Icey Shenanigans

Everyday was a struggle with this crew. 

You hate saying that, because realistically the Strawhats are the only reason you’re still alive, but it was the harsh truth. If you were still on that tiny island back in that sea–you think it’s the East Blue, you barely remember much from before you were thrusted onto a ship, you’d probably be dead or in some sort of institution. 

Looking back on your time stuck on that small island you honestly wonder why others were so quick to accept you, perhaps it was the children who adored you, or the elderly villagers who took way too much pity on you. If you were any of them you wouldn’t have been so quick to welcome someone like you with open arms, someone spewing nonsense about other worlds and having to return home–god you were such a wreck. You cried for days when you first arrived, so confused and scared. You remembered reading online about how people's brains handle intense trauma, creating these almost dreamlike scenarios in order to cope with whatever's going on in reality. That’s what you assumed all this was at first–a dream–an illusion created in order to process whatever was going outside of your head–until things started to get too real. In a way, accepting that this wasn’t a dream was more difficult than finding yourself in it. Wrestling with knowing that, despite what you want to believe, this is your reality. 

And now–in your reality–you’re having to deal with them. 

The Strawhats aren’t that bad. As you learned more about pirates you quickly came to understand that there were much worse options than these weirdos. You could’ve been institutionalized, if this world even had stuff like that, or you could’ve been taken by Marines and put in prison, which almost always meant death in this world. Realistically, you probably would’ve just stayed on that island and shriveled away, never accepting the reality of your situation and waiting to wake up. 

Instead, you just have to deal with prying people off of you every morning like your some sorta person magnet. 

The someone next to you is Luffy, who has his impossibly long arms wrapped around your center and is keeping you trapped against his chest, whining every time you try, and fail, to shuffle out of his hold. He must’ve found his way into your room last night, his hold reminiscent of previous nights, ones filled with tears and nightmares. Ever so often, he’d tiptoe as best as he could towards your room, opening the door and laying himself as close as possible to you. Sometimes you’d wake up to the feeling of wet tears coating your shoulder, his face nearly melted into your back. You know it was a nightmare from the sniffles and the whisperings, things so quiet you could barely hear them, but they were there–you always heard them. You never knew exactly what to do, if you should try and comfort him or if that would only make things worse, so you let him be. You’d let him lay himself next to you, mold himself into your back, and sleep–finally. 

Other nights you wouldn’t wake up until much later, like today, when you start to feel so restricted that you swear you can feel the air leave your body. He must’ve come in when you were actually asleep, because you have no recollection of him showing up in your room. 

“Luffy–either let go or wake up.” Your back is flush against his chest, his arms only tightening around you as you speak. You can’t see his face, but you’re sure he’s pouting, his whines only getting louder. 

“No.” His voice comes out raspy as it rumbles on the skin. You feel hot, both from the sun peaking through your window and the man attached to you like it would kill him to leave you alone. You roll your eyes, huffing as you try, and fail horribly, to strong arm yourself away from the very sweaty Luffy. Eventually, you wiggle just enough to move and face him, his hair sticking to his face and his eyes still mostly closed. He doesn’t have a care in the world, his face is calm and tranquil, a small smile on his face as he looks right back at you, a stark contrast to your clear annoyance. 

“You’re gonna have to leave eventually–you can’t just lay here all day.” You stare right into his eyes. “Neither can I…” You mumble at the end. 

Luffy’s smile only gets larger, either oblivious too, or outright ignoring, your discomfort. “Nah–I’m good laying here all day~.” He sings songs as he squeezes you tighter, crushing you against his chest. 

“Dontcha at least wanna get breakfast?” Your voice is muffled by his chest, but at the mention of breakfast, he perks up, light he forgot about the existence of it while fast asleep. Almost comically, his stomach rumbles loudly, causing him to finally let you go and sit up, thank god. You revel in this moment of peace as he frowns at his stomach, internally questioning whether or not he should leave, eyeing you every few seconds from your spot on your bed. 

“Yeah–aren’t you coming with though?” He tilts his head at you, confused at your relaxed position. 

“I’m gonna come later–I promised Usopp I’d let him do my hair.” In a moment, it’s like Luffy deflated. 

“Usopp?? But you have’ta have breakfast–” 

“I will–this won’t take that long.” You say, sitting up and stretching, Luffy watching you from the corner of his eye, clearly disappointed. 

Shortly after you returned with the rest of the crew, Luffy started to actually wait for you before touching his plate. It really worried you at first. Maybe something happened while training with that Rayleigh guy–maybe he got so strong he lost all of his appetite. It was a silly thought, but you couldn’t help but fixate on it for weeks, even going as far as to question Sanji about it. 

“There’s not much to it, my dear, he just wants to make sure you’re eating.” Sanji attempts to soothe your worries. “Our captain worries about you a lot, you know. We all do really–but he’s very…unique.” He places don’t a plate in front of you, smiling. Even then, you felt like there was something deeper to his words. A part of you felt like you should be flattered, knowing that your captain is always thinking about you. Another, more rational part of you, knows that starving yourself shouldn’t count as flattery. “We all just want to know you’re doing your best.”

