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Briefly skimming through some pages of a novel you'd been reading, at last you set it aside, failing to find the page you stopped reading on the previous reading session, thanks to the lack of some kind of bookmark. The ocean breeze combed through your hair slightly, the familiar scent returning once more. At this point the ocean was your home, having been traveling with the Straw Hats for what felt like decades. In reality it'd probably been around 2 weeks, but time seemed to go much slower among their company, especially when you guys were in the midst of serious plots and plans.
It was mid-day currently, you found refuge upon the upper deck of the Thousand Sunny, sitting solemnly at a little table. Setting the book to your side, you picked up your glass of water, swirling the glimmering liquid around in the glass cup. The reflection of the sun onto the water was pretty blinding, losing your thirst you laid the glass back on its original coaster. It seemed so oddly quiet this evening. Everyone did indeed have their own things in mind, keeping to their hobbies or training, it left you feeling a bit stranded. Not to say you didn't have any hobbies of your own, today just wasn't exactly your day for any creative work. If anything at all, right now you missed a very specific, iconic smile.
A rather loud thud was heard suddenly, seemingly coming from your right. "Oi! Get off, Luffy!" Franky's voice was heard from afar, peering over, it looked to be the wondrous Luffy was at it once again, being his notorious self. He was clinging onto a barrel of what was mostly likely to be Cola, that smile you'd been longing to see again painted his face as you had wished it would. You couldn't help but smile a bit yourself, Luffy was truly a large ray of sunshine for you and for many, even though he probably didn't recognize it. Daring to say even, someday's he'd keep you 'alive' in a sense, more of keeping your spirit in tact with reality, demonstrating that you can indeed be happy in a world as cruel as the one you live day-to-day in. Luffy snapped out of whatever in the hell he was thinking, staring your direction now.
"Aah! ____!!" he called out, flashing you that blinding smile you oh-so loved. Raising his left arm up, he vigorously waved. Out of the blue, shifting the weight of his feet, he stood with one leg in front of the other, slinging his arm back and grabbing on to the railing of the deck closest to you. It didn't take long, neither did it come as a surprise, he 'landed' with a large SMACK. A faint little "aa.." escaped his lips, jumping up now to see the most definitely unnecessary damage to the poor Sunny. Realizing his screw up, he automatically called out to Franky. "Yoo-! Franky!" the look on Franky's face was priceless, he'd actually just done recent repairs on that side of the deck. He sighed, practically paying no mind and jumping down into the lower rooms of the Sunny to place barrels of Cola accordingly, somewhere in one of the many vast storage areas spread around. Now, it was just you two present.
"Ahaah! Oops!" he chuckled as he really took in the whole mess he caused. Placing his hands on his hips, he turned around to give you his 'undivided' attention. Ignoring the fact his attention span is no larger than an ants (unless it's to do with meat), he pulled up the second sun chair resting by the table you had set out. He looked out to the sea as you'd been a minute ago, then looked at you. Your head was tilted downwards. Did you even notice the small frown you were putting off? Supposedly not, though Luffy was quick enough to ask what's up with you. Luffy isn't exactly the most perceptive person in the entire grand world, so it caught you off guard enough for you to actually look at him. In fact.. today you felt a little sad, if that was the right way to put it. No real reason in particular. You were perfectly content with your choice of making way with Luffy's crew, but you just felt quite out of the mix.
"____, what's up with you?" Luffy frowned with you, batting his eyes in most genuine confusion. Maybe had he.. accidentally taken your share of meat? Oh dear. That couldn't be good. Or maybe it was something much more complicated.. perhaps.. you hadn't eaten today yet? What is one to do without a daily abundance of meat?? That's just some form of sacrilege, now isn't it?
"Dunno, Luff. I just don't really feel like me today."
"aah.." he tried to sound acknowledging, as if he had any idea what you were talking about. He tapped his hands up and down on his knees, impatient but trying his best to be comforting. Luffy's idea of 'comforting', that is.
Putting on what could be your best attitude for today, you pressed a smile and offered up an idea for the two of you. "Luff, wanna fish with me?" His face totally lit up. No, in fact he had 'lit up' so much he jumped up and absolutely obliterated the umbrella that was shading you from the harsh sun. I mean. It flew. It must've become one with the stars in the sky or something. It was gone. No doubt.
"Awah..?" Luffy casually looked over, as if he didn't just catapult a mere sun umbrella into the vast open sky. He quietly coughed out a giggle for a second, and then full-out starting laughing. Apparently it was funny. Actually, it was. You laughed respectfully alongside him.
"C'mon, Luff! Go grab the fishing rods for me, will ya?" you spoke, standing up and making way down to the lower part of the deck. At this rate you'll forget about your troubles for the day, this silly boy really knows how to make you feel better, especially when he doesn't try. The purest version of himself, is.. well, himself. He makes everything else seem so pure too.
