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It doesn't take long to notice it. The lingering stares, the stiff pouts, the small blushes. It was like the guy practically had a head-stamp that said in big, bold letters "I'm in love". The signs were more clear than daylight and everyone on the crew seemed to realize that but the man who was being secretly fawned over. The Mugiwara crew wasn't stupid. Maybe their captain was most of time, but they certainly weren't. Even the ever innocent Chopper could tell that something was up.
Ever since they made the alliance with the Heart Pirates, everyone began to notice a slowly building weight in the air as time went by. Trafalgar, at first, had been good at hiding it- or maybe perhaps he hadn't had to hide anything at all- but stretching after the events at Dressrosa, the Mugiwara crew knew that the Heart captain was indeed very much in love with their own captain. It was painstakingly obvious and could put tears of frustration in one's eyes. Many of them could never fail to register the signs.
Most of the time Trafalgar never showed interest in anything other than his own plans or personal belongings. If there was nothing to do, then he normally resided somewhere peaceful on the Sunny and simply relaxed there. But if Luffy were to pop in around any of those areas, Trafalgar's head would lift and his lips would curve. Even if Luffy's attention wasn't centered on him, he still watched with all the intrigue in the world as the rubber captain played around, chatted and complained about hunger. Some times he would smile, and some times he would stare with no emotion at all, but the fact is that he still always watched. He never looked away.
In the moments when Luffy did communicate with him, Trafalgar's gruff, snappy attitude was evident but considerably died down. He was almost silent when he was around Luffy, his eyes averted from direct contact. If he was pestered enough into doing something silly, he obliged with minimal complaint. Luffy also liked to hold people's hands when he was particularly excited, and seeing the way Trafalgar desperately tried to shield his face while being hauled clean across the public ship was a worthwhile sight to see.
It was official. The Heart pirate Trafalgar Law had a crush on their captain, and the Mugiwara crew knew it. The question is what they were going to do about it? Tease, of course! Hey, an opportunity like this only comes once in a Luffy lifetime. Obviously they were going to make the most of it.
It started with Sanji one morning in the kitchen. He was preparing lunch, rolls of deliciously baked bread and meat stranded out on the counter before him. Trafalgar and a few more quiet Mugiwaras' occupied the room as well. Casually, whilst sharpening an already perfect knife, Sanji cast a curious glance across the room, his eyes seemingly bored but withholding all the mischief in the world. Trafalgar was sitting at one of the couches near the aquarium in the back, but the both of them were in full viewpoint of each other. Perfect.
As Luffy excitedly entered the room with the intention of checking up on lunch, Sanji hurried to hide his smirk as he turned around and called, "Oi, Luffy. Over here, now."
"Yosh," The rubber captain immediately obeyed, the clap of his sandals eager and a joyous tune for the undeniably quiet room. "Aww, it smells so good!"
"It's not finished yet but... Here," Sanji lifted both his hands out, a polite yet suggestive smile covering his face as he eyed his captain, "Would you like a sample?"
"Yes," Luffy's eyes sparkled as he came to a stop in front of the cook, his fingers wiggling while his tongue stuck out hungrily, "It looks so tasty, shishi!"
Sanji waved him forward, his slanted, rather seductive eyes never once leaving his innocent captain. Once Luffy was in reach, he snaked an arm around his waist and tugged him close, his other hand lifting up the serving of meat before any confusion could cross his face. Luffy beamed and obediently opened his mouth, his cheeks puffing out as he began to chew happily.
"Like it?" Sanji asked as if this were a special occasion and Luffy was a very special guest. "I made it for you, captain," He mumbled, his chin brushing soft, black hair while his hand rubbed along a clueless waistband.
"Mm-mhm," Luffy nodded happily, his head tilting back to offer the cook a very joyous grin, "It's great. I want more."
"Ask me nicely first," Sanji tilted his chin just enough that his lips brushed the top of Luffy's head, his eyes sneaking a peek across the room. Trafalgar was sitting upwards now, his back bent forward and hands pressed tightly together, veins visibly throbbing. It nearly put tears in the cook's eyes to keep from bellowing with laughter at the sight.
"Can I please have more, Sanji-San, please?" Begged Luffy as he giggled softly, his body leaning in for more of the cook's rare affection. Sanji sure was in a good mood today.
"Of course... Luffy-kun," Sanji reached out and grabbed another piece of meat, lifting it up for Luffy to take in his mouth. "Well... Are you pleased?"
"Mhm," Luffy nodded, chewing with delight, "Sanji always pleases me."
