Looking down towards the sound, your heart shatters as you saw the straw hat angled backward as he looked towards the full moon, his red sleeve of his shirt coming up to wipe his tears, his hands gripping the balcony of the Sunny tightly.

At first, you're not sure if you should make your presence known, he came out here to be alone after all. But that thought passes quickly as you heard more of his shuttered breaths, you found yourself clamorying down the rope latter to get to him.

Luffy hears you coming behind him and breaks his gaze from the moon, for a moment the shock of you rushing towards him seems to break him from his sorrows. His face was still contorted in pain, his nose was running, but his eyes were wide and curious for what your next move would be. You didn't know either. For a moment, you could only stare at him.

You'd never seen your captain like this. He's normally so confident, strong, and goofy. He's your leader, your guide, your stability in the hardest of times. But now, he looked like a young boy, just a child. A child with his heart breaking. Pain knotted in your stomach when you saw him try to hide his tears, coming to the edge of the Sunny in the middle of the night where no one would see him. Zoro's words from so long ago suddenly rang in your head, "if you falter now, who can we trust?"

You stopped in front of him. The moment of shock passed and Luffy hid his face behind his straw hat, shielding his tears. You frowned, raising your hand and gently push the straw hat up further atop his head . His tears keep falling, his frown deepens, your heart aches. You gently wipe the tears from where they fall down his cheeks.

"I had a dream about Ace." He says and it's all he needs to say. 

You open your arms for him and he dives in them. Somehow your knees had given out as you held each other, your cheek resting against Luffy's forehead as he cried into your shirt. His body shakes, his straw hat falls to the ship's wooden floor, his shuttered breaths disrupt the quiet night. You hope he cannot hear your heart breaking.

Your hands move in slow circles across his back, your hair falling down over his shoulder, your knees bending at his waist, trying to shield him from the world with every part of your body. You whisper comforting words into his ear, hoping the words go directly into the hole in his heart that his brother left behind.

You two stay in that position for a long time, even after his shuttered breaths become even and your shirt starts to dry. He still hides his face in your chest, you still rub circles across his back and whisper reassuring words. Minutes pass by and the stars in the night glitter above the Sunny.

Eventually Luffy slowly lifts head from your chest, looking you in the eyes and giving you a smile. A smile that immediately fills your heart with all the love, strength, and friendship he's shown you since you've known him. You can't help but smile back at him, wiping the last tear trail from his cheek. He sits up in a more upright position and thanks you. You shake your head, picking up the straw hat off the floor. Holding it in your hands gently, Luffy looks from the hat to you and back again.

"Don't hide, Luffy," you say, "Don't hide." From me, goes unspoken.

You pass him the straw hat and he puts it securely on his head, back where it belongs. He stands up and offers a hand to help you up, you take it and stand before him again. Your hands stay clasped together. The warmth of his hand radiating through your body. His free hand points towards the moon excitedly, pulling you closer towards the edge of the Sunny. Your shoulder is touching his.

Have a great day!

oh anon, you come into my inbox and make me cry like this?

it's a beautiful, hot day aboard the Sunny, the crew is eating a meal, you're devouring your lunch in an ugly fashion. after luffy had gotten you all into a fight that morning, you're starving. suddenly, luffy starts to laugh cheerfully beside you. he pats you on the back, the bone of a steak still sticking out of his mouth. "i want to eat our food alone- just with you sometime- what's that called again," he pauses, rubbing his chin with his free hand, "oh yeah! a date!" the room goes quiet and your face heats up red. luffy goes back to eating but your appetite had suddenly disappeared, your hunger wanting something new now.

another time you and luffy had been separated from the crew, fighting back-to-back against foe pirates, he gum-gum whips the apposing crew and you land a few knock out punches against the ones who managed to duck. luffy wraps his arm around your shoulder and throws his head back, laughing delightfully, you couldn't help but smile despite your predicament, he says, "this is it! we're on our date! isn't this fun?!" he snickers, as a few of the foes stand up their guns barred, luffy glances upwards, "c'mon lets go to that mountain!" his arm stretches to grab hold of a tree, catapulting you two up to higher ground. you end up falling on him, unhurt. luffy was underneath you, his head in the dirt, you had to pull him out. in his teeth were some crumbled up yellow flowers that he must've fallen on, he held them out to you with a charming grin, "here! for you!" you kept those destroyed flowers, nursing them back to health, repotting them to keep them at your bedside table. every night as you smiled at the flowers, your last thought before falling asleep was him and every morning your first thought was him.

