His Star ✨ Luffy x Reader
Chapter 8: your new family
Word Count:
Contents: Luffy X Traumatised!DevilFruitUser!Reader. Long&SlowBurn. Fluff. Angst. Eventual Romance&Smut. Strawhat Crew X Reader. SPOILER WARNINGS. Character Building&Growth. Long Read, Several Chapters.
Content Warning: Mention of Abuse. Brutal+Violent scenes targeted towards and against reader. Traumatic Events. Death of close ones. (Let me know if I’ve missed any!)
Summary: From being Ace’s right hand girl, to meeting Monkey ‘D Luffy for the first time in Alabasta, Then watching everything that was once important to you vanish mercilessly infront of you. You find yourself on a strange journey you never expected standing alongside none other than Ace’s brother.
Chapters:
Chpt1 | Chpt2 | Chpt3 | Chpt4 | Chpt5 | Chpt6 | Chpt7 | Chpt 8 | Chpt 9 |
Chapter Summary: Your journey to Fish-man Island begins. You meet a few of the crew members, Luffy feels a new emotion, you find your new home aboard the Sunny.
It was only then that realisation hit. You were still underneath Luffy’s arm, it was almost like he forgot you were there. Everything that had happened in the last 30minutes was a complete blur. You had just been dangling around, head banging on Luffy’s side, entire body being shaken around. The painful ache in your body began to creep back. The painful pounding in your head was what took you over the edge for the second time. You closed your eyes once more, hanging limp in Luffy’s arms. Darkness quickly stole you away.
Luffy's POV
Everything had gone perfectly. He was finally,
FINALLY, Back on the Sunny, His entire crew was here. The giant bubble surrounding the ship drifted lower and lower as they descended, revealing an incredible view of the ocean around them. Luffy leaned over the railing with a grin. The adventure was finally starting again.
"Hey, Luffy." Zoro's voice cut through his excitement.
Luffy looked over. Zoro was pointing at him. Specifically… At his right arm.
"Hm?" Luffy followed the direction of the finger. He looked behind him as if Zoro was pointing directly through him. The rest of the crew actually followed Zoro’s point. Silence.
"Luffy!" Nami's voice echoed across the deck. "We talked about kidnapping people!"
Luffy blinked. Kidnapping? What was she.. He looked down, ooh right, you. You were still tucked under his arm. Oops.
"WAIT SHE'S UNCONSCIOUS?!" Chopper immediately launched himself across the deck. "Luffy put her down right now!"
"She's finnnne." Luffy waved his free hand dismissively. "She's been through worse." He paused as a grin spread across his face. "Prolly saw the stars too early." He chuckled at the inside joke.
Nobody laughed.
"That's not funny!" Chopper screamed.
"What makes you say that?" Zoro asked.
Luffy shrugged. "Oh. She's my partner."
Silence.
The entire crew froze, Nami blinked. Sanji blinked. Usopp blinked. Robin raised an eyebrow.
"PARTNER?!" Nami nearly fell over. "YOU GOT MARRIED?!" Sanji looked ready to die.
Luffy visibly recoiled. "Ew." He pointed at her. "Like a training partner."
A collective sigh of relief swept across the ship. Except Sanji who had already started recovering from cardiac arrest.
"She's been training with me and Rayleigh for the last two years."
That immediately got everyone's attention. Chopper had already stolen you from Luffy's grasp and carried you into the infirmary. As he carefully brushed your hair away from your face, Zoro paused.
"Oh." Everyone turned.
"You know her?"
Zoro nodded. "Alabasta." His expression grew more thoughtful. "Ace's right-hand girl."
The atmosphere shifted slightly. Recognition spread across several faces.
"Wait." Usopp pointed. "THAT Ace?"
"Yeah." Zoro nodded. "That Ace." The room became noticeably quieter.
"How's she doing, Chopper?" Nami asked.
