everyone adores you (at least I do) | Monkey D. Luffy x fem!Reader
summary. in which you're fairly sure that Luffy and Vivi have a thing for each other, but a drunken Nami reveals to you that maybe your unrequited feelings for your captain are not so unrequited.
word count. 2.4k
tags. strawhat!Reader, opla!Luffy, fluff, not so unrequited love, slight jealousy from Reader (Vivi's a sweetheart tho), drinking, drunken confessions, Nami's fucked up lmao, wing girl Nami, hand holding (-ish), almost kiss, throwing up, idiots in love, oblivious Luffy, comedy and romance
TW! mentions of vomiting towards the end! Not explicit.
Everyone adores Luffy. At least, everyone who doesn’t represent a threat to his freedom, like Marines and Baroque Works. But, for the rest, Luffy is an accidental people-magnet. Accidental because you’re pretty sure that he’s not fully aware of the effect he has on others. How contagious his smile is, and his determination or optimism. But the crew knows very well. Zoro does, Nami especially, and you do. A soft smile stretches on your face, as you rest your chin on your palm.
Luffy is drinking and laughing on the other side of the room, sitting on a couch as he tells stories of his adventures to the curious patrons of the inn you’re hanging out at. Everyone hangs from his lips, as Usopp exaggerates some details and Chopper tells the sniper to pipe it down a little. Zoro is sprawled on an armchair nearby, glued to a bottle of sake, and Sanji is flirting with women as usual.
And Vivi is…
«(Y/N)…what’s uuup, my girl…»
Nami slumps down on the chair next to you, right at the counter as the bartender slides her another beer. Your gaze is still far away, lost in the other side of the room. It’s always lost wherever he goes.
Nami tries to catch your attention by slurring something else behind you, but you don’t hear. Until she bumps your shoulder and waves a hand in front of you.
«Hey, Earth to (Y/N)?!» she says.
You jolt a little and turn around, finally acknowledging her presence. And oh, she’s drunk. You would’ve guessed it the moment she came up to you and greeted you like that, but her red cheeks are much more telling. And her semi-closed eyes. And the small smirk on her face or how wobbly she looks.
«Nami, are you okay?» you ask, slightly concerned.
«Never been better!» she gives you a not very reassuring thumbs up, before her elbow slips on the counter and she almost smashes her head.
You chuckle and take a sip of your own beer «Maybe this is the last one for you, okay?»
«C’mon, I’m fine! I’ve got high tolerance» she says.
You let out a small laugh, then your face slowly turns to look at him again. And your smile falls a little.
«Watcha lookin at?» Nami asks, and rests her chin on your shoulder to take a look from behind.
She doesn’t get it. She looks at you, confused. If she was sober, she would‘ve caught it immediately. But as of now, she needs a little help.
«So…» you speak low, more out of sadness than privacy «Luffy and Vivi, uh?»
What made your smile falter before was seeing Luffy and Vivi so close together on the couch. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, laughing together as she bumped him playfully. Sometimes she puts her head on his shoulder just to giggle some more.
You’ve already figured it out, but it hurts still. You absolutely love Vivi, she’s a great friend and you’re already sad thinking about parting ways with her once you reach Alabasta.
But you can’t help but wish to be in her place next to Luffy. You want to be held like that by him, and rest your head on his shoulder, and you want him to look at you the way he looks at her. The lingering and caring looks they exchanged, the little touches, the smiles they reserved only for each other. Luffy and Vivi have something that you and Luffy don’t have.
And it hurts because you really are in love with your captain.
«Oh yeah, Luffy and Vivi, they’re cute, aren’t they?» Nami chirps with a little smile.
«Yeah, I’m happy for them…» you murmur, still looking at them.
Nami nods in approval against your shoulder, but then her face turns puzzled.
«Wait, happy for what?» she asks.
The confused tone takes you by surprise, so you finally turn around to face her properly.
«What do you mean? Happy that they’ve…you know, something going on obviously» you say, as if it was obvious.
And then, against your every prediction, Nami just bursts out laughing. She laughs to the point of slapping the counter and making bottles of sake clink. You stare at her in shock, eyes wide.
«You! You think that Luffy and Vivi like each other?! Do you have a crush on Luffy?!» she exclaims, definitely too loud for your taste. Some patrons turn around to look at her, and you almost slap a hand on her mouth.
«Shhh! Keep it down! And no, I-I don’t like Luffy, I was just making an observation! A not-so-weird observation!»
