Chapter Text
Luffy clung tight to his brother with all of his limbs, the only way he knew how to give hugs. Ace chuckled and rubbed his back, rocking him slightly before walking Luffy closer to the bus. “Okay, okay,” Ace laughed, “You’re going to miss it if you don’t let me go now.” Luffy gasped and immediately jumped down. He turned around urgently to make sure the bus hadn’t left without him. Ace laughed again and pushed Luffy’s hat down over his eyes. “I’m kidding,” Ace teased, “but you do have to go now,” he told him.
Luffy pushed his hat up and turned back to Ace. After a second of debate he decided he wasn’t angry for that and smiled wide again. “Okay! I’m going! Watch until the bus is gone Ace! I’ll be riding it!” Luffy extolled excitedly. “I will, I will,” Ace laughed, “Go find your friends and sit with them. I’ll be there to pick you up in a few weeks. If you need anything, remember to call my number that I wrote in your hat for you or get one of your counselors. They can help you,” Ace reminded. “Ah!” Luffy nodded. He tackled Ace with another full body hug and nearly tripped him. Ace had barely caught him before Luffy was down again and dashing onto the bus.
Ace sighed in exasperated fondness. He briefly climbed the steps of the bus and exchanged a few words with the driver to confirm Luffy would have people to help him if he needed it. They were already well aware that it was the boy’s first time being away from home alone. Ace knew his brother was capable enough, but sending him away still filled him with dread, even if it was for something fun like summer camp. The driver assured Ace that Luffy would be looked after and that put him a little at ease. Ace smiled and nodded, then looked back. Luffy was already seated in the middle of all his friends chatting it up.
“Okay, thank you,” Ace replied. He turned and stepped off. He watched as the bus pulled away, not just because Luffy asked him to, but because he couldn’t pull himself away. He watched long after the bus was gone, already missing his rambunctious little brother. He was 16 now, so it was long past time he got out on his own, but Ace couldn’t help but worry. Luffy was such a special kid, a treasure, and he never wanted him to be in trouble or alone. Ace took a long deep breath. He would have to trust that things would be okay. After a few moments he nodded and turned to go.
-
Luffy stepped off the bus and stopped short, blocking everyone else trying to get off. He gasped looking out over the lake and campgrounds. He was so excited he couldn’t breathe. He stood, vibrating with excitement as other kids got rowdy behind him. Someone grabbed his shoulders and gently guided him forward. “Welcome to Camp One Piece Luffy,” Zoro said, tapping his chest so he would remember to breathe. Luffy took a breath and tried to take off running through the whole camp. Luckily, Zoro anticipated this and grabbed his shirt before he could get away.
“Luffy, come on! You’ll be in our cabin with Franky and Chopper!” Sanji called, already carrying both his and Luffy’s bags. Luffy laughed excitedly and ran after him. Zoro followed along, or tried to. Somehow he ended up in front of the table with the team shirts for the camp competitions that would happen later. He shrugged and grabbed five of the red ones, making sure to pick the worst quality looking one for the stupid love cook.
In his excitement Luffy tripped and fell on top of someone else, who turned and shoved him back aggravatedly. Luffy found himself on the ground looking up at a muscular red-headed Kid wearing goggles. He smiled at him. “Watch where you’re going stupid!” Kid growled, shaking his fist. Luffy’s smile quickly faded into a scowl and he tilted his head as he stared at him, making Kid angrier. Luffy was about to say something when someone else came up behind Kid and put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s the problem?” he asked him, calmly taking in the situation. Zoro caught up and stood slightly in front of Luffy. “Oi!” he warned both of them.
The confrontation caught the attention of one of the camp counselors and they walked towards the group of them. Noticing this, Kid scoffed and turned to leave. “Come on Killer let’s go,” he mumbled. They left in a hurry before the counselor got there and Luffy watched them go. “Everything alright here?” the counselor asked. “Uh, yeah. Everything’s fine,” Zoro said shortly. The counselor looked them over, then smiled. “Good to hear,” he said good naturedly.
He gazed down to the ground. “Oh, you must be Luffy,” he assumed, “your brother told me about you. We went to this camp together several years ago.” He helped Luffy up and dusted him off as Luffy gave him the usual stare he always did when meeting someone. “Well if you need anything, my name’s Jinbe. I’ll be in cabin 2. Don’t hesitate to ask,” he encouraged, before heading back to the check in area.
Luffy kept staring at him like he was in a trance, until someone came and scooped him up off his feet. “Luffy-san, good to see you!” another very tall kid exclaimed. He sported a curly afro and dark glasses. “Brook!” Luffy called in excitement. “Have you seen the cabins yet? They’re quite nice! Usopp and I have already settled in so we came to see how everyone else was doing!” Brook went on, starting to walk away with Luffy.
Luffy giggled. “Why do you call me-“ he reached for his head and froze when he realized something wasn’t there. He cut himself off and became frantic. “Wait! Hat!” he cried on the verge of a panic. Brook stopped and quickly looked around, but Zoro had already retrieved it off the ground and put it in Luffy’s hands. Brook set Luffy down as he put it back on and calmed himself down.
Zoro put a hand on his back. “It’s alright, breathe. I won’t let you loose it,” he promised. Luffy nodded and smiled with a few tears in his eyes. “Zoro’s the best!” he exclaimed gratefully. Zoro couldn’t help a smile. Then Luffy was off again, running ahead to get a look at anything and everything, tripping over himself and bumping into people. Zoro simply shook his head and walked after him with Brook, watching for anyone else who had the bright idea to cause trouble for Luffy.
-
The first event of the camp would be some announcements and a run down of all the activities they would be participating in this year during lunch. Everyone was excited to see what would be in store for them as they filled their plates with food and found their seats in the main lodge. Luffy’s friends kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t take more food than was necessary, but that would never be enough to stop the chaos that inevitably always followed him.
Usopp held Luffy back in the buffet line as he pulled against him grabbing for more when he suddenly slipped and lost control of him. Luffy lost his balance as well and toppled forward, hand smacking a couple bowls and launching the contents all over him and Usopp. They ended up on the floor dripping in barbecue sauce and chips. “Ugh! Luffy!” Usopp complained loudly. Luffy laughed like it was hilarious. Usopp sighed and pushed himself up. Sanji watched from behind them with a heartbroken look at the waste of perfectly good spilled food. He set his plate down and pulled Luffy up and over to a nearby seat.
“Sit still,” he instructed firmly, before walking away. Luffy sat and licked the sauce off his fingers, utterly uncaring of the situation or the scene he had caused. Sanji came back with some wet paper towels and handed some to Usopp before grabbing Luffy’s face and wiping it off for him. Luffy whined, then giggled as Sanji cleaned him off and Usopp got to work cleaning the floor. “You’re always such a mess,” Sanji commented, trying to work around him as Luffy continued eating the food off himself. When there was nothing left he could eat Luffy laughed at Sanji again and tried to climb on him for a hug. “Luffy stop!” Sanji scolded, pushing him back and dropping the paper towels.
He got Luffy a new plate and guided him over to their group of friends to prevent anymore mishaps. They had all learned to take these things in stride since being friends with Luffy meant never having a moment of peace. They laughed and listened in anticipation for the announcements, chatting about who was on which team and what cabins they were in. Luffy stole all their food and they had to go get more, but the mood was high as everyone prepared for the enthralling weeks ahead.