After meeting up with the Heart Pirates, your entire crew was involved in meeting after meeting to discuss strategy and plan attacks. It was exhausting really, and you were rather bored. You didn't know much about combat and didn't plan on fighting anyone, preferring to support from the sidelines. However, when Law brought up attacking by sea, you immediately perked up. Chartering courses and knowing how to use the water to your advantage was your strong suit. You often assisted Nami with navigating the Grand Line, using your knowledge of the sea's tides and geography.
Luffy immediately suggested you and Jinbe take the lead, to which you eagerly accepted. Luffy bragged to Law about your skills, and Kinemon affirmed he was telling the truth. You immediately looked at the maps of Wano in front of you before requesting any local oceanography information that was available. Jinbe informed you of his plans to search the local waterways for any helpful creatures or fishmen that may be nearby. You encouraged his idea and began to study the books Inuarashi brought you. Nami lent you some paper while you began to map out the local waterways, planning strategic entries and exits. Although most of the fighting and traveling would occur by land, the Heart Pirates and their allies were going to attack from the water. Law approached you out of curiosity, “what are you thinking so far?” You looked up as you answered his question, “I think I have a plan on how to approach Orochi's palace, there's a large lagoon that the property overlooks. If we fire from here,” you pointed at a spot on the map, “we can take down the foundation of the main temple.”
The tall man silently nodded and hummed in agreement. “What do you think? Would the Polar Tang be able to navigate this easily or should I plan a different route?” Law made you nervous, his energy dominated every room he entered, unlike Luffy who brightened up every place he went. Although the two captains had similar goals, their execution of said goals was very different. You were grateful for Law, of course you were, as a Dressrosa native you were forever grateful for Luffy and Law's interventions. They had saved the land you loved, while simultaneously slamming Doflamingo into the side of a mountain which was rather satisfying for you.
“I like your idea, but I'd also like to put a fleet here to attack from the western front.” Law pointed at a spot on your map and you immediately began scribbling down notes. “Gotcha, I'll figure out which location on the west coast is most advantageous. Jinbe is going to gather helpful intel from his friends in the ocean”. You continued to discuss theories and strategy with the tattooed man, trying to get as much input from him as possible. You were well aware that the plan was for all 3 pirate crews to split up eventually, and you didn't want to try discussing logistics over a Transponder Snail. Although you prodded Trafalgar for his opinions, he was a man of little words. He offered suggestions and ideas every now and then, preferring to listen to your propositions. The man had decided that Luffy and Kinemon were correct, you were definitely the right person for the job. When he left the hideout later that evening, he felt confident in your abilities. Your captain may be reckless and stupid, but his crew wasn't. Law trusted Luffy to get the job done no matter what, but he felt better about their odds after discussing strategy with you. The Heart Pirates noticed their captain appeared to have had some weight lifted off his shoulders, providing some comfort for the constantly anxious crew (Bepo).
“What did you and Traffy talk about y/n?” Luffy was peering over your shoulder, looking at your notes and hand drawn maps. “We discussed strategy. I found the perfect route to take down Orochi and Law wants to plan an attack from the western shores. We mapped it out roughly, we're gonna have to polish the details later with Nami's help." Your captain nodded along, mostly focusing on the ‘take down Orochi’ part. Luffy didn't care much for the fine details, he was a big picture kinda guy. “You're so smart, I knew you would get along with Traffy!” Luffy was smiling with both arms wrapped loosely around your frame as he leaned into you. You were suddenly very aware of just how close you were with the man, making your face flush.
“You think so?” You asked shyly, wishing you could turn around and bury your face in Luffy's chest. “Mhm! I know so,” his cheeky smile remained along with his physical contact. You were fairly used to Luffy's displays of affection, he hugged everyone, but you would get palpitations with every touch. Your chest would get warm and your head would feel fuzzy in a good way every time Luffy hung onto you. He had been more touchy with you lately, sling-shotting the two of you to different locations, sitting next to you at meal times and brushing his shoulder with yours, and had even started a habit of randomly wrapping himself around you like a koala. “You've been rather affectionate lately Lu, are you okay?” You were concerned for your captain, but if you were being honest with yourself your worry ran far deeper than that of a crewmate.