The doctor examined you for another moment before nodding. "Fine." Everyone relaxed. "Probably passed out from lack of oxygen, or too much blood rushing to her head. Depends how long she’s been dangling beside Luffy" Chopper shot Luffy an annoyed look. "And she'll probably wake up with painful whiplash."
"Oops."
"Luffy!"
Before anyone could continue, Chopper pointed dramatically at the door. "OUT."
"What?"
"OUT."
"But"
"OUT!" Within seconds every Straw Hat found themselves pushed outside. Including Luffy. The door slammed shut. Click. Then silence. The crew stared at the closed door. Then at Luffy.
Finally, Robin smiled. "So."
Luffy tilted his head. "Hm?"
"Who exactly is your partner?"
Luffy thought about it. The entire crew waited.
"Shes super cool" Silence.
Usopp stared. Nami stared. Sanji stared. Robin smiled patiently. Luffy smiled back.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!" Usopp screamed.
Luffy blinked. "Oh." He thought harder. "She's really strong."
"That still doesn't explain anything!" Nami snapped.
"She punches monsters."
"LUFFY."
"She's got stars."
"STARS?"
"Yeah."
The crew looked increasingly concerned.
"Is he having a stroke?" Franky asked.
"I think he's trying his best." Robin answered.
Robin slowly closed the distance between her and Luffy placing her hand against his shoulder.
“Now Luffy, who is she,” she paused, giving Luffy a friendly smile, “to you.”
Silence filled the deck again as Luffy began thinking one eyebrow slightly raised and he brought his hand to his chin.
“Hmm.”
“Take your time.” Robin replied, sensing the anticipation of the rest of the crew.
“Well, she’s important.”
Franky and Usopp's jaws dropped instantly, shocked by how Luffy just responded to the question.
“She trained with me, she fought with me, and she stayed.” His tone was so natural as he shrugged to the rest of the crew. Who still remained frozen in shock.
“So.. she trained with you for two years?” Robin the only one who remained calm enough to question him further.
Luffy nodded, “she’s really strong, stronger than me!”
“Bullshit” Zoro snapped out of his own frozen state and mumbled under his breath
“Okay maybe not.. but definitely stronger than you!” Luffy gave Zoro a menacing smirk knowing he had just stirred him up.
Nami sighed, already regretting asking.
"So what happens now, Luffy?"
"What do you mean?"
Nami pointed towards the infirmary. "Her."
Luffy followed her finger. "Oh." His face immediately brightened. "She's staying." The answer came so quickly that several members of the crew blinked.
Nami blinked twice. "Staying where?"
"With us."
"On the Sunny?"
"Yeah."
"You've already decided that?"
Now Luffy looked genuinely confused. "Well yeah."
The crew exchanged glances. Sanji lit another cigarette.
Usopp pointed dramatically. "You can't just decide that by yourself!"
"Why not?"
"Because that's not how this works!"
Luffy tilted his head. The silence stretched. "She's important." The words were simple. Matter-of-fact. Like he was stating the colour of the sky. Nobody immediately responded.
Luffy scratched his cheek. "She trained with me." He held up a finger. "She fought with me." A second finger. "When stuff got bad, she stayed." A third. His grin softened slightly. "Even when she didn't have to."
The deck grew a little quieter.
Robin watched him carefully. "And?"
Luffy blinked. "And what?"
Robin smiled. "Why does that mean she belongs here?"
Luffy stared at her for a moment. Then shrugged. "Because she does." The answer came so naturally that nobody could argue with it. To Luffy, it wasn't really a question. It never had been.
Zoro leaned back against the railing. "Sounds about right."
"YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Usopp screamed.
Luffy ignored him. "Besides." The crew looked back towards him. Luffy grinned. "Rayleigh already told me."
That got everyone's attention. Nami folded her arms. "Told you what?"
Luffy thought about it. For a surprisingly long time. The crew waited..
And waited..
And waited..
Til finally Luffy stuck his finger up in the sky "Oh!" His fist hit his palm.
