#LUFFY’S LITTLE BLUSH…HOW ZORO’S SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM…LUFFY LEAPING RIGHT INTO ZORO’S ARMS KNOWING ZORO WILL CATCH HIM…

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This is everything actually!! Just so you know!!!

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Not the Same

Category: General Fluff, Hurt and Comfort

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Monkey D. Luffy and Boa Hancock

Requested by: killercroc (FanFiction)

The ocean breeze whipped away the sigh as Luffy heaved it, carrying it away into the vast landscape of rolling waves that stretched ever on before him. He was sitting on the figurehead of Boa Hancock’s luxurious ship, his favorite spot to be, but it just wasn’t the same as his perch on the Thousand Sunny; it was the best that he could get, though, considering his ship was still moored at the Shabody Archipelago. He wondered what had become of his beloved ship, the lovingly crafted re-imagining of his faithful Going Merry, which had been put to rest after their many arduous adventures. He wondered too what had become of the rest of his nakama, after being forcefully ejected from the island by the strange android Bartholomew Kuma. More than anything, though, he worried about the welfare of his brother, whom he had just recently learned was being held prisoner by the World Government and slated for execution. As he thought about the terrifying prospect, his fists curled around the stained wood of Hancock’s ship, dangerously close to sending cracks streaming through its sanded surface. I won’t let that happen! I’m gonna save Ace, no matter what!

He told himself that, but his bravado vanished in an instant and he deflated slightly; without his faithful friends behind him, even he had to admit sneaking into a maximum-security prison and busting out his brother was a daunting task. At the very least, he had the beautiful warlord’s help. He just wished at the moment to have something to relieve the boredom of sailing towards Impel Down, because it was giving him way too much time to get in his head. He whirled on his behind to look at Hancock, thinking maybe she could entertain him a bit; she was standing on the upper level talking to the warrior woman who was at the wheel, in active conversation. Luffy stretched his arm out to grasp the railing beside her and vault himself over, landing lightly to crouch on the railing like a lanky monkey. Hancock jumped at his sudden appearance and blushed profusely while stammering, “L-Luffy, what is it?”

“I wanna go fishing.” That was his favorite pastime on the Merry and Sunny, aside from sitting at the figurehead fantasizing about their next adventure and destination; he was always reeling in some massive specimen or another, and Sanji always could find a way to incorporate it into a tasty dish. His mood soured slightly as he realized that Sanji wasn’t around to do it this time, and Hancock’s cook, no matter who they were, could compare to his chef. I’ll see him again soon, just as soon as I save Ace. He knew his crew were probably fine, wherever they were; they were probably back on their way to the Archipelago right now. He would just be a little late to the party, that’s all. As Luffy voiced his proclamation, Hancock whipped around with a firm screech.

“A fishing pole! Someone find Luffy a fishing pole!” The women actually didn’t have a fishing pole on board, which Luffy found asinine (What kind of pirate ship didn’t have a fishing pole? What did they actually do for fun?), but at Hancock’s insistence they fashioned from a spear and some various spare string and thin metal that they had lying around. Once he had his fishing pole in hand, Luffy was actually quite pleased, and he whistled a tune jovially under his breath as he walked over to the side of the ship- that is, until Hancock asked what he was singing and he realized it was Brooke’s favorite tune “Bink’s Sake,” and he got depressed that the funny skeleton man wasn’t around to serenade him. With a slight frown, he plopped down on the edge of the ship and grumpily flung his line into the water.

“Being sad sucks,” he muttered under his breath. With lidded eyes, he watched the ripples that the quivering line cast through the swirling water. Usopp and Chopper loved to fish, too; they would often join Luffy and would have competitions on who could bring in the largest haul. Luffy usually won, because he just had the best luck at yanking Sea Kings out of the sea. His shoulders slouched slightly as his depressive mood heightened. Apparently, the powerful queen of the island of women had noticed Luffy was not in his normal, happy-go-lucky mood, and sidled over with an expression of concern and a pink haze on her cheeks.

“Luffy? Is something the matter?”

“I miss my nakama,” he mumbled. Though Hancock couldn’t really do anything about it- as far as he knew, her talents did not lie in magically plucking people out of thin air- he saw no point in lying. He was always honest about his feelings, because feelings were important. They meant you cared about something. His head flopped down as he heaved another heavy sigh. “It’s just no fun if they’re not around.”