You smile at Luffy, for once your expressions being complete opposites. “Don’t wait up Luffy, it shouldn’t take that long at all.” The room is quiet for a while, before his pout gets deeper slightly, and he whines. 

“Alright…but if Usopp takes too long I’m dragging you to the kitchen myself.” He says before heading out. You sigh, very aware that this is most likely the most amount of alone time you’ll get before the rest of the day. 

—

Most of the crew considered Usopp a coward, but you found that he was somewhat bold when around you. 

Usopp always did your hair in your room, sitting in front of a long mirror Nami got you not too long ago. You had a feeling she expected it to be used for trying on outfits with her, but so far it’s rarely been used for that purpose, probably because you’re not the biggest fan of standing out, especially in this world. Instead, it’s mostly used for days when Usopp wants to style your hair in unique ways. Today the style is more lowkey, he’s mainly just brushing through any snags or nots. He’s always so gentle with his movements, making the whole ordeal so peaceful that you’re surprised you haven’t fallen back asleep yet. 

“Your hair is so pretty.” Usopp mutters from behind you. Through the mirror in front of you, you can see how focused he is. His hair is down, a rare sight, and his chest is bare, a much more common sight. It still flusters you, even after spending so much time together with him and the rest of the crew. It doesn’t help that he’s so absorbed in his task, taking extra care to not tug too hard, his consideration making you nervous as he steals a short glance at you in the mirror. 

“What are you thinking so hard about?” He mumbles to you, a small smile on his face. 

“Honestly not much–I’m still so sleepy.” Your sentence was nearly cut off by a yawn, your eyes watering as you attempt to stifle any large movements. Stretching out your arms in front of you, you hear Usopp giggle behind you. 

“Luffy keep you up?” Usopp’s voice was low, almost teasing, causing you to whip your head around, startled by the accusation. You feel your whole body heat up as you’re met with Usopp’s expectant gaze, almost like he was prodding you for more. 

“We did not do anything if that’s what you’re suggesting!” Your voice is almost comically high, obviously embarrassed. Usopp raises his hands up in faux innocence, a hair brush grasped in one. 

“I wasn’t suggesting anything.” He claims. “Though–it’s just a little suspicious when he sneaks into your room every night–” 

“It is NOT every night–”

“Nearly every night, then.” 

“Ugh–” You bury your face in your hands, shielding yourself from the embarrassment of this entire situation. “--it’s NOT like that–Luffy cuddles with everyone on this ship.” At this point. Usopp has returned to his soothing movements, brushing your hair once more, though they’ve slowed down significantly due to the lack of tangling. 

“But it’s different when it’s with you.” Usopp says simply, eyes focused on your hair. Surprisingly, you aren’t moved by his words unlike the previous accusation. When you fall asleep and wake up to Luffy right next to you, when you’re beckoned to sit with him on Sunny’s head, when you watch the clouds slowly turn into stars together, giggling like fools, you know that it’s different. You feel it in the way he holds you, the way his hands touch you so gently, like he’s trying to be gentle for you. You know it in the way he seeks you for comfort, whispering about nightmares you’d never understand, holding you to him like you disappear in an instant. And god–you know it in the way he looks at you, eyes lighting up when you focus on him, his chest heaving as he takes a breath before rushing towards you. It makes your heart flutter, it makes you feel oh, so, special–

And as you’re dragged back to reality by the feeling of Usopp petting your hair, you can’t help but notice his gaze. The way he’s taking you in, how his eyes are filled with something so noticeable but still incapable to name. His gaze is gentle, similar to Luffy, but for some reason, you don’t feel the giddy, fluttering feeling you feel with him. You feel sad, pained even, as you stare at him through the mirror. Despite your closeness, you feel so far from him. The hand that isn’t caressing your hair is on your waist, holding you tight. You feel his nails indent into your side, keeping you from moving, like he’s afraid that in any moment you’ll disappear. 

“--with you–” Usopp speaks up once more, breaking you out of your thoughts again. His voice is much more quiet, close even. He’s lost any sense of teasing that he’s had previously, all replaced with something cold, somber even as he looks at you. “--it’s always different with you.” Usopp sighs. He has barely moved, both of his hands now on your waist, pulling you close to him. For as bold as Usopp seems to be with you, there are moments like this when he seems much more like himself. Like the mask that he wears has slipped and you’re met with his rawest, truest self. 

“Sometimes, I wish it wasn’t, y’know?” You watch him through the mirror, he hasn’t stopped looking down at you. “If you weren’t so–you–I wouldn’t be feeling like this.” You don’t know what he means, but as you feel a pinching sensation and are reminded of Usopp’s nails, you feel a small pit form in your stomach. 

“I’m sorry, Usopp. If i–” 

“It’s not your fault, really!” He says quickly. “It’s just–” He pauses for a moment, collecting his thoughts, his grip becoming tighter. 

“Luffy shouldn’t hog you that much, y’know?” His face moves to look at yours, finally allowing you to breathe now that he’s seemingly much more relaxed. His hands, albeit slowly, moved away from you, palms resting behind him as he reclines slightly. 

You gape slightly “I mean yeah but–” 

“I mean, who does he think he is, keeping you all to himself, like that’s fair!” He huffs “He can’t keep using the “i’m the captain excuse”, it gets old eventually.” 