"He said if I found someone I'd trust with my life..." He pointed towards the infirmary. "...don't let them go."
Silence. The entire crew froze. Even Robin looked surprised. For once, nobody had a joke. Nobody had a complaint. Nobody had an argument.
Then Luffy ruined the moment. "He might've said something else too." The crew collectively groaned.
Nami's eye twitched. "LUFFY."
"What?"
"What was the rest of it?" Luffy stared at the ceiling. Thinking, thinking hard, thinking very hard.
"Somethingg bouttt Roger anddd ...I forgot."
The entire ship exploded.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU START WITH THAT?!"
"THAT WAS THE IMPORTANT PART!"
"I KNEW IT!"
"I'M GONNA THROW HIM OVERBOARD!"
Luffy laughed so hard he almost fell over the railing.
Meanwhile, inside the infirmary, completely unaware of the chaos she had caused, you slept through all of it.
End of Luffy’s POV
You woke up to shouting coming from somewhere above you. Slowly blinking your eyes open, the first thing you saw was wood.
A wooden ceiling, no stars, no clouds, not even any trees. You immediately pushed yourself upright. The movement sent a sharp ache through your neck.
"Oww..." Your hand instinctively rubbed at the sore muscles as your eyes scanned the room.
A bed, a large desk filled with paper and files, several cabinets and shelves, some filled with different medical equipment, others filled with equipment that looked like it belonged to some crazy scientist, you were inside an infirmary.
The shouting that had woken you up outside stopped. Your continued your scan, on a small table next to the bed, a fresh cup of water. You picked it up cautiously letting the water spiral around as you sniffed it, you paused, then looked at the water, it looked normal which only made it more suspicious. You slowly placed it back down. Not today.
You shifted again in the bed letting your legs dangle. You took a moment to think.
Last thing you remembered was… Luffy running, Rayleigh smile, the pacifistas, the sunny.. The sunny. Your eyes widened slightly right, the sunny. You stood up carefully the floor creaked beneath your feet making you freeze a slight sway below you. A ship, of course.
You felt strangely nervous, more nervous then any of the sea kings Rayleigh had thrown at you over the last two years. You had spent them wondering what came after it all.. and now you were standing in it.
A recognizable laugh echoed from somewhere above, Luffy, the tension in your shoulders eased slightly. At least something familiar. You slowly walked towards the infirmary door, your hand rested on the handle hesitantly, what were you even doing, why were you in an unknown ship’s infirmary.
The handle suddenly flew downwards. The door burst open. And a tiny reindeer crashed directly into your stomach. Both of you hit the floor. Hard.
"Oww!"
"AHHH!"
You blinked. The reindeer blinked. The reindeer pointed at you.
"YOU'RE AWAKE!" The entire ship went silent. A second later
"She's awake?!" Footsteps. Lots of footsteps. Your eyes widened.
"Oh no."
The door exploded open. You barely had time to stand before half the crew came piling into the infirmary.
"She's awake!"
"I told you she was awake!"
"Move, I can't see!"
"You're the one standing in the doorway!"
You stared. As each of their eyes found yours, complete silence.
"HI!" Usopp waved enthusiastically.
"Welcome to the Sunny!" Franky threw both arms into the air. "SUPER!"
You blinked confused, Franky didn’t move from his pose. He was still smiling, still.. waiting. Sunny is the name of the ship, of course.
“…Thank you?”
“YES!” Franky pointed triumphantly. “She gets it.”
“No she doesn’t” Nami sighed, placing her palm to her face.
A blond man suddenly appeared directly in front you. You had no idea where he’d come from. It was almost impossible to not kick him out of pure instincts. Luffy learned never to surprise attack from the front. Always ended up in a painful grunt for him. But you had managed to contain yourself this time considering your head was still aching quite a bit.
“My beautiful lady, how stunning you are,” he knelt down on one knee, grabbing your hand and giving it a gentle kiss. “How are you feeling? Cold? Hungry? Thirsty? Do you require assistance? Food? A blanket? More food?”