«Oh geez, no! Absolutely not! Luffy and Vivi- oh shit this is so funny!» Nami can barely keep herself together.
You roll your eyes and scoff «Nami! C’mon, it’s not that far-fetched they just-»
«No, no it’s funny because…» Nami wipes a tear from the corner of her eye, and you wish you could drain all the alcohol from her system.
Then, Nami takes a deep breath, and between a laugh and another, she finally manages to wheeze:
«It’s funny because Luffy doesn’t like Vivi, he likes you!»
Suddenly, your jaw drops and your eyes blink a few times. Your expression drives Nami to the point of tears as she holds her stomach to laugh.
«What?» you whisper, somehow Nami catches that.
«Oh (Y/N) you don’t know how-many-times» she slaps her hand on the counter to punctuate her words «Luffy came to me saying things like “(Y/N) makes me feel funny, do you think she ate a Devil Fruit that makes people’s guts feel weird?”. And then he’d be like “I really like hanging out with you and Vivi, but with (Y/N) it’s weird but in a very good way, makes me feel happy, you know what I’m saying?”. Luffy is in love with you and he doesn’t even know it! Don’t get me wrong, he’s attached to Vivi but he told me she feels like a sister or something, and there was this one time he turned around and told me OUT OF THE BLUE that he thought you had a nice dress on a particular day and how your smile is-»
You let Nami talk the entire time, clutching your pint of beer as your heart drums in your chest. It beats so fast that you think it’s about to just pop off. And your cheeks burn like they never did before and your legs tremble. Maybe the fact that you’re also drunk is not helping. So, you don’t even realize that you’re about to shout.
«Nami, why the fuck didn’t you tell me that Luffy likes me back!»
Nami shrugs, dangling left and right a bit «It’s not like he straight up told me, I don’t even think Luffy himself knows that he’s in love. And plus, I don’t know, I guess something about thinking that you and Luffy had to figure it out alone or something like that…»
Then, Nami miraculously forms a thought in the haze of her drunkenness. Her mouth’s now agape with surprise.
«Wait, so you do like him! You just admitted it!» she points a finger at you, laughing in your face shamelessly.
Realizing your mistake, you slap a hand on your mouth and hide your face in your palms, trying to disassociate. This conversation just keeps getting more embarrassing. But after a while, you and Nami make an attempt at talking about it a bit more seriously and thoughtfully. You admit your feelings for Luffy to her, and how your mood was down these last days because you were sure that he and Vivi were into each other. Nami recollects herself a bit and reassures you that, despite Luffy being oblivious about it, she’s certain that what he feels is love and that he just has to realize it and make a move.
Now with a new spark in your eyes, you turb around and look back at the couch where Luffy is sitting at. He’s still close to Vivi, but when you turn around, it doesn’t take you long to lock eyes with him. Because Luffy was already looking at you with the kindest smile.
The room around you fades for a moment as you and Luffy stare at each other, lost in your eyes. And then, he waves at you happily and gestures to come sit with him and Vivi.
A small smile makes its way on your face, and Nami playfully pushes you towards Luffy’s direction, in encouragement.
So you get up, smile back at Nami, and make your way through the crowded inn. As you reach for your friends, Vivi is already scooching to make space for you between herself and Luffy, patting the empty spot.
And so you sit between your friends, next to Luffy, feeling flustered whenever your knee would bump against his and trying to stop your heart from reaching when you realized that despite your thighs pressing against each other he didn’t make any attempt at moving his leg away from you. It’s a small thing, compared to what Nami revealed to you. But it makes you feel funny inside and this is even more beautiful.
---
It’s late at night now, and you and the Straw Hats are walking back to the Merry to sleep. Well, “walking” is a euphemism, since none of you can do it straight. Nami passed out so she’s being carried bridal-style by Sanji, who’s barely able to do so only because his legs are ridiculously trained. Otherwise he would already be on the floor due to how much he drank. Zoro’s walking in every direction, holding Chopper with an arm as he uses him as a dumbbell. Fortunately, Chopper doesn’t seem to mind since he’s giggling the whole time. Usopp is trying to tell Vivi one of his fake stories, something even more non-sensical than usual, but she’s so out of her mind that she believes him right off the bat.
And you, well, you’re walking some meters behind them as you’re holding up Luffy by his arm. He definitely exaggerated with booze so you wrapped his arm around your shoulders and dragged him out the inn just a couple of minutes before. His head is hanging loosely forwards, his back hunched. You’re shit-faced yourself, but maintained some physical strength to help your captain back to the ship.
And you don’t mind it at all.
