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The night is cold, freezing almost. You were near a winter island, and the temperature and snow reflected that. You had been a part of the Straw Hats for a while now, but most of the places have been warm enough. You should have trusted Nami, getting more winter clothes, but as someone who grew up on a summer island, you didn’t think it would be nearly this bad.
Saying you were underprepared was an understatement, you had no true winter clothes, mostly just a few sweaters. This means you were left with just mooching off your crewmates to avoid dying from the cold. You were currently borrowing from Luffy, he was about your size, and the length was extremely appealing to you.
You were currently on watch and had been for a while. You walked the deck, barely staying still to help keep your blood moving. You took a moment, looking out the front of the ship into the distance. This was a big mistake, you were about to go back to walking the deck, however, it was starting to feel like your bones were frozen. You blew on your hands, watching your breath, rubbing them together, at about that time you felt someone approach behind you, reaching around to hold your hands.
You jolt a bit, however when you turn all you see is Luffy, smile bright as ever. You sigh, worried for a moment the second you took a break that something happened. He nuzzled into your neck when you relaxed into his touch. “Looks like you need help keeping warm,” he said nuzzling closer, seeing the warmth of your body under the coat you had on.
You smile, looking down at your hands, moving your fingers apart so he can slide his fingers between the cracks. You were about to thank him, but as you opened your mouth, he let go of you. You looked at your hands, it felt empty and cold. He chuckled, now obviously up to something, the look in his eyes as he sized you up told you that you should hold back any thanks you had.
You give Luffy a confused look, as he crouches close to the ground. This only confused you more, looking down at the man below you. You were about to take a step back as he grabbed the hem of the coat. He pulled it closer, then tried to force his way up inside with you.
“Hey wait! This is a coat for one, not whatever this is!”
By the time you finished yelling at you, he managed to make himself fit, barely. He couldn’t fit his head through the neck and didn’t think ahead to undo the top of the coat. This left you looking down at his smiling face squished against your chest. A hissy chuckle escaped him, clearly unbothered by any of this. His arms wrapped around your waist, wiggling, attempting to get a bit more comfortable. The coat went from slightly big, to uncomfortably tight.
“ahhhh, much better! You know, you’re much warmer than you looked.”
He nuzzled in closer, getting an annoyed response from you.
“I could have come inside if you asked. I would have just given you the coat back.”
He looked up at you, eyes innocent as ever “Nah, I think I like this better, now if only”
The biggest shit eating grin you have seen crossed his face. You instantly grew worried, how could he make this worse than it already was? He kicked off the ground wrapping his legs around
You under the coat. You let out a shrill as his freezing legs and feet enter the only warm sanctum you had. Luffy laughs loudly, you struggling to not topple over into the snow.
Luffy was always a bit clingy with everyone, but you have noticed he was more with you than most people. The Capin was loving with everyone, however the last few weeks he had become almost inseparable from you in particular. You didn't notice at first, but even Nami brought it up, that he was almost always seen around you lately. He would sit next to you at meals, take naps with you on the deck, and always come running to hug you the moment you came into view. This was all cute, but alone time became more of a dream, and now even on watch, he made this time for the both of you.
You grasp the edge of the railing, Luffy laughing, hanging on like an animal to your now ridged body. You move part of the coat to see your overjoyed captain, proud of what he has done to you.
“hehe, you're not just pretty, but also warm and soft!” He exclaimed with full confidence.
You feel the heat rising to your face, your heart starting to pick up as his words ring in your head. “I-” he is quick to cut you off before you can get another word out
“Are you feeling, ok? Your heart is going crazy, and you got really red.”
You wanted to hide your face, push him away then just curl into a ball. He was so close to your chest you couldn’t hide it, good thing he wasn’t super bright, otherwise he would absolutely be bringing it up!
You wanted to fight him off you, crawl away in bed, and just die of embarrassment, but you were in a sticky position. You couldn’t fight him much, the coat was so tight your arms hurt to move, and your oh so happy captain was tightly wound against your body. You were only left looking away from him, beet red pouting at his behavior.
He looked at you curiously and slowly stretched his arms up your back. Your body was instantly covered in goosebumps as you felt his cold hands clump up the back of your shirt. He popped his hands out of the back with a bit of resistance from the tight fabric. His hands reach up to your face, moving you to look down at him. He wanted you to look at him, the blush on your skin looked cut to him, regardless of the cause.
“no fun! It’s not fun when you pull away!” he said loudly in protest
You sigh ‘How could I pull away when you are attached to me” you thought
You decided you had been tormented enough, attempting to push him out of the coat you shared. “Luffy, please” you groaned, trying to forcefully push him away
He unwrapped his legs from you, standing up, making you wince again at the overly stretched-out coat that was supposed to be only for one.