His words got faster as he continued, you stepped back instinctively a little concerned. A hand suddenly grabbed the back of his shirt tugging him away.
“Sanji, you're scaring her.” Robin smiled, hand still tight against Sanji's shirt.
“No, I’m not, I would never scare a woman as gorgeous as her!”
You were definitely a little scared
The reindeer climbed up on the bed. “Dizziness?”
“A little”
“Headache?”
“Pounding in my right ear.”
“Nausea?”
“No”
Chopper nodded in a serious way, you couldn’t deny how cute the little reindeer looked. “Good.. minor concussion and it appears your right ear drum has burst.”
You stared at him for a moment not really sure what to say or do.
He continued rather professionally, “That means no bright lights for the next 48hours, no running or bouncing and keep your ear out of any water.” He climbed down off the bed midway through his talk and scrummaged through a draw. By the time his lecture was over he handed you a small rubber blob.
“Shove it in your ear, Not too far..” it was clear he had been on the ship a while considering he felt the need to be very direct. You nodded to him with a slight chuckle at your own thoughts.
You glanced around the room, everyone seemed normal, well as normal as pirates could be. Your gaze landed on Zoro, you gave him a small nod, Alabaster, he returned the nod with clear recognition.
As you continued glancing around the room the realisation hit. “Where’s Luffy?” Your voice remained calm although slightly worried.
The room went silent, as they looked amongst each other, then sighed, each person simultaneously. Nami rubbed her head, Sanji drew a cigarette from his pocket, Usopp looked exhausted. You became slightly more concerned
“What happened?” Nobody answered, instead they all gazed up at the ceiling, as if they were collectively praying. A loud crash echoed from above the deck followed by,
“LUFFY!”
Then another loud crash
“THATS THE LAST OF EM.”
A pause then “oops”
The entire room gave a defeated sigh.
“Ah,” you nodded confidently, “He’s fine.”
Everyone immediately looked at you, you looked back, “what..?”
“You understood all that?” Usopp asked, a surprised expression glued to his face.
“Of course,” another crash roared through the ship. “He’s definitely fine.”
For some reason that seemed to reassure everyone
“Good enough for me.” Zoro shrugged
As they all left the room one by one chattering amongst themselves. You expected complaints, or at least more questions about why you were on their ship. Which you were glad they didn’t ask, you didn’t really know either. You sat back down on the bed letting the calmness of the atmosphere settle around you.
It was then you noticed Robin sitting down, legs folded over each other on a chair towards the corner of the room. Neither of you spoke for a while, the silence wasn’t awkward though, just quiet
“You’ve changed.”
The comment caught you off guard. As your eyes found hers she smiled.
“Since Alabaster”
A small laugh escaped you, “so have you.”
“Thats true,” Robin replied with a small laugh under her breath.
A moment of silence returned, comfortable.
“You spent 2 years with Rayleigh and Luffy right?” You nodded, “I can imagine that was… exhausting”
you laughed, a genuine one, “that’s one way of putting it.”
The conversation that followed felt natural, like catching up with a friend after a long time. You talked about training, the monsters, the stories around the campfire. Robin asked questions and laughed every now and then. Her gaze eventually drifted towards the door.
“The captain seems fond of you.”
You nearly choked. Robin looked way too pleased with herself. “Not like that.” You scratched your neck trying to act normal as you realised the clarification came way too quick.
“I didn’t say anything.” Robin laughed with her smile widening.
You buried your face in your hands, trying to hide the warmth building in your cheeks. The laughter that followed was soft, not mocking, just amused.
“I’ll let you settle in” you gave her a gentle nod as you watched her stand and move towards the door. “You know..” you looked back up “you're the first person who’s met the reunited Strawhats before we met each other again.”
You blinked, Robin smiled softly “I think that’s rather special.” She closed the door behind her.
You had no idea what she meant, you ended up deciding it was one of her smart abbreviations she made, designed just to confuse people.
