'know, no killing, not just anyone gets a ride, all that jazz, and they've stuck to them perfectly. I have no complaints with that."

"I hear a but coming."

"But I feel like the longer I'm in on this, the less they listen to me."

"And how's that?" She tilted her head slightly, a very attentive look in her eyes. Like always, she was the best person to talk to about anything and everything.

"I dunno." You shook your head. You were still figuring out how you felt as you went. "Jobs get riskier, there's no asking, only telling, and I feel like Kid's been pushing me to do things I normally wouldn't consider."

"What kinds of things?" She frowned, not liking where this was going.

"Last job we stormed a drug den owned by other gang but before we did that, he told me to light it up. People were still in there, the building wouldn't have just caught fire, it would've exploded. And he knew that. I told him no, he got pissed, and we ended up clearing it out differently. And before that, on a different job, he wanted me to literally torch some people, saying it'd push them towards him so he could finish them."

"That doesn't sound like they're following those rules you set in place."

"I know." You sighed. "Kid's the only one pushing things."

"But he's the boss. Doesn't Kill-boy set him straight?"

"Well....no." He usually stayed silent but you figured that was so you could draw the line. That way Kid knew it was where you stood and not his friend, and your lover's, idea of where you stood on the matter. "But I think that's because he wants me to assert myself."

"Fair enough I suppose. What else is going on? I can tell there's more on your mind."

"When can't you?" You chuckled.

And you hesitated. The part that worried you the most was the most recent turn of events. You weren't sure what was going to happen to the rest of the alliance when it came down to fighting them. Would it happen directly after taking down the other gangs or would there be a small wait beforehand? More than anything, you didn't want anyone to die.

"...You know about our alliance, right?"

"Of course. It's with the Heart and Strawhat gang. I'm actually rather fond of the Strawhats myself. That Luffy-boy sure is something."

"How well do you know them?"

"You could say I'm friends with the Strawhats." She said with a shrug. "Is that important?"

You couldn't tell her. For the first time ever, there was something you couldn't talk to anyone about. You feared for their safety but if you told her what was going to happen, she might tell them. The options were to shut up and go through with what Kid wanted, meaning you'd lose your friends in the process, or let Ivankov know so she could warn them. But that would definitely come back around to you, you knew it. And in that case, what would the gang think of you for possibly ruining their biggest plans yet?

The one thing you truly believed was you didn't want to let Killer down. After learning what he'd done when you'd first got back together, he'd earned back your trust. It'd be a real bitch move to throw that back in his face.

"It's not." You said with a smile. "I just worry about the dynamic between the guys is all. Law is so sullen sometimes, Luffy is super hyper, like he never stops moving, and Kid is well, Kid."

She laughed. "If you've made it work this far I'm sure it will continue to work in your favor."

She'd bought your lie and you hated yourself for saying it. But you were willing to put up with it for your relationship. The rest of the evening passed well in Ivankov's eyes but for you, it was all the more stressful. You couldn't wait for this all to be done.