«I think that was enough booze for tonight, Luffy» you say with a soft chuckle.
«Mh, ‘mso sleepy…» Luffy mumbles, groaning.
Your hands are holding each other over your left shoulder, to help with balance, but sometimes Luffy gives your fingers a sporadic and affectionate squeeze. He even caresses them a little. His strokes are harsh due to his lack of awareness, but even so, you love each and every time it happens. You adore it.
«Don’t worry, we’re getting back to the Merry specifically to sleep» you say.
«Yahoo» Luffy mumbles, genuinely happy, but you can’t see his smile behind his straw hat as he’s too curved.
The streets are empty and silent, accompanied only by the sound of your crew mates drunken chats and giggles on the front.
«Is (Y/N) over there with the others?» Luffy suddenly asks, weakly pointing a finger towards the silhouettes of your friends.
You raise an eyebrow, puzzled «What?»
«(Y/N)…we didn’t leave her at the inn, right?»
Oh. Luffy is so fucked up as of now, that he doesn’t even recognize you. And you’re so drunk in return, that you decide not to tell him.
«No, I think your friend already hopped on the ship» you reply, trying to alter your tone of voice a little to not ruin this little accidental game.
«Oh good, otherwise I would’ve felt…bad. I mean, no, she never makes me feel bad. Leaving her behind would make me feel bad!»
You gulp down and look away as both you and Luffy’s feet clumsily drag along the street.
«Tell me more about this friend of yours…» you say, uncertain of this gimmick.
«Oh, (Y/N)? Well, she’s my friend of course, as you said. And…well, she has eyes. Like other people, I guess. But her eyes are INSANELY pretty. Sometimes she cries and it makes me upset when she does because tears hide her eyes, and they become red and puffy and I can’t look at them in the same way I like to do when she’s happy. But he smiles a lot, at least with me, and I like it because she has a pretty smile too. And she always laughs at the things I do, and likes to hang out with me when we explore islands. Even if sometimes she gets scared, but that’s nice too because when it happens she clings onto me and it makes me feel so good, like my heart explodes in a nice way. One time she even cooked for me. That sandwich tasted bad but I was so over the moon that she cooked it for me that I ate it in one bite. She’s really cool. Like Nami and Vivi, but…differently»
By the time Luffy finishes his train of thoughts, you’ve already arrived at the Merry. As he was talking and you reached the ship, you stopped and looked at him with your eyebrows arched upwards. Incredulous, but also mesmerized.
And finally, Luffy raises his head and his brown eyes meet yours from behind his curls. He looks down at your lips, and then back in your eyes, his thick eyebrows slightly pointing upwards, giving him that puppy-dog look that makes you weak to the core. You stay like that for a while, faces close, just a few inches apart, both of you grazed by moonlight. As the others have already gotten inside the ship, the only sound audible now is the soft noise of waves hitting the Going Merry. Until Luffy interrupts the silence.
«I feel like you wanna kiss me right now, but all I can think about is that I really wanna kiss (Y/N)»
It takes you so much strength to not stop the game and kiss him right away. But your legs are trembling too much out of emotion and, if one day you and Luffy will actually kiss, to do so when you’re both sober. And maybe when he’s in a state when he can at least recognize you.
So you just nervously lick your lips and then nod.
«Yeah, you’re right, she sounds like a cool person» you say, patting his back a few times.
You back away from each other a little, but you’re still holding him up as you carry Luffy inside the ship.
«Oh yeah. The coolest…» he says.
The next hour is spent with you helping Luffy throw up in a basin. He was suddenly hit by stomach cramps and he basically begged you to stay and help him by squeezing your hand to the point it hurt and kissing your knuckles out of alcohol-induced delirium. You were fine and happy with it until the moment of “letting out” came and you screamed as you held the basin under his head. You kept on assisting him by calmly stroking his dark curls and wiping his sweaty forehead, and by caressing his back up and down. By the time he finished he felt better but was trembling like a leaf, so you held him up again and took him to his bed, were you tucked him under the covers snuggly.
But after you just wished him goodnight and turned around, he stopped you by taking your hand and calling your name.
«Thank you, (Y/N)»
You turned around, smiling back at him.
«Goodnight, Luffy»
The next morning, your memory is hazy. You vaguely remember Nami telling you something weird and laughing about it, and helping Luffy vomit afterwards, but you have no recollection of what she told you and what happened apart from that. Nami doesn’t remember anything herself and not even Luffy.
Well, if there’s something that you remember about last night, it’s that whatever it was, it was something nice.