a few unconventional but memorable dates later, the crew had landed on an island you had been shopping all day. as you emerged from latest store, bags covering your arms, you spot luffy at the end of the road, you yell out to him and he turns to you, and the way the sun is shining behind his head, the way he smiles at you, it makes your knees weak. you'd never noticed how beautiful he is. he runs towards you with his boyish excitement, waving at you and you notice a small box in his hand. he screams your name, "i've been looking for you forever! have you been shopping? whad'ja get!" he rattles off as he stops in front of you, you just smile at him, admiring his handsome features. "what's wrong?" he asks. you can't help it, you cup his cheek rubbing a thumb along his warm skin, luffy pauses, speechlessly staring at you. and the way his eyes shine, looking at you with such adoration, it makes your heat flutter, and you notice his hands are cupping your cheeks too. the little box in his hand poking your skin. you pull his face towards you and peck his lips and his whole body stops, you don't even think he's breathing, he just stands there and lets you kiss him. after a few glorious seconds, you pull away to ask if he's okay but he just pulls you back, "again-again please" he whispers. and you kiss again. opening your mouth, your tongues meeting, you'd never been this hot before and you never wanted it to end, but the box was really starting to pinch your skin now. you pull away and he chases your lips, "luffy" you say your voice coming out hoarse, "what is this?" he blinks and seems to remember, "oh yeah! i got it at that little shop down there and i've been looking for you everywhere to give it to you!" he says excitedly opening the lid, he passes it to you, your bodies still close together, you have to crane your neck awkwardly because luffy won't let you go far. inside the box is a silver bracelet, the clasp is a heart, it shines back at you and you feel tears welling up and he panics. you hush him, "luffy, thank you. it's beautiful." he smiles widely, "let me put it on you!" you keep that bracelet on morning and night, it becomes your treasure.

Once that is reached, then he'd be free to have a new... obcession 😊

Signed, someone who loves demi Luffy very dearly :3

In the days it takes you to heal from your injuries, Luffy comes to your bedroom to sleep next to you every night. He does try, the night after the first, to sleep in his own bedroom but he can't. Usually sleep comes easy to him, especially after a long day of adventure but not now. He closes his eyes, trying to think of your wounds healing, your soft breathing, your warm hand holding his, but he can't fall asleep. He huffs in irritation and rises from his bed, sulking across the ship to knock on your bedroom door and opening it slowly. You put down your book, you were also struggling to sleep, and open the covers for him. You smile at each other as he excitedly hops into your bed.

And so it becomes routine for you two. Even as your injuries heal completely, as the sunsets and the crew walks off to their separate bedrooms, Luffy follows you into yours and you let him. It becomes normal to roll over in the middle of the night and snuggle into his warm body, to wake up in the morning with his arm wrapped around you, to feel him pull you closer in his sleep, to giggle at his sleep-talking, to hear your name in his mumblings. You offer to let him keep his toothbrush and some clothes in your room, he accepts.

Sleeping together becomes so routine that you have trouble sleeping without him. There were times when you two would be separated by a foe that Luffy challenged and each night you would stay awake staring at his side of the bed, worry clouding your mind and making it impossible to sleep and eventually when Luffy defeated the foe, he would be covered in bandages and it was your turn to listen to his soft, even breathing as he slept. There were times when you be working late into the night and he would come find you, curling up on the floor next to you to sleep in your presence until you eventually finish and drag him back to your bed so you can both sleep comfortably. There were times when you would get angry at him for putting the crew in danger with his recklessness and you'd slammed your bedroom door in his face and toss and turn, your anger at him turning into desperation for him to just come to bed already, eventually you get up to find him and as you open your bedroom door, Luffy's sleeping frame falls on your legs. He'd been sleeping against your door. Smiling you pull his rubbery body into bed and cuddle up next to him, his heartbeat your lullaby. He smiles in his sleep and his arms come up around you. Whenever he's missing his hat or sandals, you find them by your bed.

Suddenly your door opened and, figuring it was Chopper coming to check on you, you pretended to be asleep so your crewmate wouldn't worry. He had basically barricaded you in your bedroom earlier that night because rest is the best medicine. But the footsteps were louder than Chopper's and when the person spoke you knew it wasn't the reindeer.

"I know you're not asleep." Luffy said, not worried about disrupting the quiet night. His finger tapping your forehead. You open your eyes, adjusting to the darkness to find your captain standing next to your bed.

"Get out, you-" You pulled the covers up around your body and were about to make a sassy remark when you see his eyes looking over your body covered in bandages, his face shrouded in worry.

"Luffy?" You asked, your voice coming out hoarse. It was not common to see his expression so deeply concerned. His name did not disrupt his search. He was so quiet, so observant, so unlike himself you almost thought you were dreaming. You rubbed your eyes and, after still finding him there, said his name again. He eyes met yours.

He finally spoke, "Can I sleep here tonight?"

You stared at him with your mouth hung open. Of the many things you knew about Monkey D. Luffy you can always count on him to be two things - unpredictable and blunt.

Seeing your confused expression, he explained, "You got hurt. I couldn't sleep thinking about it. I thought I could sleep here. With you."

He trailed off, his words seeming to surprise even himself. You searched him now, wondering who this was and who replaced your captain, but all you saw in his brown eyes was concern. Your captain had no perverted intentions.

Eventually, you nodded at him, moving over in the bed to make room for him.