“Your watch is done now,” he said climbing out from under the coat.
You were free now, rolling your shoulders to help with some of the pain that built up in your shoulders.
“I still have watch; I wouldn’t want to leave Sanji alone to keep an eye on things”
He grabbed you in a hug, lifting you off the ground with ease. You looked down, shocked as he started to walk away with you.
“Hey! Luffy, are you even listening to me?”
“Yep! You said Sanji has an eye on things!” he said happily
That was absolutely the opposite of what you meant. Yes, he was watching, but the Sunny was a big ship.
He walked you both inside, and he put you down, flicking his legs to kick off the snow gathered on his feet. You will never understand why he still wears those sandals even if this snows.
“You’re driving me crazy,” you said looking at your captain, still looking down at his freezing feet
“A good crazy?” he said looking back with a smile
‘What do you mean a good crazy? You said, tilting your head to the side, looking at him confused.
Luffy walked closer, and without thinking you backed away, making room for whatever mission he was on. Before you knew it you backed into the wall, him looking down at you. You looked off to the side, breaking the intense eye contact you had with him.
“hehe, looks like we found the wall” you chucked out nervously. He had never been so bold with you before; you didn’t know what to make of it.
He was serious, and you felt like his eyes were eating you alive. Luffy placed his hand on your cheek moving your head, forcing you to look over at him. He softened up, giving you a small smile. You noticed that even with his smile he was more serious than when he was climbing you outside.
His hands are cold against your warm face, you subconsciously nuzzle into his hand soothing your flushed face.
“I was talking with Robin, and she pointed out a few things that I hadn't realized. I think I might like you more than just a crew member. I want to be with you always and want to touch you. She said she thinks I might love you, and she said it wasn’t like how I loved them”
You stared at him, noticing the blush that creeped up his face as he examined you, seeking out a reaction he desired. You couldn’t take looking at his flustered face anymore, adverting your eyes while still facing him, seeking anything in the hallway to look at, anything besides Luffy’s face. You knew the two of you were close, but he was with everyone despite how he made you feel.
Yeah, you liked Luffy, but you had already moved past the crush you had. He was now here, confessing? He seemed confused by his feelings, yet here he was, attempting to tell you of his love. You were uncomfortable, he could have tried to do this anyway, any other time. He had no sense of time or digression, and you were far too stunned to do anything about this.
Luffy moved forward, his other hand now moving up to your side, lightly gripping your waist, the other still on your face.
“Say something, please don’t stay silent,” he said, hints of sadness and desperation in his voice. Luffy had been told no before, sure, but never had his heartbroken trying to confess his feelings. He hadn’t felt this way for anyone before.
“Luffy, I don’t know what to say that is the problem. I wasn’t expecting this, you are putting a lot on me all at once, while expecting a response right now.” You said, hands shaking and heart going haywire from nerves still unable to look Luffy in the eyes.
His hand leaves your face, pulling away. He finally gives you a moment to catch your breath.
“Okay, I understand” He takes a few steps back, looking at you disheveled against the wall. Your breath is heavy and shaking slightly.
“Luffy, I’m S-”
“Don’t be! I understand!” He smiled brightly. Luffy is hurt, but just figuring everything out for himself, and while you might have recoiled from him a bit, he still has you in his life, and this is enough for him.
You watched Luffy walk away from you, back to his room, leaving you confused and hurting yourself.
You walk to the kitchen, head spinning to grab a cup of hot tea when you see Sanji. He was getting a drink himself before returning to watch. He already had himself a cup, and the second cup catches your eye. He heard everything that just went down outside.
“You look like a mess,” he said handing you the second cup of tea.
You looked at him sharply, rubbing the stress on your forehead “Thanks, I needed that”
He chuckled, putting the cup in your hand “The statement about your appearance, or the tea?”
“Both, but mostly the tea,” you said with a soft smile taking a sip of your tea. “Sanji, what would you do if someone you once had feelings for suddenly started showing you interest?”
He raised an eyebrow “If Nami-Swan said she loved me, I would be overjoyed, I don’t think I could ever give up on a girl as stunning as her! ~”
‘Pointless’ you thought taking another drink of your tea, giving him a look “Thanks, you’re a wealth of wisdom.”
He put his now empty cup down in the sink and walked to the door. “Don’t overthink it, I don’t want to see wrinkles on your gorgeous skin” he said softly before shutting the door, leaving you alone with a cup of tea and your thoughts.
____
Two days have passed since he confessed his feelings for you. Luffy has taken a few steps back compared to before. He still touched you, and hugged you like the rest of the crew; however, he certainly wasn’t like your shadow anymore.
The day after you understood, he was within his rights to want to stay away from you. This day he barely even looked at you, he talked to you when needed, but otherwise he barely even stayed long in the same room as you. You turned his feelings down, and now you were suffering with the consequences of that while he figured everything out.
