│ luffy being clingy. special birthday post!
⤷ 2k
im so sorrryyyy luffy 😭 late bday post ik bc it was yesterday, but i had to do something for my husband! i started it yesterday and could only upload now
enjoy!
a cause for celebration had come. it was luffy’s birthday!
and of course, only the biggest banquet was suitable for the future king of pirates. sanji had been preparing dishes since yesterday in order to prepare fully for today- the entire crew having prepared gifts and things for him to celebrate.
but… luffy kept trying to sneak into the kitchen the day before to munch on anything he could manage.
“oi! get your grubby hands off the marinade, you glutton!” sanji yells when he spots sight of him munching on the seasonings with his bare hands that he set aside for one moment. he runs over and kicks luffy square in the face, making him tumble out the door.
“don’t touch anything else. that’s for tomorrow.” he grumbles, wiping his hands on a tea towel like he had just washed his hands- walking over to the kitchen door like he’s prepared to shut it in his face.
“tomorrow?” he pauses, sitting up and dusting himself off from being sent on his back at the entrance to the kitchen. it was just too tempting, so much food just sitting and wafting smells that got his mouth watering.
did… did luffy not realise it was his birthday tomorrow?
sanji’s eye twitches, cigarette moving between his lips.
the idiot captain forgot about his own birthday.
“seriously… you don’t even know what day it is?”
luffy tilts his head. “does it matter?”
he sighs. of course.
instead, sanji just gives luffy a plate separate from the preparations for the banquet on the dining table, telling him to eat and get out.
that’s how you knew luffy didn’t seem to care about dates like that. had nobody done anything for today, he wouldn’t have even blinked- continuing about his day just as normal.
so now. the date of his birthday.
something seems a little odd about him.
all day… for some reason, he seems to be attached to your hip.
he follows you around the ship or tugs at your sleeve when you try to leave him for a few moments. he even stretches all the way across the ship and snatches the book you were reading right out your hands as you soak in the sun.
you don’t even know why. he was all the way over there!
every time you ask him what’s gotten into him, he just flashes you that toothy grin you fell in love with and tells you, “nothing!” like it was so simple.
but his contact today was constant, always near you. while this wasn’t unusual for him, it seemed… different almost. a hand on your knee, an arm slung around your shoulders. or he’s insisting on sitting obnoxiously close to you, despite there being more space to have room.
the table was loud- too loud for any normal conversation. everyone celebrated, and while luffy didn’t particularly care too much about his birthday- he was never one to turn down a big feast and banquet. you find yourself seated right next to luffy.
ussop was halfway stood on his chair, dramatically reenacting something you know for certain did not happen. franky was no better.
“AND THEN I-“
“SUUUPPEERRR SAVED THE DAY!”
“that’s not what happened!” nami snapped.
laughter erupted all around the table. and right next to you, luffy was laughing the loudest and brightest. “SHISHISHISHI-!! do that again!!” he cackles, as he slams his hand against the dining table, nearly knocking over a plate in his amusement.
you notice then from the jostle of his arm slamming on the table that his shoulder is pressed up to yours. its not a light gesture, he’s fully leaning into you, like you were a major part of his space.
luffy is still laughing and still busy being so close to you that even looking at him in this state warmed your heart. he was happy.
…and of course, things come to a screeching halt.
“oi,” he said, reaching across your plate without even looking when he’s calmed down enough. “you’re not gonna eat that, right?” he asks in accordance with you leaving your plate untouched for a few minutes. like he was spying on it the whole time.
“…you have your own.” you respond.
“yeah but yours looks better.” he comments with a shrug, not hesitating to help himself to your food.
your eye twitches. you let it slide, supposing that because it was his birthday- you can let it go.
this one time.
but even so, taking your food between big bites, he’s still busy laughing at ussop’s antics. but his shoulder stays close to yours, which hadn’t realise until your own shoulder went numb that it was uncomfortable. so you shift. just move enough to be comfortable again.
but the problem was that you were shifting away from him.
he follows without thinking, closing the gap again.
but he’s not even looking at you right now. just close like always. like the gesture wasn’t even something he noticed.
you’re snapped out of your thoughts when nami announces that it’s gift time.
now, even though luffy’s love language didn’t lay in material value- as a pirate, he could never turn down treasures set aside and bought just for him, especially from his friends. so of course be accepts all the gifts with a hearty attitude. this was great, he wasn’t expecting all this! (he didn’t even know his birthday was today…)
luffy tears through all the gift wraps and presents with almost terrifying speed and his typical excitement. the usual; laughing, shouting, cackling. whenever he uncovers his gifts, he immediately uses or eats whatever he was given.
now, it’s your turn to give him your gift. carefully wrapped up in a red present box, you step forward. he pauses. “hm?” he doesn’t grab the box immediately for once right out your hands.
“that for me?” he asks, knowing your answer but asking anyways. when you confirm, something warm settles in his eyes when he recognises your form ready to gift him.
he took it slower than usual, quieter than usual. for a moment, the noise surrounding the crew blurs into the background for a moment.