Eventually, you built up the courage to leave the infirmary. You were still a little hesitant, but staring at the same four walls was starting to drive you insane.
As you stepped outside, a set of stairs immediately caught your attention. Curiosity got the better of you, and you followed them upward.
The sight that greeted you made you stop.
The entire ship was encased in a giant bubble, drifting through the ocean floor. Fish of every shape and colour swam past the transparent barrier, and shafts of sunlight filtered down through the water above.
It was incredible. Before you could properly take it all in, a familiar voice appeared beside you.
"You're out! Come on, let me show you my workshop!" Usopp sounded far too excited.
Before you could respond, he was already leading the way, rambling about inventions, gadgets, and stories that were very clearly made up.
He eventually stopped outside a door and pushed it open. You followed a few steps behind, taking in the room. Workshop was definitely a generous description.
It was obviously his bedroom that had slowly evolved into a workshop over time.
Tools covered every available surface. Strange mechanisms sat half-finished on shelves. Blueprints were scattered across the desk. Usopp dropped into a chair and proudly gestured towards the long workbench.
"I'm currently finishing a new and improved weapon for Nami!" He held up a long staff-like weapon for a brief moment before carefully setting it back down.
"I know Luffy said you're pretty strong but..." He turned away from the desk to face you, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "If you ever want me to make you a weapon or something... even some kind of gadget..."
His voice became slightly hesitant near the end. His expression didn't. It practically screamed please give me a project. You thought for a moment.
"Uhm..." The fact that you were actually considering it seemed to make him even happier.
You gestured towards the small black holster strapped to your thigh. Without your cloak covering it, the dagger was impossible to miss.
Rayleigh had returned all of your belongings during the trip to Sabaody. Everything except the cloak. Well...
You still had the cloak. You just couldn't bring yourself to wear it anymore.
"One of my advantages was always the element of surprise." You looked back up at him. Hoping he was smarter than Luffy. Thankfully, he was.
His face lit up instantly. "Hold that thought!"
Usopp practically launched himself out of his chair and stuck his head through the doorway.
"FRANKY!" Within seconds, heavy metallic footsteps thundered through the corridor. Franky appeared in the doorway without hesitation.
Usopp gave him a massive grin before turning back towards you. "Continue. Continue."
You pointed towards the holster again. "Well... it's not exactly hidden anymore. Which means it's kind of lost the whole surprise factor."
Franky immediately nodded. Usopp had already started scribbling notes across a piece of paper.
"Any weaknesses?" Franky asked, placing a tiny hand against his chin. You stared at the miniature hand protruding from the much larger arm.
"What do you mean?"
"Weaknesses." Franky shrugged. "Usopp and Nami don’t got any special abilities. No Devil Fruit. No Haki. That was their weakness."
Usopp nodded enthusiastically. "So we fixed it."
His tone somehow managed to sound both self-pitying and proud at the same time.
You thought about it for a long moment. Nothing obvious came to mind. Franky noticed immediately.
"Don't think too hard about it." His tone remained casual. "We'll just ask Luffy."
You immediately regretted not thinking of an answer. Franky suddenly clapped his hands together.
"NOW!" He grabbed your arm. "A SUPER TOUR!"
Before Usopp could protest, Franky had already dragged you out of the room. The next hour was complete chaos. Franky showed you almost every inch of the Sunny. The grass-covered deck that still somehow felt impossible. The tree growing from the middle of the ship. Even more impossible. The aquarium that was INSIDE the ship. The kitchen. The soldier dock systems.
Countless hidden mechanisms that were very clearly weapons despite Franky's insistence that they were "features." By the end of it, your head was spinning. Franky proudly threw both arms into the air.
"This baby!" He slapped the deck beneath his feet. "Built entirely by these hands!"
You looked around the Sunny once more. Honestly...
It was pretty impressive. Maybe a little insane. But definitely impressive. Eventually, Franky wandered off in search of Luffy, leaving you free to explore the Sunny on your own.