After quite a bit of banging and clashing noises coming from one of the Sunny's storage rooms, Luffy returned with fishing equipment. A box of fish bait, and of course fishing rods. He'd gone as far to change his shirt too, it had a shark on it. "Ahahha!! Maybe, if I wear a fish shirt! The fish will think I'm one too! Then we can trick them! Easy catch!" he couldn't stop giggling at his own given thought. Both of you sat on the railing, legs swaying back and forth waiting for a good catch. It'll probably take awhile, but the weather right now was extremely practical for fishing, so it should be fine!
Or. Not? Luffy was so bored he dug in the box of fish bait, there was a few different kinds, but he had chosen one that looked to be some kind of ball of meat (?) He had zero hesitation absolutely chowing down on that stuff like it was some casual snack. Subconsciously wide-eyed staring at him, soon meeting eye contact, you both began laughing in unison. This boy, is a lot to manage.
Shadows pool in the ocean water, letting the secret of some fishes presence out. "Owahh!!! I'm gonna get that one ____!" he looked over to you, then sharply down at the shadow, squinting his eyes as he focused on the position of the fishing rod. He was so painfully adorable when he was focused on something, albeit, something not life or death related. Right now, moments like this, were the moments you wanted nothing more than to bask in as this condensed ray of sunshine, crafted carefully into human form, and gifted the name of Luffy sat beside you and distracted you from the world. Or, not even that, it was more of he helped you see everything in a different light, a vastly different perspective. A glimpse into the universe he saw through those ever loving eyes was priceless, to you if not most people that came across Luffy. Not everyone was lucky enough, in actuality it was the majority of the time you, who got his attention. It was questionable, since his interests shift from place to place based off of many things, but in the end it seemed he was always with you. So much so, on good days he'd share miniature bites of his share of meat with you. Lucky you! Seriously.
"wwWWOAHHHH!!!!!!" Luffy was wide eyed, jaw dropped as he managed to pull out that shadow of a fish. It was.. a very large fish. It looked really odd. It was probably out for blood, that wouldn't be surprising. Apparently that thought was rather accurate as the fish creature began viciously snapping it's jaw at Luffy. It really had some sharp teeth to show. Luffy couldn't be more unbothered as he started hysterically laughing at the fish thing's failed attempts to land a bite or two. Luffy swung the pole back, using his brute strength, it landed on the deck with a harsh BAM, and began violently flopping around.
Luffy stood there, incredibly proud pose on display as he looked at this thing struggle. Half to bite Luffy and other than that, escape from it's inevitable doom. Maybe.. not so inevitable though? As it had caught Luffy in its mouth for real this time around. Nothing new.
It didn't take long for Luffy to escape it's 'hold' or whatever that was supposed to be. By now it was for sure dead. Thank you for being Luffy's meal, creepy fish thing. You will, indeed be forgotten. Definitely. It didn't take long for Luffy to call Sanji over to cook it. It was a fine afternoon spent, fishing, and watching a cutely proud Luffy eat his chunks of fish meat. He swung his legs around in his seat and told everyone who gathered around for a late lunch about the fish. He really was something.
後日（some day later) around 17:00~ish
A nice sunset was on the horizon of the sea, current word out was you guys were getting closer to the anticipated destination. Whatever kind of island you were close to must be of the winter season, suddenly things got super cold. There wasn't any snow or anything though, everything was clear, just really chilly. Walking out of Chopper's dedicated doctor's office came Luffy, wearing a particular red hoodie you rarely got to see. You couldn't deny how cute he looked in it.
"Ahah! ____! Aren't you cold?" he jumped down from the upper part of the deck, landing on his feet. He had most calmly asked if you were cold, with sandals on. Sandals. Not to mention shorts. Only thing that was considerably 'warm-er clothing' was his sweatshirt. Luffy just really is, something else indeed.
"What're you doin'?" giggling through his words, he looked down at you. Actually, what the hell were you doing, exactly? Comfortably laid out on the grassy part of the Sunny, you were staring up into the night sky just barley becoming visible, showcasing all the beautiful stars you liked. Luffy sat criss-cross applesauce beside you, looked over, and then scooted forward a bit to lay down too. Crossing his hands on his stomach, his gaze switched between your eyes looking up, and the sky trying to see if there was anything in particular you were looking at, or for. Maybe there was a gigantic piece of flying meat with his name on it! There's no way he was going to pass up that chance.
"Oh! Sorry Luffy, I kinda got distracted," now out of whatever kind of hypnotization you were stuck in, you this time looked over to Luffy. "I'm just lookin' at the stars!"
Luffy raised an eyebrow in your direction. "Stars..?" he questioned, looking back to the only now darkening sky.
"pppfftHAHAA! They're not even out yet!!" he found it hilarious. In his perspective, why were you wasting precious time when you could be feasting on delicious meat? Maybe even share a portion with him? Now that's quality time. (He doesn't understand much out of his own interests or personal thoughts.)
A cold breeze out of the blue wavered by, taking you by surprise. You raised your arms to cover your sides, you were wearing a long sleeve shirt but that breeze really hit. "Uwaah! Man that was cold! Hahahaah!" Luffy shivered a bit himself. "I think you'll live, Luff," you sarcastically sighed out. Turning your attention to the night sky that was much more visible now, you took note of a constellation coming into better view.