The second day he came around you more, he would stay around you, not leaving shortly after you arrived. Luffy even hugged you early in the day. You were talking with Nami about the weather upcoming island. He launched himself around the corner, hugging both you and Nami together. You missed his warmth and smile, but it was short lived as Nami hit him for about knocking the two of you over with his reckless behavior on the icy deck. The captain just laughed, running over to Zoro, and jumping into his arms. You grew hot, annoyed, and flustered at this act. The first time he came at you in two days he was hit for, then moved on so fast to someone else. You were jealous of Zoro, jealous of the attention the captain was giving him instead of you.
You are now officially on day 3, with minimal interaction from your captain, and it was horrible. You were being eaten alive by this and had started getting snippy with the rest of the crew. Luffy never ignored you, coming anytime you asked, but is quicker, while before he would force conversations, touching you the whole time.
You were almost on the island and knew the moment you landed you would lose your opportunity to talk with him. You didn’t know before, however you do now. You strongly miss his lack of touch, his smile, and his love. You regret pushing him away, you wish you could have told him you felt the same.
You had spent the night before trying to get Luffy alone but were embarrassed to ask someone for help. Whenever you would find him, he was always with someone else. You think at about the 6th time seeing him alone with Usopp you were about to strangle him for something he knew nothing about.
You had given up on this game, deciding to seek him out the next morning. Luffy was still in his room for the morning, and this was the perfect opportunity to catch him for a talk.
You knock on the door, waiting for an invitation to come in, however, it never comes. You crack open the door to see him bundled up, out cold still. You might have come a bit early, but you weren’t about to wait for him to get up on his own.
You slowly enter his room, sitting next to his bed, looking over at your sleeping captain, drool leaving his mouth as he snores. You reach over, poking his cheek
“Luffy, wake up, we need to talk,” you say in almost a whisper as he twitches.
He cracked his eye slightly, barely even awake but enough for him to see the disturbance. He wrinkled his nose, closing his eyes again. His arms reach over to you and drag you into the bed from under your arms.
“Hey Luffy!” You yell out at him, only for him to wrap his arms around you tightly, nuzzling into you.
“Just a few more minutes (Y/N), it’s not breakfast time yet,” he said, already falling back asleep.
You just relaxed, knowing you had no point in fighting. Honestly, you were just happy he was holding you. You put an arm under his head, and the other wrapped around to play with his hair. You hold onto him, combing through his hair, listening as he snores, drooling into your chest and arm. You didn’t last long, it was warm under the covers, and with how soft Luffy was you found yourself drifting off as well.
You were out for a while, becoming a mess of tangled limbs when you felt something move under you. You stirred awake only to see Luffy attempting to pull away while letting you sleep. He noticed you were awake, and just attempted to get up.
You were not about to let him run away this time, you finally had him. You reached out, grabbing him by the waist as he sat up on the bed. You grabbed, squeezing him tightly, a deep blush forming on your face. You looked up at him, desperation in your eyes. He was surprised by your actions but didn’t fight.
“It’s almost breakfast, I don’t want to miss it. I can smell it cooking” he said, looking you directly in the eye and pouting at the grip you had on him.
“I know, I won’t let you miss your meal. I just wanted to talk with you” you said softly, barely letting up on your hold.
He looked at the door but knew he was a while off from the meal, Sanji had just started cooking with the smell waking him. He slid back in the bed, his moment as he came closer giving you enough confidence to let up on him.
Luffy didn’t look you in the face, but a soft shade of pink grew as you lay in bed together. “I get your portion of breakfast,” he said barely able to look you in the eyes.
You smiled, grabbing both of his cheeks in your hands, forcing him to look at you directly. He looked you in the eyes, face smushed a bit in your tight grip “I’m sorry” you said this quickly before kissing him deeply.
Luffy was shocked at first and tensed up, but soon closed his eyes, muscles relaxing as you pulled away. Him moving you rest his forehead on your own.
You reached up, combing through his hair with your fingers. “I was surprised, you threw a lot at me all at once. I wasn’t ready, and got scared,” you said, breaking eye contact with him
“I like you as well, but I wasn’t ready until-” He cut you off, kissing you repeatedly with little pecks anywhere he could laughing with joy.
“Luffy! That tickles” you said laughing as he covered you in thousands of little kisses, chucking and smiling as he did.
He finally pulled away, now that you were crying from laughter as well. He sat up, getting out of bed. Stopping at the edge to simply smile at you brightly grabbing your hand to help you get out of bed
“let’s go eat Y/N! We can continue this later,” he said, fingers intertwining with your own as you crawled out of the bed.
“yeah,” you said softly, gasping for air, wiping your tears away.