At this point, you’re completely confused, staring at the sharpshooter wide eyed and mouth agape. You shake your head as he keeps complaining, droning on about “sharing” and “abuse of power”, not like you were listening. In fact, you were trying to ignore him as you collected yourself, putting on more presentable clothing and making sure you’re ready to actually start your day. 

“Come on Usopp.” You pat him on the back, causing him to stop his chatter. “We should go before there’s no more breakfast.” 

He coughs slightly, embarrassed, before rushing to stand up and follow you. 

—

The kitchen is always chaotic, but breakfast is its own ordeal. Luffy hasn’t eaten in eight hours so he’s fiending for some form of sustenance. Sanji and Zoro are always the worst in the morning, they’re both tired and testy, so they both always set each other off. Nami isn’t the best morning person, especially when Luffy is yelling for more and more food. Robin is perfect, as always, along with Chopper, who actually seems excited to start the day. Jimbie and Franky usually forgo breakfast, usually working on something too important to leave for even a moment. Brook is surprisingly peaceful in the morning, despite how much chaos he can cause later in the day, while Usopp seemingly was born to egg Luffy on with any chaos he’s causing, making everyone more tired and annoyed. 

So, fair to say, breakfast was very hard to handle, and today was no different. 

The room smells amazing as you walk in, being greeted with Luffy extended over the table, trying to grab something on the other side of it, something you assumed was meat. You assume he’s so hungry he’s forgotten that he could literally stretch, his loud whines echoing in the room as the plate is pulled away from him by Sanji. Said cook yells something to the captain, causing him to shoot down, pouting. The plate is placed down on the island close to the stove before more food is piled on top of it, finally being placed in front of Nami, who’s sweet praises causes a swarm of stutters and giggles to pour out of the chef’s mouth. 

“(Y/n)!” Luffy spots you immediately, making childish grabby hands towards you, his mouth full of food. “Come, sit.” He all but demands, basically shooing Usopp away as he comes into the kitchen behind you. You’re only able to sigh at his behavior, taking a seat beside him. Only a few seconds later, a plate is placed down in front of you, Sanji smirking behind you, clearly amused at Luffy’s behavior. From your new perspective, you’re able to see Zoro sitting at the island, eyeing you and the cook as he nurses something you hoped wasn’t alcoholic. You weren’t able to focus on that for long, as Luffy shoves food into your mouth, nearly causing you to choke if it weren’t for Nami patting your back. 

“Luffy!? Don’t just shove food down their throat!” Nami leans over to look at said man, who looks partially embarrassed, but mostly just happy you’re here. “God–it’s like you’re trying to kill them.” 

For some reason, that annoys Luffy more than Nami just yelling at him. “What–No!” he huffs. “They just need’ta eat.” He says, already close to pushing another spoonful of food into your mouth, before it’s moved away by Nami once more. 

“They can eat on their own just fine.” She says straight faced, clearly done with Luffy’s behavior. 

“Let them eat their food, Luffy.” Zoro says, his voice almost surprising you, nearly forgetting he was there. Luffy pouts, but you can tell he’s not too bothered, mainly since he still has food on his own plate. 

You choose to say quiet, munching on rice and meat, warmth filling your entire body. A smile decorates your face involuntarily, every part of you relaxing as you eat the wonderful food in front of you. 

“Breakfast is really good Sanji.” Your words are slightly slurred from the food in your mouth, but you can’t seem to care. Your cheeks are slightly puffed, making the smile on your face look somewhat dorky, but nonetheless, as you look up, you’re met with a very bright red Sanji, who’s smile is equally as dorky. 

“Oh–Thank you, my dear.” He places a gloved hand over his heart. “Your compliments me the world to me.” Sanji swoons, nearly dropping the spoon he was holding as you smile at him. 

“Damn cook, flustered over one little compliment.” Zoro takes a quick swig, side eyeing the chef. In response, Sanji’s face falls, instantly becoming much more cold as he points the spoon at Zoro like he’s brandishing a weapon. 

“Don’t act all high and mighty moss-head.” He smirks, his uncovered eye staring daggers into the man sitting across from him. “You’re just as easy to butter up.” In a moment, the spoon is twirled back to its regular position, stirring the food in the pan. Zoro’s face is burning up slowly, starting with his ears, which are crimson red. It’s clear his flushed state is more out of anger, the fist holding his bottle tightening as he watches Sanji revel in the entire situation. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbles, his voice low. 

“Oh really.” Sanji doesn’t even look up from the stove. “So you weren’t fumbling the other day when they complimented your sword work.” 

Zoro’s good eye thins slightly, silently threatening Sanji to continue. He sees this threat and continues. 

“Or you didn’t blush when they thanked you the other day for helping them train.” 

“No, he was blushing.” Luffy speaks up, causing both you and Zoro to whip your heads around, looking shocked as Luffy swallows whatever was in his mouth. 

“Why were you watching us train?!” You both yell at Luffy, who only tilts his head in response. 

“I like watching you train.” Luffy says to you like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. You feel yourself heat up, both out of sheer confusion and embarrassment. A million questions run through your mind, most centering on why Luffy would want to watch you train, and the most realistic answer you can come up with is: He just wants to. 