“Yeah why wouldn't I be? I get to fight with all my friends. Besides you're comfy to lay on”. Luffy's matter-of-fact tone surprised you, you were expecting him to be anxious about fighting an Emperor of the Sea but he was treating this like it was a regular sparring match. “I'm worried about you, are you sure you're up to this? Everyone is asking a lot from you, are you okay with that? With fighting Kaido?” Luffy's carefree smile dropped and he suddenly looked very serious. He untangled his limbs from your body before sitting across from you. While looking you in the eyes, Luffy reminded you of his promise. “I told you that I'm going to be King of the Pirates, and part of that means protecting my crew. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, and I'm not going to die. Have faith in me, I'm your captain. Fighting Kaido is a warm-up compared to the day I'll have to face Shanks. Will you believe in me y/n?” You nodded, taken aback by his stern tone. “Ofcourse Lu, I'll always believe in you and follow you anywhere. I just worry about you sometimes. You take care of everyone, but who takes care of you?”
Luffy's eyes softened but his face remained stone cold serious. “You shouldn't worry about me, I always come back don't I?” You couldn't argue with the man, he was right. “Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself. Let me know if you need anything, I want to help you.” You squeezed his hand before leaving the main room, going to the kitchen to offer your assistance to Sanji. “Y/N my love! How can I be of service to you m'lady?” You giggled and blushed like you always did, finding Sanji's behavior endearing. “I wanted to see if you needed anything, I can help you cook or do dishes if you'd like”. Sanji immediately declined your offer while swooning over your consideration for him. “No no, you rest here,” he led you to a chair, “you don't worry your pretty little head about me, okay? A true gentleman would never request a lady to work.”
“Sanji you're too sweet, are you sure you don't need any help?” The blonde chef practically melted at your words, you thought he was sweet! He kissed your hand before excusing himself to prepare a drink for you. He brought you some black tea with honey which you gratefully accepted. The drink was warm and comforting, like a soft blanket. Sanji kept your favorite brand of tea in the pantry at all times, brewing a cup for you every morning. You watched him work, dicing produce and prepping salmon for dinner. You talked to him while he worked, asking where he learned to cook and how he managed to come up with so many recipes. The conversation continued, with Sanji flirting the entire time as per usual. However the blonde man suddenly stopped mid sentence and rushed back to his work, confusing the hell out of you. Did you do something? You looked behind you to see if there was anything and only found Luffy beaming at you. “Hey Lu, Sanji said dinner is almost ready.” Luffy cheerfully sat next to you and leaned his weight into you, seemingly carefree.
What you didn't know was that Luffy had given Sanji the death glare when he entered the room and noticed the chef all over you. Something in his chest burned and Luffy felt himself get angry, which had never happened before. Why do I care that he's all over her? I've never been upset about him flirting with Nami or Robin! Sanji could feel the heat in his captain's glare, and noticed how Luffy was zeroed in on you two, practically burning holes in Sanji. The blonde returned to the stove top to pan sear the salmon while smirking to himself, Luffy must have a crush! Although the Casanova chef was the only one who outwardly flirted with you, it was quite obvious that Luffy liked you. He clung to you constantly and always asked you for advice. You were the only one who could sit with Luffy on his “special seat” (which was really just Sunny's figurehead), and the crew has even seen Luffy share food with you! Food! The sight of Luffy offering you some of his dessert last week nearly caused the crew to double over in shock, and Usopp mentioned something about “going outside to check if pigs are flying”.
"You hungry?" You asked, already knowing the answer. "Course I am! I want meat," Luffy was already wrapping himself around you as he spoke. You felt his arms surround you as he laid his head on your shoulder, nuzzling into your hair. "I'll be done soon, just be patient Luffy," Sanji spoke up as he cooked, focused on his craft. Your captain grumbled in dismay, words muffled by your skin. You were blushing furiously but relaxed into his touch. You were playing with his hair while he rested on you, face pressed into the crook between your shoulder and neck. Luffy was so close to falling asleep when Sanji announced dinner was ready.
Your captain sprang up with renewed energy, always ready to eat no matter the time or circumstance. Luffy cheered as he sat at the table and you smiled endearingly. You called out to the rest of the crew letting them know dinner was ready, and as the Straw Hats filtered in you noticed a certain someone beckoning you to sit next to him. Luffy was on your left and Chopper was on your right, both of them eagerly talking, joking and eating. You preferred to soak in the moment, quietly observing much like Robin. "Thanks for the food Sanji, it's really good," you quietly complimented the man before taking another bite. You could practically see the heart eyes as he swooned, making you giggle.
