Chapter Text
Ace didn't have flowers, which wasn't a surprise. Still, as he watched people around him being covered with flowers he burned with silent jealousy. Monsters like himself didn't deserve flowers, he'd rage to himself. But seeing his blank skin day after day bothered him regardless, though he'd rather die than admit that to anyone.
He never dared to ask Gramps or Dadan to explain their flowers for fear he wouldn't be displayed upon their skin. Ace didn't need that kind of rejection. And, even if he was, what did it matter? Clearly, he was broken since he couldn't care enough in return to make flowers for them.
When he first met Sabo, a boy completely covered head to toe in a smart suit, he didn't think much of it. Just some rich kid thing, he figured. It wasn't until after they had bonded and bathed together in a river that he realized.
"You don't have flowers!" Ace blurted out, amazed. Sabo blinked a few times in confusion before looking down at his chest.
"Nah, I don't," Sabo agreed mildly. Ace tried to backtrack; people could be easily offended about their lack of flowers.
"I didn't mean anything bad! I just meant—I don't have flowers either!" Quickly he stripped to showcase his point and Sabo grinned. Ace cannonballed into the river and when he surfaced, they had a fierce battle, splashing at each other, and laughing. After they had calmed down, Ace bit his lip in indecision. "Why don't you?" he finally ventured, uncharacteristically shy. He didn't want Sabo to leave him, not after they'd finally become friends.
Sabo shrugged. "My folks didn't have flowers for me, figured that meant I shouldn't get flowers for them either, right?" Ace smiled in agreement.
"Right."
When Luffy burst into his life, Ace was horrified. The kid was loud and obnoxious, and he didn't need a stupid shadow falling him around everywhere. Luffy already had four flowers of his own, a fact that didn't help his case. Although Sabo and Ace had both gotten a flower for each other, he didn't need to be reminded that he was still broken, still lacking in the bonds that most people had readily.
Unfortunately, that didn't stop Sabo from asking the moment he met Luffy. Unlike Ace, Sabo didn't have hang-ups about his lack of flowers.
"Who are your flowers for Luffy?"
Ace raged at the casual question, the one that he heard people ask each other all the time.
"Oh! This one—" Luffy pointed at the scar under his eye "—is from Shanks!" Sabo stared in confusion as Ace pouted some distance away. Luffy was such an idiot, that was a scar, not a flower.
"I don't see a flower there Luffy?" Sabo asked hesitantly. Luffy started picking his nose.
"You gotta really look," he replied, disinterested. Sabo leaned in and then gasped. Ace figured there really was a flower then, go figure.
"And the rest?"
"Gramps is this one." Luffy lifted up a leg and showed them a lavender sprig running up the side of his ankle. Ace snorted. Gramps probably didn't like how small that was, parents' flowers were usually bigger from their children than that. "Makino is this one." He showed the other leg and the sprig of some green plant that was on the other ankle. Hardly a flower, that.
"What do they mean?" Sabo asked politely, as was standard during a discussion of flowers. Luffy shrugged.
"Dunno! Oh, oh, but you guys are here!" Luffy started pulling off his shirt and Ace's eyebrows shot up. Them?? Why would Luffy have flowers for them? They had barely met! Shirt finally off, Luffy beamed, hair a mess but standing proud.
"I think the red one is for Ace and the blue one is for you Sabo!" Luffy declared cheerfully as he pointed. Ace wandered closer to look. Across each shoulder, the largest by far, were two flowers. Ace blinked with surprise.
"Oh wow! We gotta get a book and look up all the meanings, don't we Ace?" The firm tug at the bottom of his shirt was also a warning, Ace understood by the glare Sabo sent his way. He didn't want Ace to ruin this moment by being rude. He snorted.
"Fine, whatever." He folded his arms. If Sabo didn't want him to say anything, he'd hold his tongue but what kind of idiot got flowers for someone they barely knew?!
It was only later, after they had become brothers, that Ace understood. Luffy cared for people, but he knew immediately if he was going to love them or not. They had sat down and figured out all the names and meanings of Luffy's flowers. Although Luffy himself didn't seem all that interested either way, Ace knew he was anxious to see exactly what Luffy thought of him. Sabo probably was as well.
"Clover stands for 'I promise' that's the one under your scar Luf'," Sabo informed him, a large flower book in his lap. They'd had to steal one, the bookstore owner following them hollering and kicking up a big ole fuss.
"That makes sense!" Luffy confirmed. "I promised to give him his hat back when I became King of the Pirates."
Sabo smiled and continued, "Garps is lavender. It has a lot of meanings including 'happiness', 'love', and 'distrust'."
Ace laughed bitterly. "Happy to beat all of us to a pulp you mean," he commented.
"What else?!" Luffy demanded.
The green sprigs Luffy had on his inner ankle were boxwood for both Makino and Dadan and meant 'constancy', a rather dull one. The ones for Ace and Sabo were by far the best. Not only were they the largest and most prominent on his skin, the meanings just...blew him away. For Ace, balsam meant 'ardent love' (Ace had taken Sabo aside and had him explain what 'ardent' meant before he could be happy about it) and for Sabo, bellflower for 'unwavering love'. They were the largest flowers with a meaning of love on Luffy's skin and Ace felt himself swell with pride. They would love and protect their youngest brother, forever.