“Kyaah?! You mean you’re not having fun, Luffy?” When he glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes, she had turned red with tears flooding her dark eyes and her bottom lip quivering pathetically. Her cheeks were puffed out, like she was holding her breath. Luffy shrugged at her and straightened back up, wiggling the line of his fishing pole a little in an attempt to entice something from the deep.

“Of course, I’m having fun with you, Hancock, but it just isn’t the same, you know?” Luffy really wasn’t sure how to explain it. He liked Hancock; she was nice, having offered to help him in his effort to sneak into Impel Down and save Ace, and he enjoyed her presence, but with his friends, it was… different. He hated having to walk across the deck and not seeing Zoro asleep, slumped up against the mast or the wooden walls. He hated not smelling the scent of Nami’s tangerines carried on the breeze as it shook their dark leaves, or the mouthwatering aromas of Sanji’s newest creation wafting out of the kitchen. He hated not doing morning stretches with Franky, laughing when Nami came out to scold them for being too loud. He hated not having Robin there to answer his many, many questions about all the things she knew. He hated not having Usopp or Chopper around to assist him in his jokes or pranks. He hated not hearing Brooke’s melodic voice and violin dancing on the wind practicing some new catchy tune or another.

He hated being alone, and he hated being alone because he had failed to keep them all together in the first place.

“Luffy-“ Hancock was interrupted as the fishing line jerked dramatically, and Luffy had to throw his arm back and wind it around the mast to keep from being yanked clear off the ship; his other arm stretched a bit as the powerful force carried the rod underwater, and then he managed to clear his mind to focus on what he was doing and began pulling violently on the makeshift pole.

“Come’re, you stupid fish! I want lunch!” he shouted angrily as he tugged hard on the fishing pole. Slowly, the water beside the ship darkened as a massive form was dragged to the surface, and the water began to slosh and swirl as its massive tail whipped about under Luffy’s vigorous assault. White foam sprayed up against the side of the ship, speckling the determined Luffy and started Hancock with its misty droplets, and the ship began to rock lightly under the force of the waves slapping against its sides. With a grunt, Luffy grabbed the pole with both hands and gave a strong, swift jerk; with a tremendous splash that sent a wave of water rolling over the deck, soaking everyone out in the open from head-to-toe and nearly carrying Luffy’s precious hat away, a massive, colorful fish leaped out of the water. Luffy’s grin was wider than it had been all day at the sight of the spectacle. Its scales were a magnificent emerald, with speckles of jade and other shades across its midline; its fins were sharp and powerful, and its jaw was pointed with row of pointed teeth sticking out. It wriggled about in the air, sending a rain of water droplets arcing about, before crashing about into the ocean with another magnificent splash. Luffy grunted as he was pulled up against the side of the ship, but he firmly held onto his catch. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re going in my belly!”

“Luffy, just let it go! You’re going to capsize us!” Hancock screamed from where she was clutching to the mast, her dark hair plastered to her face. Luffy threw a wink over his shoulder at her, making her melt into a pile of gushing putty, before planting his feet against the wall of the ship and tugging so hard on the fishing pole that it looked like he was standing upright against the wall.

“Nuh-uh! No stupid fish is gonna get the best of me!” Despite his best efforts, the fish was a formidable foe; the ship actually began to stream through the water, jumping in the wake of the massive predatory fish he had hooked. “One… more… time!” he grunted, and once more, the fish vaulted out of the water into the sky, flapping about in rage. This time, Luffy was prepared, and bit down hard on his thumb, blowing air into his body to inflate the bones within his arm. As his limb swelled to massive size, the wood underneath him buckled a bit.

“What are you doing?!” Hancock screamed at him. Luffy just cackled happily and used his free arm to stretch up to grasped the top sail, sling-shotting himself right up to the still-wriggling fish. “It’s lunchtime!” he hollered in glee before delivering a savage punch to the belly of the fish. It instantly stiffened on impact, quivering under the force of Luffy’s blow, before it went rocketing up into the air. It disappeared for a moment, and Luffy landed on the wood holding the top sail and put his hand to his eyes, scanning the blue sky for a black speck. It appeared after a moment, rapidly growing larger as the fish plummeted to earth like a meteor, and he could hear the warrior women running around in circles on the deck screaming that they were going to be crushed. Luffy jumped up to the crow’s nest and then jumped off again to deliver another punch to the fish’s side before it could land directly on the ship, sending it blasting into the ocean so fast that it skipped like a rock a few times before sinking below the waves. After a few seconds it rose back up, belly-up and bobbing lifelessly in the churning water. Luffy landed on the main deck with a triumphant hoot.