You can almost feel Zoro seethe in his chair, his mouth a thin line and his eyes are locked in on Luffy, who is seemingly oblivious to everything going on. Sanji, however, seemingly revels in the entire situation, a small laugh coming out of him as he watches the situation unfold. “Ha–so even Luffy can see how hopeless you are.” Sanji looks impossibly calm in comparison to Zoro, who looks incredibly annoyed. “But you say I'm the one who’s obsessed.” 

Luffy laughs, and you bury your face in your hands, Nami rolling her eyes as Usopp just sighs. ‘You should’ve seen him–it’s like he couldn’t speak when they told him how strong he was!” Giggles were the only thing that filled the room, if you don’t count the groan that escaped your mouth, very much wishing to disappear from the world right now.

“Aww, Moss-head, flustered over a little compliment, were you?” The glass in Zoro’s hand shatters, causing you to gasp and nearly shoot up out of your seat if it weren’t for Nami quickly taking your own hand. Zoro seems ignorant to the blood dripping down his arm,, quicking standing up so that he’s eye to eye with the chef. 

“Don’t act like you’re any better, shitty cook.” Zoro says, gripping the island, blood surely coating the surface. “You’re the one nearly losing it over any slight praise coming from their mouth.” 

“At least I’m man enough to admit it.” Sanji moves closer to the swordsman, only the island separating them. 

“You’re pathetic.” Zoro dodges the accusation. 

“You’re in denial.” Sanji shoots back. 

“You’re both idiots.” Nami interrupts, causing the two to look her way, Zoro’s face remains mostly unchanged, despite an obvious blush on his face, while Sanji looks almost disappointed in himself, clearly hurt by Nami’s words. “Fighting over someone who’s too oblivious to realize what’s going on.” Now you’re hurt, staring slacked jawed as Usopp and Luffy just watch on knowingly. 

“I’m not oblivious?” You whisper to yourself, causing Usopp to look over at you. 

“You’re hopeless.” He sighs before going back to watch Nami push the two idiots away. You could only scoff. 

Eventually, breakfast ended, mainly because Zoro and Sanji couldn’t be in the same room together anymore. After the two were separated, the day went off somewhat normally, as normal as a day with the Strawhats is. After breakfast, Luffy and Usopp start a fishing competition, both reclining off the side of the Sunny together. Robin and Nami were sunbathing, Nami sipping on something that Sanji made and Robin reading a book you recommended to her. Zoro was somewhere training, and even though asked if you’d join him, you were too paranoid from earlier this morning to want to train. So instead, you’re staring off into the ocean, watching the waves and fish pass by near the helm of the ship. 

“Jimbie, do you ever miss your home?” You speak up after a few minutes. You always like sitting with him because he’s so quiet. He never poked or prodded or asked questions, he let you exist as yourself, and you appreciated him for that. 

Jimbie didn’t speak for a while, but he did move to stand near you, the ship rocking back and forth slightly as the waves crashed against them. The whole sea was calm, “sometimes” he said, and you could feel him looking down at you, though you didn’t return his gaze. “Are you feeling homesick?” 

“Kinda.” You mumbled, but you knew the fishman could hear you. In an instant, he sat down next to you, his legs crossed and his gaze on you incredibly peaceful. “Is that selfish?” You finally look up at him, finding his gaze already on you. 

“No, of course not.” Jimbie answers, but you don’t feel any better. You always feel this way when you’re alone. If you focus on one thing for too long you’re  reminded about how long you’ve been away from your home, how many years have passed. Was anyone looking for you, did your friends and family miss you, do people even think of you anymore? Have they sold the furniture in your apartment, is someone new sleeping in the place you used to consider home? Has your job fired you, are you still being billed for subscriptions, have your parents mourned their child. All the questions bubble inside of you, making you sick. “You aren’t selfish, (Y/n), you’re human.” You watch the fish swim by, down below the waves, oblivious to the world around them, to you. “It’s not selfish to miss your life.” 

You sigh. “But everyone here has done so much for me–y’know?” Your words are quick and rushed, words tumbling out of you uncontrollably. “And when I think of home I get so, so happy.” There’s a longing to your words as you imagine something so far away. “Sometimes I imagine waking up in my bed and, like, this all being just a silly dream.” You say quietly. “I go to work.  watch T.V., you don’t know what that is but it’s really freaking cool, and I don’t have to worry about pirates or marines or dying.” You sigh once more, this time louder, exasperated almost. “And then I realize where I am and I think “wow, (Y/n), you’re such a horrible person” and I just want to disappear because I know I don’t deserve any of this.” 

Your throat hurts from talking so much, and because you’ve been choking up this entire time. No tears have left you just yet, you don’t cry about missing home as much any more. Maybe it’s because you’re stronger than you were when you first found yourself here. Or maybe it’s because your home no longer feels like home anymore. And really, that’s the saddest thing of all. 