Luffy stiffened beside you. You were laughing at Sanji, but not him. You always laughed at his jokes and antics but you hadn't given him anything but a soft smile all day. He felt his heart clench all of a sudden, and the rubber man didn't know why. There was a burning in his throat, as if angry words were trying to escape by clawing their way out. He swallowed hard, hoping that would make the feeling go away. However it remained until you turned to him with a smile, "hey Lu, you got quiet all of a sudden. You okay?" Luffy immediately put on his trademark smile and nodded like he totally wasn't going to explode 2 seconds ago. Your captain continued his usual comedy routine with Usopp and Chopper while you watched with a content sigh. You were happy here, basking in the warmth of your found family. As Luffy turned to face you wearing chopsticks resembling walrus teeth, you laughed until tears threatened to spill. Luffy felt the burn in his throat go away, you had finally laughed. all because of him.
Unbeknownst to you, your captain was visiting Chopper in the infirmary after dinner. "Hey, I think something's wrong with me. Everytime I look at y/n my chest feels funny like my heart is beating out of my chest. Is that normal?" Luffy asked Chopper casually, startling the reindeer. "What do you mean you feel like your heart is beating out of your chest? Sit down! We need to get you checked out by a doctor!" His little legs were running around the clinic a mile a minute, panicking as usual. "You are the doctor though" Luffy's words interrupted Chopper's panic attack, as if he suddenly remembered that he was a medical professional. "You must be sick! Y/N is always clutching at her chest when you're around, maybe you giys have a disease! I'll consult my textbooks," the doctor rushed off to his desk, leaving Luffy standing in the doorway. So you have the same symptoms as he does? Luffy decided to check on you at that moment, hoping and praying you weren't sick like Nami was on Drum Island.
Your captain saw you on the lower deck and made a beeline for you. "Hey y/n! Are you sick too?" Luffy asked as he approached you, concern lacing his cheerful tone. "Sick? I'm not sick, are you? We gotta see Chopper if you're not feeling well." Luffy was very confused, if you weren't sick or hurt why did you clutch your chest whenever he did something nice? How come your face got all hot and red when he compliments you? You could see the gears turning in the man's head and waited patiently for his next words. "Well if you're not sick why is your face red? Plus you always put your hand over your heart when we talk, so something has to be wrong. I think you and I have the same illness, because I feel weird and hot whenever you're around! Chopper's already on the case." You stifled your laughter but your lips twitching gave you away. "What? Something funny?"
"Luffy I'm not sick, I just have a crush on someone," you softly smiled at your captain through your words, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "A crush? What's that?" You giggled in response, "It's when you like someone romantically, ya know more than a friend." Your heart was beating twice as fast as you explained to him. The rubber man pondered your words for a few moments before asking you a question. "Do you have a 'crush' on Sanji?" You laughed in response, "oh god no, he's sweet but not my type." Luffy beamed at your words, "If it's not Sanji, and I have a crush and you have a crush, does that mean we like each other?" Your brain short circuited at your captain's words. You stuttered out a jumble of words, unsure how to respond.
"You have a crush on me?" The crimson on your cheeks spread to your ears as you asked, suddenly feeling very hot. "Well duh, so do you like me or what?" Luffy's grin widened, as if he already knew your answer was yes. "W-well um, yeah... I mean yes! I've liked you for a long time," you stared at your feet as you spoke, vulnerability on display for the man you had feelings for. Rubber arms surrounded you before you could drown in self doubt. "So when are you going to be my girlfriend y/n?" At this moment you knew he was playing dumb, but you played along anyways. "You gotta ask me first silly," you smiled as Luffy nuzzled his face into yours. He hummed in response before unraveling himself and standing in front of you. "Will you be my girl?" His words lit a fire inside you, causing you to surge forward. You grabbed Luffy by his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
The rubber man immediately reciprocated, placing his hands on your waist as he deepened the kiss. All of the built up tension finally relieved as you two fell into your own bubble, a tangle of hands and kisses. You both pulled away with a gasp, pupils wide and cheeks flushed. Luffy placed his hat on your head as he leaned his forehead against yours. "I'll take that as a yes," he laughed before kissing you again. You wrapped your arms around his neck and cuddled into him, staying put long after you had stopped kissing.
Behind the port hole spying on the pair of you was Nami, Usopp and Chopper. "I win! Pay up Usopp," Nami demanded with a grin as the young man handed over 100 berries. "How did you know they liked each other Nami?" Chopper asked innocently, quietly relieved that you two didn't have some sort of disease. "Have you seen those two together? They're attached at the hip, of course they liked each other!" Usopp nodded in agreement. "So what did you bet on then?" The sniper frowned as Nami's eyes shined with pride in her victory. "I bet those two would get together within the next two weeks but Usopp bet they wouldn't get together until after Luffy defeated Kaido. Looks like I was right again!" The navigator skipped away with money in hand, leaving behind her crew mates as she went to your shared room to tell Robin and Carrot.
a/n: this is smth super different from what i usually write but i’ve been listening to this song for a while during my downtime + this came to my mind !! i wrote this in one go + i’d be down to do a pt 2 if y’all like it !! lemme know 😁
click here for pt 2 !!
click here for pt 3 !!