“Yay! Lunch! Let’s go get it, let’s go get it! Usopp, Chopper, didja see-“ He cut himself off as he whipped around and remembered that his normal spectators weren’t there, and he deflated again; he continued doing so, shrinking down to the size of a three-year-old, as were the side effects of him using Gear Third. As he pouted, Hancock came running over to him, picking him up underneath his arms and lifting him up with an expression of both joyous glee and acute fear.

“Oh my goodness, you are so cute! Why are you cute? Luffy, what’s happening? Oh, who cares, you’re so small!” she squealed and waved him about as she ranted, then cried out and hugged him to her chest, squeezing him like a vice grip. Luffy’s protests were muffled by the pillow of her voluptuousness. Ignorant of his pleas for air, she just nuzzled him affectionately while crooning, and just as Luffy thought he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen she pulled back to hold him high up and look at him in wonder again. He gulped in big breaths, his face turning from blue to white to normal color, while Hancock’s eyes sparkled innocently. “Will you be like this forever?!” she asked, and he didn’t know if she was horrified or delighted by the prospect.

“Nah. It’s just temporary. It happens every time I use Gear Third,” he explained while picking his nose, disinterested at the entire ordeal. “Can we get my fish, please? I worked hard for that, y’know.”

“Oh! Yes, of course.” Hancock stood up, as she had been kneeling in front of him the entire time, and he expected her to put him down; instead, she hugged him to his chest like a little girl would a teddy bear, arms around his shrunken waist with his little feet dangling as she walked and instructed the crew to haul up and prepare Luffy’s catch. Carried around like a pet, Luffy felt kind of like Chopper. Thinking of the reindeer made him blue again, and he sagged like a limp stuffed animal in Hancock’s arms. Not even making a legendary catch like that could keep his depression away for long. He pouted like a little baby, muttering under his breath at how stupid being sad was, because he had more things to worry about. Hancock eventually caught on to his grumbling, and set him on a barrel to lean over, hands on her knees as she talked to him at eye-level.

“Now, Luffy, it’s okay to be sad that your friends are gone.” Luffy’s nose scrunched up as she took a baby-talk tone with him.

“Hancock, I may look like a baby but I’m not one, so can you please talk normal?”

“Oh! Sorry! Sorry!” she laughed as she put both her hands on her cheeks and gushed, hearts practically flying through the air around her. “What was I saying? Oh, right. I know it must be hard on you, being apart from them.”

“Yeah…” he murmured as his shoulders slumped. “I wish they were here. I know I’m strong, but somehow I just don’t feel like I’m strong enough without them with me.” That was the root of his blatant refusal of his sadness; he didn’t want to admit that he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to pull this off alone, that he was too weak to avoid dragging his friends into something so dangerous. That he was too weak to keep anyone safe, Ace or anyone else.

“I know, but, I’m sure that wherever they are, they’re still supporting you. Just because they aren’t right there next to you doesn’t mean that they’re not beside you, at every step. You still have their strength, right here,” she smiled kindly and poked him right in his little chest, where his heart was. Luffy looked down, blinking. It made sense, kind of. Even if they weren’t there, they were in his heart, and he was sure he was in theirs, too. With a giggle, he beamed up at Hancock.

“Thanks! I feel better! Can we eat now?” he asked before lightly hopping off the barrel and strolling toward the kitchen with a contented hum. He heard Hancock sigh and tut behind him before she followed, her long dress swishing as she walked. Luffy held onto the top of his hat as a swift breeze whisked across the deck.

Being on the ship with Hancock wasn’t the same as being on the Sunny with all his friends, but he didn’t have to be sad about it anymore. No matter what, they would see each other again, and Luffy could still rely on their strength in the trial ahead- he knew they would be shouting from the sidelines, cheering their captain on in spirit, and that knowledge was enough to get him raring to go.  

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