Trafalgar shot to his feet, his fists clenching tight at his sides as he began to stomp quietly to the back exit. Everyone in the room seemed to notice except Luffy who was too busy requesting food to care about anything else at the moment. Once the Heart pirate successfully left the room, Sanji released most of his grip from his captain and turned around to hold a palm to his face. He laughed, chuckling into his hand as anticipation pounded within his heart.
"Hu?" Luffy raised a confused eyebrow at him, "Why are you laughing?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Sanji blindly reached out to grab another serving for his utterly spineless captain, "I just saw something funny is all."
"Eh? What was it? How come I didn't see?" Luffy asked and searched around for the source of this unseen humor.
Sanji took in a deep breath and shook his head at the counter. This was insane. It was just too good. He breathed in and went to light a cigarette, his smirk refusing to falter as he said, "It's too late now. You already missed it." Not that he would understand even if he had seen it.
...
Next was Zoro who wasn't as keen on teasing their sketchy alliance partner- at least not until he witnessed what happened in the kitchen. Now that was funny. Looks like this Law guy really did have the hots for their captain. And who was he not to play ball?
One afternoon when he finally discovered the perfect setup, Zoro slipped his entire robe off thus leaving the upper part of his body bare. "Luffy," He hollered casually while stretching out his arms, "Come help me out for a moment, will ya?"
"Hm?" Luffy, who hadn't been having any luck whatsoever trying to fish, tilted his head back and blinked curiously at his swordsman, "Help you?"
"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Zoro popped his neck, a malicious smirk attempting to tug at his lips when he noticed the darkest man on deck gazing up from his book. Perfect.
Shrugging, Luffy gathered up his pole, set it down against the rails, and wandered over to his swordsman, "Something wrong, Zoro?"
"Remember that training we tried out last week?" Zoro asked, gazing down at his captain expectantly. Every weight, barbell and compress they owned he could lift with ease. Hell, if he wanted to he could probably move the Sunny itself, but that wasn't efficient training. Having gotten stronger and far too used to their current weights, Zoro and his captain had discovered a solution for him to be able to work out, and... Let's just say it was a rather creative routine. They had promised to only do it in the crows nest, but Zoro had already decided that this was far too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"The haki training? Yeah, I remember. Why? Is that what you need help with?" Luffy fluttered his lashes and watched as his swordsman got to his hands and knees before him.
"If my posture isn't good enough, then yeah," Zoro huffed, holding himself in the position of a pushup. "Hurry up, will ya?" They didn't have much time before Trafalgar found something better to do.
"Yosh," Luffy agreed and went to get into position.
Trafalgar had been fully enraptured in his book, practically oblivious to the entire deck until fate flipped the pages for him when one glance upwards bombarded his brain with the image of Luffy straddling the back side of Zoro. The gasp he tried to utter on instinct choked him, and he coughed horrendously with reddening eyes, his book falling to the ground beside him. What the hell were those two doing? He breathed steadily, his eyes watering from the rough stinging in his throat as he forced himself to look upwards.
Zoro was on the ground in the position of a pushup with Luffy straddling his waist from on top. Both men seemed focused and intent. Luffy's grin was challenging and hungry as he leaned forward, his chest pressing against Zoro's equally bare back until all of his weight was strung out on top of him. He reached down, his hands coating themselves with armament haki and wrapping around the swordsman's forearms. "Yosh," He nodded, his chin resting against Zoro's shoulder.
Trafalgar's mouth was hung open in pure disaster, his eyebrows twitching with horror. What in the hell were those two doing? Why were they pressing themselves together like that? What was going on?
It wasn't until Zoro lowered himself to the ground that Luffy raised his feet and legs and somewhat wrapped them around the swordsman's thighs before applying them with armament haki as well. Once that was finished, Zoro pushed himself back up, the resistance from Luffy's strength the weight he had to fight. One had to admit, it was a very strategic training exercise. Luffy was their strongest crew mate, so why not take advantage of that?
Envious facts aside, there was no denying just how compromising and lewd the position was; the placement of Luffy's legs and hips pressed firmly against the back of Zoros, their bodies half bare and glistening with sweat and just so tightly pressed together- muscles flexing, tightening and moving. At times Zoro would angle his pushups wrong and cause his hips to lift more than his shoulders did, and that- that was just too far.
Trafalgar, blindly picking up his book, tried to distract himself with reading, but the scene was just so bold and happening right before his very eyes. Luffy's face was crossed with focus and determination. Much was the same with the swordsman beneath him who grunted and huffed while fighting against his captain's superior strength. The way their hips pressed together and how their limbs were intertwined made Trafalgar imagine.... Abort! The twitching is coming. Abort, abort, abort!
Trafalgar didn't even waste time trying to walk away unnoticed. As soon as he got his current belongings gathered, he rose his fingers and said with strict panic, "Shambles."