“When I was in Impel Down, I was locked up with Ace.” Jimbie finally speaks up as you finally give him room to speak. “He talked about you a lot, when he finally wanted to talk. He never mentioned you by name, but he talked about someone he wished he could’ve spent more time with, someone who he wanted to live for.” Jimbie's gaze is so kind, so focused on you, that you can’t look away as he speaks to you. “I often think about what might have happened if you weren’t there for Ace, and though I’m positive Luffy would’ve found his way, I think we're all very grateful you’re here.” Jimbie smiles, one that’s so contagious you can’t help but parrot him slightly. “At least, I am.” He adds on. “And if I can be a little selfish–I hope that you’re with us for as long as possible.” You get the feeling that there’s something deeper behind his words, but you don’t press further, instead choosing to lean on his arm, continuing to watch the waves together, much more relaxed than before.

“By the way.” He speaks once more. “What’s a T.V.?” 

You gasp, shooting up excited. “Oh so you know how some Den Den Mushis can display videos–or I guess projections, well they’re like that but instead of snails we use electrical signals to capture frames and sound so you can, like, watch the projections on big rectangles.” 

“Oh–” 

You couldn’t help but laugh. 

—

In the late afternoon, Robin, you, and now Nami all meet up for a book club together on the main deck. It was a tradition you started with just you and Robin originally, but Nami joined a few weeks ago, saying something about wanting to “spend more time” with you. 

Something you realized over the few months since you’ve started this book club was how different literature is in this world compared to yours. A lot of writing was about nautical adventures, of course, but even the ones based in pure fact were steeped in so much history you have no understanding of. Each word, each reference went completely over your head, making you feel like some sort of child. It wasn’t necessarily embarrassing, but it did make you feel so behind. Hell, you remember the first few months after you first arrived here, when you didn’t know who Gol D. Roger was. You would’ve thought you’d grown three heads with how people were reacting to your lack of common knowledge. 

So, when you met Robin, and when she became an official crewmate, you asked her if she could teach you some stuff, anything really. You wanted to learn as much as possible, and with how kind she is, Robin agreed instantly. 

It started off small, with basic things. The names of Marine generals and admirals, all of which Robin knew from heart. You were taught about how the government works, the history of the world around you, the names of Islands. Stuff that most basic people would know. Then you had to learn about Pirates, which was a lot. Remembering captains and their vice-captains, the names of pirates of the old generation, before Roder was even known as the King of the Pirates. Names of Supernovas and why the “worst generation” was so pivotal to the world currently. And that’s how the book club started, when you began to catch up with everything but still had so much to learn. You wanted to keep learning but it all was too much for you to keep up with, so Robin suggested reading some of her old books and talking about what you learned, letting her answer any questions you had. 

The book club was a great idea, because for once you felt like you were learning at your own speed. Yeah, a lot of it was confusing, but at least it was much more fun than memorizing island and pirate names. The books you read were interesting, fun even, not all of them, but most of them. Some of them were old history books Robin has had for a while, so they were a bore to get through, but it was fun to learn from Robin. 

“How has this book been, (Y/n)?” Robin asks, a small smile on her lips. 

The book you’ve been reading, it’s a history book about the four seas, written by a man who traveled to each of them and recorded their cultures and differences. Despite it being very robust, the language very academic, it was a fun read. It was fun to read through the book and actually recognize the names of islands and kingdoms. 

“I actually really like it, but hey–” You flip to a page, a drawn map of the East Blue detailed on the paper. “--I can’t find the island I woke up on, it’s not listed anywhere?” 

“Oo–Let me see.” Nami scoots closer to you, peering over your shoulder and looking at the map. She pouts as she looks at the map, scanning across the paper quickly. “--yeah i can’t find it. The island must be too small for it to be recorded on the map.” She hums, giggling a bit. “It was a pretty tiny island~” 

“Yeah…I guess so.” You never thought you’d find yourself sentimental over the tiny island you were on for only a few weeks, but regardless, you find yourself sad that you can’t even learn of its history. But in a strange way, the lack of proper recording makes you feel less tethered to this world. 

“If it makes you feel better, my home isn’t listed in any books either.” Robin says, and it doesn’t make you feel better, it makes you feel worse. You can tell it hurts Nami too, who chooses to wrap her arms around Robin and hug her, which Robin reciprocates with a smile. 

“How about you, Nami?” Robin asks as Nami reclines back into her seat, basking in the sunlight. “Are you enjoying the book?” 

Nami sighs, flipping through some of the pages leisurely. “I mean–the maps are interesting, but I have to admit, it’s pretty boring.” Her voice has no animosity to it, and you truly didn’t expect her to enjoy it that much. “Come on~There has to be some more interesting books to read.” Nami rested her face in the palm of her hands, resting her elbows on the table in front of you.

Robin only continues to smile at Nami “The book club is to help (Y/n) learn, Nami.” 

Nami only pouts harder “I know, but learning doesn’t have to be so boring.” Nami looks over at you, who hasn’t spoken up in a while. “You think it’s boring too, right (Y/n)?” 

You look between Robin and Nami, both of their looks intense and filled with something you can’t seem to recognize. What makes it worse is how it seems like the two are on some wavelength that you can’t reach, like they know something you don’t. “I mean–I thought some parts were interesting–” 

“Some parts.” Nami repeats, raising a brow at you. “Like what?” She smirks. 