Luffy's relieved smile lit up your dark bedroom and he set his hat down gently on your bedside table. Your heart did a flip when he moved the covers back, slowly stretching out his body in the bed and laying his head down on your second pillow.

He smiled at you, "Thank you." He closed his eyes and almost immediately started snoring.

You laughed quietly and settled yourself under the covers. Somehow your bed seemed more comfortable than it was before, your body feeling lighter and not covered in bruises. You moved your hand over Luffy's and closed your eyes, finally able to sleep.

Bonus: the next morning, Chopper walks into your room his hoofs full of bandages and medicines that all go clattering to the floor when he sees you and the captain in bed together. His shocked scream alerting the rest of the crew and waking you up, Luffy sleeps through your nervous, overexplaining of the scene.

You had let your guard down. As you shopped through the most recent island the Sunny had docked, an elderly looking man had fallen next to you and as you went to help him, ropes went around your waist and a blindfold covered your eyes. And that leads you to now, trapped in what looks like a a giant steel dome.

You sighed as the pirates kept singing about how rich they would be. If you could get your arms free, you'd teach them how tough Straw Hat's Sweetie is. It was annoying and laughable that they truly thought Luffy would be captured. The only thing that could hold Luffy down was meat and you didn't see any in your current prison.

The foe pirates and you jumped as a sudden loud bang sounded through the hallways. Followed by a male voice screaming your name, footsteps running quickly.

“Luffy!” You screamed and one of the pirates immediately covered your mouth, but you didn’t care. You felt like you could breathe again.

The one who was supposedly the captain yelled, "Go!" And several pirates exited through the halls to take down the enraged rubber man.

What followed was groans of pain, steel bending inwards in the shape of a human, Luffy's angry screams and yelling of your name. The stomps of his running feet getting closer. Your heart was hammering, he's here, he's here, he's here. A smile breaking out across your face.

Luffy yelled your name again and you heard more commotion as he cannoned his way through enemy pirates. I’m safe. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw your captor's mouth moving, his eyes furrowed in anger, and he must've been threatening your life but none of that mattered anymore. His threats were for nothing. Luffy was here.

Suddenly the foot steps stop and in the next minute the steel door comes flying off the hinges, smoke and dust shrouding the figure who was the cause. Your heart was fluttering.

As the dust cleared, you began to see the smoke was coming off of his body, his veins and skin pink. Gear Second. You wiggled your body, trying to get free of the ropes, trying to get to him. The pirate holding your mouth suddenly hauled you up and wrapped an arm around your waist instead, holding a gun against your forehead.

Luffy's eyes were hidden under the brim of his hat, his fists covered in blood. Sweat was dripping down his body, a muscle in his jaw was jumping. His chest was heaving in rage. His head moved upward to lock eyes with you and you jumped. This was not the Luffy you knew.

“Straw Hat! Don’t move an inch or your sweetie is dead.” He bellowed.

Luffy’s eyes darkened at that. His eyes moving from your face to the gun at your forehead and then he moved so quickly all you could see was a flash of red and smoke barreling towards you and the gun was gone. And the pirate was gone too.

You looked to the side, the enemy that was holding your body was dinted into the steel walls, blood dripping down the side of his face, his eyes rolled back. Your mouth dropped open at the sight. Always amazed by Luffy’s strength. You had always known your captain as the happy go lucky, kind, impatient, dumbass future king of the pirates. His big smiles and infectious laugh always making your day that much brighter. This demon only showed when he his loved ones were in danger, or someone stole his food.

You turned away from your previous captor and were staring into Luffy's soft brown eyes. Struck by how his eyes had shifted from anger to yearning. He’s right in front of you, and you realized the ropes that were around your body had fallen to the ground. He looks over your face, the pads of his thumbs stroking your cheeks, inspecting you. You nod at him.

And then Luffy kisses you, his hands moving from your face, to your shoulders, to your back, to your waist. Searching for injuries. The kiss deepens, his lips moving across yours possessively. This was not your Luffy. Your Luffy was never scared, as if you could disappear at any moment. His hands gripping your waist tightly, painfully. His chest pushed up to yours and you felt his racing heart. This was not your Luffy.

Your hands moved above his own at your waist, grasping them. Intertwining them. I'm okay, I'm here. You whispered through your kisses, softenening your lips. Letting all your love flow through your kiss, hoping he could feel it. The tension in his body slowly start to ease as he realized you were safe in his arms, unharmed. His hands wrapped around your waist and yours went behind his neck. Then the kisses turned into those that you loved - unpredictable, fast, passionate. He broke away, gasping for breath, rested his forehead against yours, his eyes looking down at the ropes at your feet.

“I’ll be right back,” Luffy said to you in a low husky voice and your knees almost gave out.

Luffy walked slowly over to the foe pirate that was struggling to get to his feet. He raised the gun to Luffy's chest and shot a few rounds, the bullets collided with Luffy's skin and burst back out shooting straight back into the pirate who again fell against the indent in the wall. Luffy stretch his arm behind him and sent a Jet Pistol flying right into the pirate's temple.