And in the Heart Pirate's former place sat a toothbrush from the men's restroom.
Whenever Zoro noticed, he couldn't hold it in and collapsed to his stomach, breathing fast and chuckling into his arms. "What? Are we done training?" Asked Luffy who softened his haki and sat upwards on the swordman's back, his face twisting in confusion, "Why are you laughing?"
Zoro couldn't believe that it was this easy. He grinned, his cheeks throbbing from the pressure of his thoroughly worked muscles. He'd be the first person to admit that the training between him and his captain was two inches shy of the word "intimate", but all it was was literally just training. But to witness your crush in said intimate setting? Apparently it was enough to send a man to the restroom.
Zoro sighed and shook his head. If only Luffy knew. "I'm fine now," He pushed himself back into position, a victorious smirk never once leaving his face, "Let's go again."
"Yosh!"
...
Adding to the mix was Usopp and Chopper who began sleeping with Luffy almost every single night, the three of them constantly strung out on top of one another. During the day, Chopper would sit in his captain's lap at times and play games. Usopp was always finding reasons to sling his arm around his shoulder and pull him close, the two of them dancing to the delightful tune of Brook's music. Franky was among the most cruel for whenever he noticed his captain engaged with the Heart pirate, he would swoop in, tell him about something exciting and then steal him away to go show him, leaving Trafalgar in the dust of jealousy.
But the real geniuses out of this entire shenanigan were none other than Robin and Nami.
"Hey Luffy," Nami smirked at her captain who was snacking on some left over food at the dinner table, "Come with me. I wanna show you something."
"What?" Luffy groaned in dejection, "Can't it wait? Sanji hasn't brought out desert yet."
"Oh, quit whining," Nami grumbled, her fingers reaching out to pinch her captain's rubber cheek and tug, "Let's go."
"Ounch..." Luffy babbled awkwardly as he was dragged to the women's side of the ship. "Where you taking me?"
"I told you, we have something to show you," Nami let go of his cheek and opened the door to her and Robin's bedroom.
Luffy was unbearably confused, his brows wiggling upwards as if the questions were literally bouncing right off his forehead. "Come on," Nami yanked on his arm.
"Oi-ah!" Luffy stumbled into the room, his feet nearly losing balance.
Nami shut the door behind her, locked it, and pressed her fingers together in an almost evil manner. "Let's do this, Robin," She smirked, gazing to her partner in crime.
"Of course," Robin smiled gently and went to retrieve the set of clothing from off her bed.
"Luffy," Nami suddenly said in a sharp tone, her finger pointing to the bathroom, "I'm gonna need you to strip."
Luffy could only gape at her, "Whaaaa?"
It was thirty minutes into desert. Brook was playing some gentle violin music while Sanji cleaned dishes and Usopp and Franky filled the quiet atmosphere of the table with cheery, exaggerated stories. Zoro and Trafalgar sat across from one another, both their minds on the same person but for different reasons. Many of them couldn't keep a straight face, especially Chopper who had to hide underneath the table in order of suppressing his dire giggles. Sanji paused on his dishes and lit a cigarette. No one could focus on a single thing at a time.
It was strange to Trafalgar. Too strange. He began to get antsy, casually shifting in his seat from time to time, his eyes risking glances at the doors. Where was Luffy? What were these morons up to? He growled lowly to himself, overly frustrated.
Just as the Heart pirate was about to demand who poisoned his food, the door to the far side of the room swung open and captured literally everyone's attention probably a little too quickly. "Sorry about the wait, you guys," Hollered Nami cheerfully, "We had a little bit of trouble figuring stuff out. Sanji-San, is the desert still good?"
"Always for you, Nami-swan," Sanji winked, his cheeks glowing pink.
"That's great," Nami led the way into the kitchen.
"Finally!" Luffy cheered, scrambling his way past both women so that he could approach the table, and what they saw had mouths' falling open in pure awe.
Trafalgar was stunned, his eyes blown wide as he examined the new sights of his alliance partner. Luffy was wearing a completely different outfit- utterly foreign compared to what he usually wore. Covering the full extent of his legs was a pair of black, fancy, waist hugging pants with an arrangement of golden buttons on the front and sides. It hugged Luffy's slim figure well, the top of it covering half his stomach. And tucked into the waistband of those striking pants was a silky, milky white shirt that, at first glance, could easily be mistaken for a woman's shirt. It was loose on Luffy's arms but cuffed tight at his wrists, the material flowing beautifully with every step he took. On the front the shirt was slanted downwards in a V shape, strands of braided string holding it together on the inner sides. Lastly, one of the most stunning things yet, was Luffy's hair. It was combed and slicked back, exposing the full view of his bright, endlessly smiling face.