Raising your right arm, pointing to the sky you asked, "Luffy! See those stars right there? Do you recognize them?" You knew he didn't, but asked anyway.
"Hmmm.. mmmm.. mmmnn.. mmmnnnnnnnnn...." fingers upon his chin he tried thinking really hard. "Nah!" he smiled brightly. A little chuckle escaped through your lips, seeing him laugh made you laugh a lot of the time too. His laughing was very contagious.
"OOOH!! ____!! Look at that one!!" as the sky was much deeper blue by now, rapidly forming into the wide night sky, Luffy seemed to recognize something. "Pffft-hahahahah!! It looks like meat!!" he smiled whilst laughing so hard he could barley see, he was so proud of himself right now to had made that out. "Oh? Where at?" he stopped his laughing fit as much as he could, still giggling he pointed to the sky with his left arm, the one closest to you. "That one!!" he choked on a chuckle through his words.
Since your POV was different than his, you pointed up with your right arm again trying to shape out physically what he was looking at and ask if you were looking at it the right way. Doing so, your hand bumped into his own, as he was still proudly giggling, pointing at his discovery. The sudden temperature difference between your guy's two hands sent immediate chills down your arm and soon enough your spine, his hand was so oddly.. warm. Or maybe not so odd, it seems you were just really, really cold. Even though you were wearing clothes that basically fully covered your body, you were still dramatically colder than him (at least his hand). His laughs ceased and that smile quickly molded into a pouty frown. Furrowing his eyebrows in almost a childish manner, he looked you right in the eye (literally), snatching your hand that was pointed upwards in a similar manner to his. "What're you doing ____? You're so cold." his words only furthered his frown, now tightly grasping your hand in an attempt to transfer some warmth.
Pulling your hand out of his grasp and shifting your weight to your arms, you lifted yourself to sit up properly to escape the sudden contact. Feeling your hand that had been held by Luffy's own with your opposite hand, just from that alone you could feel the temperature difference once more. He didn't even hold it long enough for it to be that warm anyway. Maybe he's just really warm somehow? The only warm article of clothing he was wearing was that red sweatshirt, but it is Luffy after all, he's always been different in the best way possible. Usually.
"Dang.. I didn't even notice how cold I am.." your words trailed off as Luffy sat up himself. Your hand that was atop the other one was grabbed swiftly similarly to how the other one had been, Luffy now looked.. pretty mad. Not in a sense he was actually mad, or upset. He was just concerned. How endearing.
"____, you gotta wear a jacket or something! I should call you 冷ややか(chilly) now."
Letting go of your hand he had been holding tightly to transfer some warmth, he moved to take off.. his own sweatshirt..? And he did, over his head, then pushing it bluntly into your arms. "Luffy..?"
He wasn't wearing anything warm but this sweatshirt, in concern you tried lightly pushing it back into Luffy's grasp as a sign of 'this isn't something I should take' kind of move, but it came out to be useless as he seriously, really pushed this time, at such a degree you were pushed harshly onto your side. "Owah! Sorry ____!! Or, no- I mean, 冷ややか!!" He wasn't going to let that nickname go today. More importantly that was going to leave a bruise or two. Having to use so much insane, other-worldly strength in battle meant trouble understanding basic normal strength for Luffy. You weren't mad, just caught off guard.
Luffy pulled you back up with ease, brushing off the blades of grass that had stuck to your forearm and shoulder. "'Kay," he wiped off his hands on his jean shorts, "now, put it on." With a stern gaze, you knew he wasn't going to let up. Oh well. You slipped the sweatshirt on, it was a little big but that was all the more better. It was even big on Luffy as well, but it was so cute you didn't ever dare to tell him. He'd probably take it in the wrong sense and think he needs to 'fix' it. Getting visibly comfortable in the new found clothing, Luffy smiled at you once more. "There ya go!"
He stood up, beginning to walk away towards the kitchen. "Luffy? Where're you going?" You knew exactly where he was going, just asking to put the sudden act of affection at ease. That was extremely odd for Luffy any day of the week, so it was really off putting. Not in a bad way, neither to say it was unwelcome, just new. Decently new.
"'M goin' to the kitchen!" He said it so casually, as if he wasn't going to get in trouble for being in there when Sanji wasn't present. "Luffy." you gave him a playful stern look of your own, your emotion in the way you said his name doing all the talking.
"Yeah I know! But..! it's fine! Mmm..." lost in thought, he came up with a plan of sorts. "OOoo!!! ____!! Come with me!! We'll sneak in together!!" The cute mischievous look drew you in, there's no way you could say no. Plus, more time spent with Luffy! It couldn't be... too.. bad. Yeah!
Pressure on your legs standing up, you make way with Luffy to the kitchen. Who knows what'll happen this time around.
"Alright, lets go!"
Time well spent, for sure.