“Like–um–there’s a part where he talks about the Goa Kingdom–that’s where Luffy is from, right—”

“Uh huh, and what exactly did he mention, like, specifics.” She’s clearly enjoying your embarrassment, giggling as you try to remember. It’s so hard when she’s looking at you like she wants to eat you. It doesn’t help that Robin is just sitting there, smiling, her eyes thin and pointed in your direction. 

“--Like political stuff–” 

“Wow, political stuff, that sounds sooo interesting~” She teases, only giggling more when you start to get defensive. 

“It is, I'm just not good at remembering this stuff.” Nami shifts her posture so that her cheek is resting in one hand and the other is taking your hand. Her thumb is rubbing over your knuckles in an attempt to be comforting, though the look on her face only serves to make you more nervous. 

“Don’t worry, we believe you sweetheart.” Her voice is low as she looks over at Robin. “Don’t we, Robin.” 

“Of course–I’m happy you enjoyed the book, (Y/n).” 

Your hand slowly retreats back to your side, leaving Nami’s all on its lonesome. “I really did, Robin.” You say almost apologetically, like you’re trying to make sure Robin believes you. She just smiles, but the smile doesn’t look or feel comforting. It feels knowing, like she’s peering into your soul and finding something you’ve been trying to hide forever. Sometimes you feel like Robin can read your mind, like she knows more about you than you yourself. It feels so overwhelming, being under her gaze, but it’s also captivating, addicting. And worst of all, she knows. 

“I wouldn’t mind reading something else though.” You say, trying to ignore the stares and touches that burn your skin. “If you have any recommendations.” 

Nami gets excited, shooting up as she takes both of your hands, causing you to look directly at her in surprise. “We should read a romance book! I have so many good ones, and none of them are even that long–” 

“I haven’t read many romance novels.” Robin contemplates too herself, mumbling under her breath. 

“What am I supposed to learn from a romance novel?” You ask nervously. They both just laugh. 

“Well for one, you’re so  oblivious, everything goes over your head.” Nami smirks. “And who knows, maybe you’ll have a secret pirate love affair.” She hums, making your brow furrow. 

“I don’t know what you expect from me but a “love affair” is not it.” You nearly laugh, looking at the two women like they’re insane. 

Nami rolls her eyes, looking away in disbelief. “Sure.” 

You scoff. “What does that mean?” Nami just looks at you knowingly, like you’re the stupid one here. 

“You’re telling me you were traveling with Ace for two years and nothing ever happened.” 

“NO?!” You nearly scream.

You hear Robin giggle, covering her mouth with her hand slightly. “Aww and here I was thinking that you and Ace were soulmates.” She gives an unconvincing frown, you can tell by her eyes that she’s enjoying this. “Sad, I guess you’re still up for the taking.” She teases. 

You sink down into your seat, watching the two women watch you. “You guys are the worst.” 

Nami reaches over towards you, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and pushing your face towards her. Her words mushes into your skin, you can feel the heat from her breath on your cheek. “Aww, (Y/n)--you don’t hate us~You love us, don’t you?” She’s extremely close, her eyes right in front of yours. 

“O-of course.” You say. Nami giggles, happy. She hugs you even closer, kissing your cheek, and out of the corner of your eye, you can see Robin, smiling. For some reason, you can’t look away. 

—

The night sky was always so much clearer in this world than yours. The lack of light pollution is a big factor, but you like to think it’s because this world is so much more vast and understanding. You tend to romanticize this world a lot. Not because it’s something to romanticize, it has its fair share of horrors, you do so because it makes everything easier. Maybe it’s ignorant or naive to pretend like this world is more than it is in reality, but it helps. It helps with the homesickness and loneliness. You know, in time, you’ll become desensitized to everything and see this world as it truly is, but for now, you bask in the stars above you. 

“(Y/n)!” You turn your head to see Chopper bounding up to you, all smiles. “Suppers ready, c’mon!’ 

“Sorry Chopper, I'm not super hungry, I think I'm gonna skip dinner.” You say with a small smile “Thank you though.” 

Chopper’s smile drops immediately, replaced with a look of worry. “But–you have to eat.” He frowns, hurting your heart. 

“It’s really no big deal, I’m just not hungry.” You try to ease his worries, patting him on the head. “Do you want to watch the stars with me?” You ask, motioning for him to sit next to you. 

The blanket you’re sitting on is sprawled on the main deck, allowing you to lay up and look at the stars. Chopper looks back towards the kitchen, sound emanating towards the room, and then back towards you, before finally deciding to nod, plopping himself right next to you. As you lay back down, Chopper snuggles into your side, watching the stars. 

“Did you like to watch the stars like this back before?” Chopper asks, his big eyes looking at you. Something you always noticed about Chopper is how he dances around the reality of your situation. He never calls you home, home. It’s always “back then” or “before”, like a part of your life you can’t get back. You know you shouldn’t blame him, but everytime he talks like that it makes you grit your teeth. 

You shake your head slightly, “Not really–you can’t really see the stars back at my home.” 

“You can’t see them?” 

“No, it’s too dark, too foggy.” You try to remember what the night sky looked like back home. You can’t. 

“Foggy?” 