Was this real? Trafalgar gaped, his cheeks burning a pleasant, warm pink as he admired the Mugiwara captain even as he stopped at the table and began stuffing his mouth full with sweet treats. No matter what he wore, Luffy would always be handsome, strong and, above all, adorable, but to see him wearing something so different from that which he normally wore- It did something to him, made his chest throb and body hot. He never wanted to look away or close his eyes.
"Torao?" Robin's kind voice broke the ice, "Is there something you'd like to say to Luffy?"
"Hm?" At the sound of his name, Luffy turned his head, his cheeks smeared with frosting as he looked Trafalgar in the eyes.
God, those eyes. That face. With Luffy's hair slicked back like that, it was impossible not to get lost in that beautiful, adorable, cute, stupid face. Trafalgar inhaled almost shakily, the pressure from eight other sets of eyes driving him to the brink of insanity. It was too much. Seeing Luffy like this and feeling this way but yet completely hopeless against saying anything because they were surrounded by annoying morons and... And... And he just couldn't take it.
"What's wrong, Torao?" Luffy asked while absently licking his sticky fingers clean.
Yeah-no. He was out. Bye, bye. The speed in which Trafalgar traded himself for a book was inevitable.
"What?" Luffy gaped in confusion and looked around, "Where'd he go?"
Nami was the first to begin laughing, but soon the entire room was laughing except for their still oblivious captain who seemed more confused than ever before. "Oi? Come on, you guys, what's so funny?" He seriously didn't understand. This was weird.
"Luffy," Nami wiped her eyes and placed a hand on her captain's shoulder, "I really think you should go talk to him."
"Why?" Luffy wondered what could be the problem, "Is he okay?"
"There's something he needs to tell you," Nami merely nodded at him and patted his arm, "Just go find him and you'll see."
Luffy gave her a skeptical look but agreed anyway.
Within thirty minutes of searching he was able to locate him in the far end of the library. "Torao?" He asked, walking closer.
"What do you want, Mugiwara-ya?" Came the tired, quiet response. Trafalgar's head didn't even lift from where it leaned against the chair he sat in, his attention seemingly put into the book in his lap.
"Nami said you had something you wanted to say to me," Luffy stated, getting straight to the point as he came to a stop beside the darkly dressed man, "What is it?"
He was going to kill them. All of them. Dissect them right down to the nearest centimeter. They'd be scattered like ship wreck rubble for miles. Trafalgar glared down at his book, his fingers gripping the fabric of his jacket tightly. "Curse them," He hissed through clenched teeth.
"What?" Luffy tilted his head at him, his hands on his hips as he bent down, obviously trying to gain eye contact. "Oi, what's wrong, Torao?"
"Nothing that concerns you," Trafalgar mumbled, shrugging his head away, "I'm fine."
"Mmm," Luffy wasn't happy with that answer; it had him crossing his arms and tapping his bare foot with slight impatience, "Nami said you had something to tell me, and I'm not leaving until you do."
"Uh?" Trafalgar gasped, a growl erupting from his throat shortly after, and he was tearing himself out of the chair so that he could face the Mugiwara captain, "I told you, I have nothing to say."
"Torao," Luffy looked at him deeply, his expression somehow both reassuring and serious at the same time, "Tell me."
Trafalgar's eyes skimmed over that beautiful face, those soft, adorable lips, those dark, wide eyes, and that wonderfully boopable nose. Ugh. He blushed, his head tilting away as his hands shook at his sides. Damn this crew. They were so going to get it. "I..." But since they were alone now and Luffy knew something was up, he might as well try, "I've been meaning to tell you... Luffy-ya... I... I kind of... Like you."
"Hm?" Luffy kinked a confused brow at him, "Like me? But we're friends. You're supposed to like me."
"Not like that, you idiot, I-" Trafalgar sighed, his cheeks burning with humiliation as he shook his head. Man this was embarrassing. "I like you more than that... I-it's complicated."
"Oh," Suddenly Luffy's voice became soft as well as his expression. His shoulders visibly relaxed and he took a moment to think. "Shi... Shishi," He giggled, his cheeks also becoming tamed by pink, "Why didn't you just say so? Shishi, I like you too, Torao."
At the sensation of a rubber hand pressing against his own, Trafalgar twitched and turned his focus back to that adorable, beautiful face and sunshine smile. Was what was happening right now actually real? He blinked, his own expression softening as he squeezed those dainty fingers back. Slowly they began to move closer to one another; Luffy filled with laughter and joy while Trafalgar brewed with relief and vengeance.
"Luffy-ya," Trafalgar said, pulling the Mugiwara captain into his arms, "I'm going to massacre your crew."