As you wandered across the deck, you spotted Nami relaxing against the railing, watching the ocean beyond the bubble.
You hesitated before approaching her.
"Hey... Nami, right?"
Your sudden appearance made her jump slightly. "Oh!" She relaxed almost immediately. "Yeah. What's up?"
"This might be a bit much to ask..." Nami's smile shifted into mild concern. You looked down at your clothes. The shirt was worn thin. Parts of it were still torn from countless incidents on the island. Your shorts weren't much better.
"I haven't had a proper shower or a change of clothes in over two years." Your hand instinctively rubbed the back of your neck. Saying it out loud sounded significantly worse.
"I was supposed to get some stuff in Sabaody, but..." You sighed. "Luffy happened."
To your surprise, Nami's expression immediately brightened. "Oh, we are absolutely going shopping when we reach Fish-Man Island."
Before you could respond, she grabbed your wrist. "C'mon." A few minutes later she had dragged you below deck. "This is my room."
She gestured around. "And the bathroom is through there." She pointed towards a door near the far wall.
"It's shared with Robin. Her room's on the other side." Nami paused. "There aren't any locks on the doors." She looked slightly awkward. As if worried that might bother you.
You smiled warmly. "Luffy trusts you guys." You shrugged. "So I do too."
The concern immediately vanished from her face. "Good." She moved towards a dresser. "Anything specific you like wearing?"
The simple question caught you off guard. You thought about the clothes you'd worn while sailing with Ace. Dark colours. Long coats. Heavy fabrics. Clothes that belonged to a different life.
Standing aboard the Sunny, surrounded by bright colours and even brighter personalities, those clothes suddenly felt distant.
Nami noticed immediately. "A new look for a new start." A mischievous grin spread across her face. "Trust me."
Before you could object, she pushed you towards the bathroom. The door clicked shut behind you. You stared at it. Then at the shower. A real shower. The realization hit harder than expected. Without hesitation, you stripped off the old clothes and stepped beneath the warm water.
A sigh escaped you almost instantly. The temperature was perfect. The pressure was perfect. Everything was perfect. You had showered plenty over the past two years. But most of those involved freezing water, rivers, rainstorms, or whatever Rayleigh considered acceptable.
This was different. You stood there far longer than necessary, letting the water wash away two years of island life. Eventually you reached for the shampoo.
The feeling of actually washing your hair, almost made you emotional. After fighting a losing battle against several stubborn knots, you switched to a conditioner. Much better. One by one the tangles disappeared beneath your fingers.
You were halfway through rinsing the conditioner from your hair when..
BANG.
A door flew open somewhere outside. "Nami! You've gotta see this! It's awesome! Where is she?!"
Luffy. Of course.
"Nami, you can't just hide her.” The bathroom door burst open. The excited energy hit the room before he did. Luffy practically launched himself through the doorway, one hand already raised as he pointed somewhere behind him.
"Come look! There's this giant fish and then this other fish and..” The rest of the sentence died. Instantly.
You turned towards him automatically, hands still buried in your hair. The steam hanging in the room seemed to freeze. So did Luffy. For a moment neither of you moved. His grin vanished. Not slowly. Instantly.
Like somebody had wiped it from his face. His eyes locked onto yours. The excitement and the urgency mixed with the need to drag you somewhere immediately. Gone.
His mouth remained slightly open as though the rest of the sentence had simply disappeared. You blinked. Luffy didn't.
Something about that felt wrong. Usually his attention bounced between a hundred different things at once. Now it wasn't moving at all. His gaze remained fixed. Almost distant, Like.. his brain had completely forgotten what it had been doing.
You frowned slightly. "Luffy?"
Nothing. Not even a blink. The steam drifted lazily between you. His eyes finally shifted. Slowly. Almost absentmindedly. From your face, down passing your neck, stopping just below your shoulders.
The colour immediately drained from him. "Oh."
You stared waiting for him to continue. He didn't, his eyes remained fixed to below your shoulders. His brain visibly restarting.