“Yeah.” Your words are almost breathless, like you can’t believe what you’re saying. They come out of you like second nature, because you can’t picture much. What did your home look like? Did the kitchen have an electric or gas stove? Were the walls painted white or green–or maybe blue? What did your friends look like, if you could remember would that even be true now that so many years have passed? 

“(Y/n)? Are you okay, your heart is beating really fast?!” Chopper looks up at you, worried, sounding like he’s about to cry. “Why are you crying?!’ 

Why are you crying? You think. You can’t remember. You assume, and for some reason that makes you cry more. 

“Sorry–sorry.” You rub your eyes with the palm of your hand, your voice horse. You wipe your cheeks as your nose sniffles. “Yeah–um–my home, it’s so polluted that you–heh–can’t see anything in the sky sometimes.” You laugh halfway through your words, tears still streaming down your face as you speak. Chopper looks at you worried and cautious, afraid of saying or doing something that would make you worse. You pat his head, which helps somewhat, but the frown doesn’t leave his face. 

“Do you miss it?” Chopper asks quietly. “Yeah–sometimes.” You correct yourself quickly, almost unknowingly. “Sometimes.” You repeat, final. 

“Well, I’m happy you’re here with us.” Chopper is all smiles, looking up at you. Tears stain your cheeks, but you find yourself putting on a smile regardless. It feels like when you wear shoes that are too tight, or a coat that makes you too hot. Uncomfortable, but you push past it. 

“Me too.” You stare at the stars above, trying to imagine them in a world you don’t remember. 

—

You always found it funny how you call transponder snails “phones” in your head. It made more sense to you, and, if you were being honest, lessened how creeped out you were by the look of them. You hated how they stared at you, how they could change appearance, and especially how they talked along with the caller. 

And as you stared at the transponder snail in your room, you wondered if what you were doing was stupid. As your hands shook, you wondered if you were scared, or just a fool. And as you hold the speaker up to your mouth, making sure you’re actually doing this all right, you wonder if he’ll even answer–

“(Y/n)...(Y/n) are you alright?” 

“Ace?” You sniffled, almost whispering as you waited for him to say something. 

“(Y/n)? What’s wrong? Why are you crying” You heard him ask. 

“I’m fine.” You were not fine. Your voice was clipped, you were choking back sobs, hunched over on the floor. “I–I just wanted to um–call–” 

“(Y/n)” Ace’s voice was calm, stirn, making you pause. “Why are you crying?” 

You frown, chest heaving as you try not to let out another sob. “I–I don’t–” You pause, almost coughing, snot coming from your nose. You can barely see from the tears in your eyes, and your mind is rushing wild with so much that your head hurts. But somehow, despite all of this, you still pause, and correct yourself. 

“I just miss you–and–I wanted to talk to you.” You say and clearly as you can. Ace doesn’t respond for a while, for so long that you think he’s hung up on you, but before you can prod for a response, he speaks. 

“I miss you too, (Y/n).” You hear him whisper. “But that’s nothing to cry about.” His words are comforting, reaching into your soul and calming you, at least as calm as you can be in this state. You don’t know what to say, whether you should thank him or tell him the truth. That you're scared and confused and that you want to go home. But again, you hold it back, and you smile, hoping that the stupid, creepy looking snail smiles back, because you don’t want Ace to worry, even though you know he will. In a strange way, that makes you feel better, knowing that he worries about you. That no matter where you are in the world, this world or the next, he’ll always be thinking about you. 

“I’m sorry for calling so late–I just wanted to tell you that I missed you.” You slam the speaker down on the phone–snail–thing, wrapping your arms around you as you wrack with sobs, covering your ears as you hear the phone ring, and ring, and ring—

You want to go home. 

Maybe you’ll dream of it, whatever it is, when you fall asleep tonight.

---

Her reaction to Duval's face reveal is identical to Brook's. She's wheezing from how hard she's laughing and giving extremely unconvincing apologies to Sanji between breaths. Once Duval's face gets rearranged and he starts aggressively hitting on Lucky, she just kinda roles her eyes at his antics and doesn't take it very seriously. Though she does accidentally spit out her drink into his face when he tries to wink at her.

When they first get to Sabaody, it's pretty chill. Nami drags her along to go shopping with her and Robin, so she misses out on initially seeing the Celestial Dragons and Camie getting kidnapped. It's once she gets to the auction house that it starts to get messy.

Kidd has been obsessing over her ever since he found her lost backpack, and it only got worse once she got a bounty poster and he now had concrete proof that the woman in the ID he found is alive and well. He spots her the second she runs into the auction house with Nami, but he doesn't confront her immediately. He wants to just observe for a moment. However, he does use his devil fruit powers to covertly wrap some scrap metal around her wrist. Lucky notices this, but she doesn't know who did it, and given how stressed out everyone is over Camie, she decides to keep it to herself for the time being.

They don't properly meet until after they all escaped the auction house and have gotten the vivre papers from Rayleigh. During the chaos that happens when the Pacifista attacks the Straw Hats, Lucky get yanked away by the metal on her wrist. It happens so quickly that no one even notices she's gone until Kuma is there, and everyone assumes that he must have gotten her when they weren't looking.