18+ MDNI
luffy sinks his teeth into the pork chop in his fist, squeezing his eyes shut in pure ecstasy as he rips the meat from the bone.
“so good!” chunks of meat fly out of luffy’s mouth and onto his surrounding nakama, earning disgusted groans and gags from them.
“luffy, we're in a traditional theater. can you have some class? the show’s about to start!” nami scolds, pinching luffy’s ear. he whines but continues to bite into his pork, carefree and happy in this moment with his food.
“oy, and you better keep it down.” sanji says in a low voice, looking pointedly into luffy’s eyes. “there's supposed to be a beautiful woman, the best singer in wano, singing just for us tonight.”
luffy decides to ignore the snide remarks from sanji and nami and continue to stuff his face with the finest foods in wano. food that he'd earned by defeating kaido and freeing a whole country.
luffy couldn't care less about being an honored guest at some traditional theater. as long as there's good, unlimited food, he was there. honored or not.
why shouldn't he enjoy his food as loudly as he wants to? who cares if some lady is gonna sing?
❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。
you wring your hands and wipe them against your kimono, praying the sweat away from your palms. you're nervous, of course, you're going to be singing in the banquet honoring the pirates who had saved your country! why wouldn't you be nervous?
robin, one of the girls you'd received etiquette lessons with, happened to be one of those pirates and happened to be in attendance tonight. remembering this made you relax; robin was such a calm and compassionate woman, and she'd always encouraged you in continuing your singing career. pirate or not, she was a great friend.
and princess hiyori, or komurasaki, as you had known her, would be on stage with you to play the shamisen. you had two amazing women supporting you, so you really had nothing to worry about.
polite spatterings of applause led you onto the stage, following you until you stood in front of where hiyori sat, her fingers poised over the strings of her instrument.
a voice from the stairs above the stage introduces you, and you can hear robin’s cheers above the crowd's welcome.
you got this, y/n-chan!
you take a couple of deep breaths and capture your composure, standing up straight and elongating your neck. your tongue darts out to moisten your lips, allowing them to stretch into a warm smile.
❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。
luffy pauses his gluttony for a moment to watch you, this nervous little thing, walk across the stage.
then he notices you straighten up, your lips bending into a calm smile, your eyebrows softening, and your neck craning so you can regard the crowd with your kind eyes.
a shy bud blossoms into a proud and confident flower right before his very eyes, and luffy feels his grip on his kebab stick loosen.
he swallows thickly. you're pretty.
and he could've sworn you just smiled at him.
luffy immediately becomes aware of how he's sitting: leaning onto one of his elbows, one leg flexed with his foot on the ground and the other laying open against the tatami mat beneath him.
he sits up, lightly placing the kebab on the table and rubbing his grubby, greasy hands on his kimono.
“you good?” zoro leans over and asks quietly.
“yeah.” luffy clears his throat and realizes he's fidgeting. “yeah!” he says a bit too loudly, earning some shushes and fingers over lips from the crew.
zoro just nods and takes a swig from his fourth sake bottle of the night. he continues to watch his captain focus on the stage, on you.
seems like you caught his eye. zoro snickers to himself and leans back on his elbows, ready to hear what the greatest singer in all of wano has to offer.
hiyori begins to pluck her shamisen, encouraging you with a calm smile. you look up into the spotlight, taking a deep breath and opening your mouth.
luffy is hanging onto every single one of your movements, holding his breath so he can listen to you without obstruction or distraction.
sakura, sakura
(cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms)
yayoi no sora wa
(across the spring sky)
mi-watasu kagiri
(as far as the eye can see)
kasumi ka kumo ka
(is it mist, or clouds?)
nioi zo izuru
(fragrant in the air)
izaya izaya
(come now, come now)
mini yukan
(let's go and see them!)
luffy doesn't clap when you finish. he doesn't cheer with the rest of his crew, or the rest of the crowd, when you bow and wave politely at the audience before slowly walking off stage.
he's making his way down to the stage, eyes trained on you and desperate to not lose sight of you.
luffy feels himself walking faster and faster till he's running, shoulders jolting backward by the crowds of people beating past him to use the restroom or get refreshments before the rest of the show continues.
then he's reaching out for you as he draws closer and closer, his heart lurching into his throat when he feels the fabric of your kimono sleeve between his fingertips.
taglist: not tagging anyone in this since it's a lil different from the stuff i usually write :3