His eyes shot back upwards so quickly it almost looked painful. Then immediately dropped again. Then back up, then somewhere off to the side. Glancing anywhere except directly at you.
You suddenly became very aware of the fact that you were standing completely naked beneath the shower.
Oh.
OH.
You spun around so fast you nearly slipped. Both arms immediately crossed over yourself. The movement finally seemed to snap Luffy back to reality. He stumbled backwards half a step. His face looked completely blank. Not calm. Blank.
Like every thought in his head had crashed into each other at once. You glanced over your shoulder. He was still staring, you caught his gaze flicker uncontrollably between you and everything, anything else as if his gaze kept on accidentally finding your body.
You noticed him swallow. Loudly. His gaze dropped towards the floor. Then immediately rose again, repeating the action several times. The poor idiot looked like he was fighting for his life. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d seen Luffy struggle this way. Contemplating if you ever had.
"Yes, Luffy?"
His entire body twitched, his hands flew down hiding his crotch as if he needed to pee. "Oh." A pause. "Uh." Silence.
You watched him attempt to gather together whatever remained of his thoughts. "I..." Nothing. His brain quit again. You waited.
Luffy raised one hand away from his crotch pointing vaguely behind himself. "The thing."
"The thing?" Your eyebrows furrowed
"The outside thing."
Very helpful. "What thing?"
"The cool thing." His hand waved wildly.
"The fish.?”
"The fish! Yeah." Silence. You stared at him. He stared somewhere near the ceiling. Luffy himself wasn’t too sure what was coming over him, there was some sort of feeling inside him that he had never felt before. He had gotten hard before, and saw plenty of naked girls. Accidentally of course, but those two things never crossed paths at the same time, not until now that is. His mind was completely blank as he tried to process this random new emotion. You weren't entirely convinced he even knew where he was anymore. Eventually he nodded to himself. As though he'd completed an incredibly difficult task.
"You should come see it." Then he turned. And left. Very quickly. Almost suspiciously quickly. The bathroom door slammed against the wall as he disappeared. Silence returned.
You stared at the open doorway. Then slowly looked back at the shower. "...Huh.".
A moment later Nami cautiously peeked around the corner. "You found the towels?"
"Yeah."
"What was that?"
You looked over your shoulder. "What was what?"
Nami stared. Then pointed at the still-open door. "That."
Realization slowly dawned on you. "Oh." You shrugged. "Accidentally flashed him."
Nami blinked. "You say that like it's normal."
"It wasn't intentional."
"That's not the part I'm talking about."
You frowned. Now confused yourself.
"He looked like somebody punched him."
You thought about it. Then shrugged again. "I figured he'd seen naked women before."
Nami paused. "...He has." Now she looked significantly more confused. "In fact, I've never seen him react like that."
A grin slowly appeared on her face. One that immediately made you suspicious.
You pointed at her. "Don't."
"I'm not saying anything."
"You are absolutely thinking something."
Nami's grin widened. "I put some clothes on the bed." She immediately turned around. "Get dressed and come outside."
"You changed the subject."
"I absolutely did."
"Nami."
"I'm leaving now."
And with that, she disappeared before you could continue the argument.
You stared at the closed door for a moment before letting out a long sigh. Straw Hats were weird. And why was everyone being so nice?
If some random girl had suddenly appeared aboard Whitebeard's ship, there would've been questions. Confusion. At least a few threats.
Nobody here seemed remotely bothered. You shook the thought away and turned towards the bed. Nami had left an outfit folded neatly on top of it. It was actually kind of cute.
A pair of short blue denim shorts sat beneath a fitted long-sleeved white shirt. The colours were brighter than anything you would've chosen yourself, but somehow they worked.
After two years on an island, it felt strange wearing something that wasn't stained, torn, or held together by pure stubbornness. You caught your reflection in the mirror and paused. The training had changed you more than you'd realised.