After they had sailed away on their small dingy, Zoro settled in for a nap. It was different, suddenly being on a pirate crew. Even if they were the only two members.
"Oh, hm, that's new," Luffy commented idly, slight curiosity in his tone and nothing more. Interested despite himself, Zoro opened one eye.
"What's new?" he asked. Luffy easily held up his arm, showing off a long stalk of flowers flowing down his inner forearm.
"This must be for you Zoro! Shishishi," he laughed, grinning widely while Zoro's eyes widened.
"Let me see," Zoro demanded as he reached out and grabbed Luffy's arm. The rubber user's arm easily stretched towards him before Luffy shifted his entire body to follow the arm that Zoro now held in his grip. Zoro was surprised that he recognized it; it was a gladiolus, limey-green and bold, spanning almost the entire inner forearm.
"Why did you get this already?" Zoro asked with a frown. Luffy only laughed again, the sound carefree and it echoed through the quiet that surrounded them.
"You're on my crew ain't ya? That's all the proof I need."
Zoro grunted but felt pleased all the same. In the brief moments he'd thought about it, having someone have a flower that represented 'strength' and 'victory' for him was a great honor. He released Luffy's arm and relaxed again, ready for a nap, as Luffy started humming some song under his breath.
Nami couldn't believe her eyes as Luffy showed off his newly sprouted flower to Zoro. She had only agreed to partner with him for a short while, why did he have a flower he claimed was for her?!
"Nami, Nami, isn't it pretty!? Just like you!" Luffy gleefully shoved his hand into her face. It was stunning, deep orange with black stripes running up the petals, covering the back of his hand. She was pretty sure it was alstroemeria although she couldn't remember the meaning behind it. Regardless, it was ridiculous. She was planning on robbing him blind and leaving them in the dust. However, she clenched her teeth. It would be better if she played this off and not risk offending Luffy (although if the dolt was even capable of being offended was another story).
Plastering a smile she didn't feel on her face she finally responded, "Yeah, just like me." Nami felt Zoro's eyes zero in on her but she didn't let that phase her. Liar, she was a liar and no flower was going to change that. Arlong's tattoo ached on her upper arm and she grit her teeth, trying to hold back tears as it felt like the weight of the world pressed against her shoulders.
It was only much later, after Usopp, after Arlong, that Nami finally got a moment to look up the meaning of Luffy's flower for her. She sat in the privacy of her room before slowly opening the book and flicking through the pages. When she found it, her eyes filled with tears immediately, as she thought they might. 'Devotion', 'friendship', and 'wealth'. Of course it was. Nami laughed as she sobbed, tears splattering over the drawing. How she didn't deserve that and yet, how lovely, how very, very lovely.
When Kaya had first shown Usopp her flower for him, he felt like he might burst with joy. Having flowers from your parents was nice and all, but it was to be expected, right? What parent didn't love their kid? But having a friend, someone outside of the family get a flower just for him? It was the greatest feeling he'd ever known. Better than hearing her laugh, better than pulling off a big lie for the town.
So when Luffy claimed a flower was for him as they got ready for bed the first night ever on the Going Merry, Usopp's heart leapt with joy. Already!? Luffy had accepted him that quickly?
"Lemme see!!" he demanded.
Easily, Luffy turned and presented his side to him. It was an interesting flower; long and trailing down from Luffy's hip and the side of his thigh. Deep red and huge, it went almost to Luffy's knee and Usopp puffed with pride.
"It must be so big because of how great I am!" he announced loudly. Luffy giggled. "What flower is it?! What does it mean?" Usopp asked eagerly, wanting to know. Luffy shrugged.
"Dunno, we could ask Nami tomorrow," Luffy said as he started crawling into his hammock, discussion apparently over but Usopp grabbed it, fingers gripping the rope tightly.
"Waitttt, can't we ask now?!" Luffy looked at him with surprise, and Usopp's heart had a single beat of fear. What if Luffy secretly hated it? Getting a flower for someone this quick, maybe he needs time to adjust? Before Luffy smiled, bright and wide and the fear evaporated along with it.
"Okay! Shishishi, if you care so much, let's go!"
Nami was not pleased to be woken up but once they told her why she relented quickly. She didn't know the name of the flower off-hand either, and she flipped through her book as they fidgeted, waiting for her to find it.
"Seriously Luffy, you get these so fast. Can't you wait a while?"
Luffy grinned. "You're my nakama! What's there to wait for?" Nami sighed before making an eager sound. Usopp leaned in closer in anticipation.
"What does it mean?! That I'm amazing, a natural-born leader?!" he asked urgently. Nami smiled widely before she started to read.
"Love-lies-bleeding, meaning 'hopeless but not helpless'." The silence in the room seemed deafening before he turned to Luffy, aghast.
"You really think that of me?! That I'm hopeless!?" Luffy laughed while rubbing the back of his head.
"But you heard Nami, Usopp! Not helpless!" They walked out of Nami's room, lightly bickering. The meaning wasn't the best in the world, Usopp felt. But at the same time, it could have been much, much worse. If nothing else, it showed that Luffy accepted him, wholeheartedly, even if he was a little mean about it.