In reality, Lucky is being hauled away by Kidd, who is making a terrible first impression. He calls her by her real name, something that she thought only Luffy knew, and it shakes her up to put it mildly. She gets hauled back to the Punk Victoria by Kidd and his crew and is forced to try and explain how the technology in her backpack works to him all while being worried about the rest of the Straw Hats (and she doesn't even know about Kuma showing up and sending everyone away).

Kidd initially says that he'll let her leave after she explains her stuff to him, but he doesn't keep his word. He was already obsessed with her before, but finally being in her presence (and under the influence of her amulet) amplifies it to the nth degree. He doesn't just want her knowledge, he wants her. And being a pirate, he has no problem taking what he wants, so he goes back on his word to let her go and states that she's a member of his crew now whether she likes it or not.

While she's on the Victoria Punk is when she sees the paper announcing Ace's execution, and she starts losing her shit and demanding that Kidd lets her go so she can go help save him. Kidd is unmoved by her pleas, so she has to get creative. She tells Kidd that she actually has more pieces of technology from her world, but that it's on the Thousand Sunny. And she reasons that since Ace is Luffy's brother, that the ship will be at Marineford because of course Luffy is going to come to his brother's rescue. This sways Kidd enough to agree to go, but he tells her that he just wants the chance to take out some big shot marines to increase his bounty and to get her things off the ship. He totally doesn't want to do this to make her like him or anything like that.

So Lucky, Kidd, and Killer set out to go to Marineford. He doesn't want to risk the Punk Victoria by putting her in range of a bunch of navy ships, so he has the rest of the crew stay behind after they get as close as they reasonably can. After that, the trio sets out on a small motor boat lined with metal so Kidd can use his powers to bypass particularly rough waters and the gates.

Kidd is more than a little irritated when they get there and see that the Thousand Sunny is nowhere to be seen, but at that point it feels like it would be a waste to just leave without killing at least a few high ranking marines or pirates, so he agrees to let Lucky do what she needs to do, but he tells her that she's on her own. If she wants to save Ace, she's going to have to do it herself.

While Lucky is staring at the chaos of the all out war in front of her and wondering how the fuck she's supposed to do anything to help, "A" takes pity on her and decides to give her something. A single pair of sea stone cuffs appear in front of her with a note telling her to use it wisely. It initially doesn't feel very helpful given that there are at least 10 different people here that she could use these on, so she pockets them and runs into the thick of it, figuring that she'll just know when she really needs to use them.

When she does feel the need to use them is after Ace is already freed. She sees Akainu lunging towards Luffy to kill him, and she also sees Ace running in to take the hit for him. She breaks into a sprint, and thanks to Akainu having a severe case of tunnel vision, he doesn't notice her until one of the cuffs locks around his wrist, completely snuffing out his powers. She gets it on him less than a second before he could land the fatal blow to Ace.

Lucky is in such an intense euphoria from getting there in time that she completely forgets that she needs to run because she just royally pissed off Akainu, and while his powers are canceled out by the cuffs, he's still more than capable of killing her given that only one cuff is on him and he can still move freely.

Akainu grabs her by the throat and has her lifted off the ground, ready to snap her neck. Before Ace of Luffy can even react, a massive heap of metal hits Akainu, forcing him to drop her and lose his footing. While he's disoriented and stumbling, Killer runs up and decapitates him from behind.

A hush falls over the battlefield. No one anticipated that an Admiral would die here, and especially not at the hands of a bunch of newbie pirates. Lucky is slack-jawed as she realizes that she is going to be credited with having a hand in killing a fucking Admiral. Kidd, now more than content with this kill, grabs her and says that they're leaving now. Ace and Luffy try to save her, but Marco swoops down to snatch both of them up before they can have anymore near death experiences.

Akainu's devil fruit will replace Ace's at the coliseum in Dressrosa now.

Lucky will now be spending a bulk of the timeskip on Kidd's crew, and with their now skyrocketed bounties, they spend a lot of that time fighting marines and pirates wanting to kill/challenge the people who killed an Admiral. Between that and training with Killer, Lucky becomes a much more formidable fighter over the timeskip.

When Kidd challenges Shanks and then loses violently, Shanks is all like "Hey, I remember you!" and brings Lucky with him when they leave. They briefly ran into each other at Marineford, and between Lucky being a part of Luffy's crew and saving Ace, he's more than happy to let her stay on the Red Force until the two years are up.

This seems like a good thing at first since Shanks is openly willing to let her go, meanwhile Kidd made it clear that he had zero intentions of letting her leave. But, it doesn't take long for her to notice that Shanks is getting a little too fond of her. And when he starts floating the idea that maybe she doesn't really need to go back to the Straw Hats, she knows that she just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The rest of the timeskip involves her being the subject of a game of tug-of-war between Kidd and Shanks as they keep stealing her away from the other, and the only reason that she is able to get away from both and back to Sabaody is because "A" appears and offers to take her there herself. All she asks for in exchange is for Lucky to close her eyes for a second. As soon as she does, "A" snatches back the amulet, extracts the wish from it, and implants it into Lucky to amplify the effects of it. Lucky is then teleported to the Thousand Sunny without any memory of the exchange with "A".