Your legs were toned from years of running across the island. Your waist looked smaller than you remembered. The muscles in your arms and stomach were subtle, but visible beneath the fabric. The shirt fit well. Maybe a little too well.
The neckline dipped lower than you would've chosen yourself exposing far too much cleavage, but at least the sleeves covered your arms. You decided that was a victory.
After getting dressed, you made your way back towards the deck, your hair still damp and your feet bare from sheer laziness.
The moment you stepped outside, you understood why Luffy had wanted to drag you up here.
The entire crew.. well, almost the entire crew was gathered along the railing. Luffy was nowhere to be seen.
Beyond the bubble surrounding the Sunny, dozens of glowing jellyfish drifted through the ocean. Their bodies shimmered with shades of blue and purple, casting soft reflections across the deck.
It was beautiful. You didn't join the others immediately. Instead, you moved to the opposite side of the ship and leaned against the railing, letting yourself enjoy the view.
The crew continued talking amongst themselves. You tried not to eavesdrop. You failed almost instantly.
"So where's she gonna sleep?" Usopp asked. "It's not like we have spare rooms lying around."
"She can stay with me anytime!" Sanji immediately volunteered.
"No." The response came from every woman on the ship simultaneously.
"We could clear out one of the storage rooms," Chopper suggested.
"Way too small," Franky replied.
A familiar voice cut through the discussion. "Luffy said she's staying." Zoro shrugged. "So she's staying." The conversation immediately stopped. "As for where she sleeps..." He glanced towards Franky. "We've got our own shipwright, don't we?"
Wait. You blinked. Luffy said I was staying? You hadn't spoken about that. Not once. The ocean seemed quieter suddenly. The voices around you faded.
A memory surfaced. Rayleigh. Sitting beside you on the beach. Watching the waves. His voice clearer now than it had been before.
“If you left tonight... what would you miss What would you look for first?”
That stubborn old man. A laugh almost escaped you. He hadn't been asking what. He'd been asking who.
Within an hour of arriving at Sabaody, you'd panicked because you couldn't find someone. You'd searched the crowds. Called his name. Used Observation Haki trying to locate him. A smile slowly formed.
"Luffy." The name slipped from your lips before you realised you'd spoken out loud. Barely outloud. You could barely call it a whisper.
"Huh?"
Your head snapped up. Luffy was standing several metres away holding enough food to feed a small village. The entire crew looked between the two of you. You hadn't even noticed him return.
"What happened?" Luffy asked. You stared.
He stared back. Completely oblivious. Of course. The idiot had somehow heard a single quiet mumble from halfway across the deck. Yet probably couldn't remember what he'd eaten yesterday.
Before you could answer, he wandered over and hopped onto the railing beside you, crossing his legs without a single concern for gravity.
"Oh yeah." He pointed at you. "Robin said I gotta ask you something."
You blinked. "What?"
Luffy folded his arms. "I told her I'd already decided months ago." He looked mildly offended. "But apparently that's not how it works."
The crew collectively sighed. You were beginning to understand why. Luffy looked directly at you.
"So." A pause. "You wanna come with us?" The question was so casual it almost didn't register. He tilted his head. "It'd be weird if you didn't."
You stared at him. He stared back. Completely serious. No grand speech. No dramatic invitation. No conditions. No hesitation. As if he'd already accepted the answer long ago. As if the only person who hadn't figured it out yet was you.
The realization hit all at once. For two years you'd worried about what came next. Where you'd go. What your future looked like. Whether you belonged anywhere at all.
Meanwhile, Luffy had apparently solved the problem months ago. Without telling you. A laugh burst from your chest. Then another. Soon you were laughing so hard your sides hurt.
Luffy looked increasingly confused. "What?"
You shook your head. Still laughing. Nothing. Nothing at all. You were just finally catching up. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you could practically hear Rayleigh laughing too.
Reposts are greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for all the support. Masterlist is in the works. Cannot wait to post the next chapter! Let me know if you want to be included in the tag lists!