“shishishishi.” his signature laugh.
his grins comes back, softer this time, just like his big brown eyes. “i like it.” he says simply without much volume in his voice. just for you. everyone notices the difference, but makes no comment. but you can see robin giving a knowing smile in the corner of your eye.
then its not a moment later when luffy hooks an arms around your shoulders as he pulls you down to sit beside him again. “sit here.” he tells you, making it sound like an offer. but you already know that when luffy says something, he means it.
you’ll pretend you don’t feel your cheeks bloom in warmth.
a few hours later, the thousand sunny is, at last, quiet. well, not completely. there’s still the odd groan of the wood floorboards and the soft sway of the ocean- but compared to earlier, it’s a different world.
most of the crew had passed out wherever they landed. plates scattered everywhere. somebody, probably zoro or ussop, is snoring too loud, and you just barely manage to escape from the mess in the dining room to get your first breath of unshared, fresh air for the night. you lean on the rails of the sunny, watching the waves overlap themselves; rocking slowly.
you don’t make it very far.
“oi.” a familiar voice calls out, not very loud.
you turn, pushing off the rail and looking to see monkey d. luffy in the flesh, only a few steps away from you.
barefoot. hair a mess. hardly awake.
“…whe’re you goin’?” he frowns. he was so cute.
“just getting some air,” you tell him softly, blinking slowly due to your own calm state right now, and resting your elbows on the rail of the sunny behind you. “i’ll be back soon.” you add.
he stares at you for a whole second, before he decides: “i’ll come.” he’s not really asking.
just closes the distance between you two and flops next to you. he sits down, the rails a backrest, with his knees pulled up slightly and his arms resting loosely by his side- one of them brushing yours and staying there when you sit down next to him. closer than necessary. his side presses up to yours. you listen to the ocean rocking behind you in comfortable silence.
he doesn’t say anything for a while. strange, for him. usually by now he’d be yapping on about something he found funny today, or what he thought about someone’s gift. but he’s silent.
he shifts now, so that his arm is fully touching yours. then he changes his mind again, it seems, because he takes you by your shoulders and pulls you in to rest on him.
your back is pressed to his chest, and he’s pulled you to sit between his legs now, straightening his legs when he had to pull you in. his arms are around your shoulders, face buried in the crook of your neck that makes you almost want to squirm and giggle because of the ticklish, sensitive area he’s decided to indulge in.
“…today was fun,” he states, halfway asleep in your neck. “you were there the whole time.” its not quite a compliment, much more like a quiet observation that matters most to him.
but soon, you start to shuffle. just because you needed a little space. luffy grumbles- you hadn’t even known if he was awake or not with his uncharacteristic silence- his arms slipping down to your waist as he holds you there.
“don’t move.” he mumbles, sleepy.
he’s not letting you go, not today or any other day.
you finally realise why he was so clingy today. luffy might not track birthdays, but he had noticed everyone’s attention was on him today. everyone was gathered, laughing and watching him, the crew going out of their way to celebrate. it created a rare moment where he’s hyper aware of what he has. it makes him appreciate it more.
that quiet appreciation and realisation makes him cling subconsciously closer to you.
after everything he’s been through, almost losing the crew, luffy has an instinct buried.
when things feel good, he wants to keep them close.
out of everyone, you are his anchor. the party was loud. franky and ussop goofing off, sanji yeling and zoro for who knows what, nami arguing- luffy had leaned into you throughout it all because you’re his anchor.
the thought makes your heart ache a little. not because it hurt, but because the weight of his love was so obvious.
luffy. he must have liked being taken care of for once after always looking out for his crew. and he wanted you right next to him.
you’re suddenly very aware of how close he is to you when he exhales a heavy breath in his drowsiness right on your neck- making your nerves stand on end.
alright. time to get this overgrown monkey in his bed.
you do try to move, at least leave the spot between his legs so you can hopefully pick him up and carry him with his arm over your shoulder, like he’s drunk, to his room. but luffy doesn’t let you, grumbling again and holding tighter if anything.
“luffy,” you grumble yourself, trying to pry him off you so that he can go to sleep in a comfortable bed. “it’s time go to sleep. let’s go to your room.” you tell him, hands resting on his arms around your waist.
“no.” he refuses.
and suddenly you’re both laying on the floorboards sideways, with him behind you- like he decided the floor was the perfect bed.
and he just goes right back to snoozing.
you take a few moments to process it.
you sigh. he’s getting scolded in the morning.
but for now? you accept your fate and lean into his touch- twisting to face him. he senses the change, loosening a touch to let you bury your face into his chest. he immediately holds you tighter when you’ve settled in.
you almost laugh softly to yourself.
“happy birthday, luffy.” you mutter as a final farewell before sleep pulls you into dream world.
hope you enjoyed!
★ original content belongs to chihiroonii.
