Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy the story!
Alright, first things first, the summary lies...! Well, not that it lies, but I say that because I suck at summaries. The story begins at a point where the two are actually romantically involved, but whether or not I want to use flashbacks is to be determined. Personally, I don't use flashbacks, but I'm not inclined against them.
Feel free to leave any thoughts on the chapter. This is actually the story I had referenced a long time ago in, I think, the first chapter of one of my other stories, but I'm only now finishing it up. That's right. It took me 6 months to even post this chapter online. Things have changed since then, and I've added new ideas and stuffs to it, but I hope that it manages to entertain at least a little!
Also, another LuRo story. How surprising. Reasons why? Simply, because I like it, and there's not enough stories in my opinion, but whatevs. I'll accept any pairing, but if I do something, it'll be influenced by all my biases.
I do not own One Piece as that belongs to Eiichiro Oda, Toei, and whoever else it might belong to!
Closing the mirror, Luffy looked once again at his reflection.
The scar under his eye that he had inflicted upon himself stood out on his face. He had been under the impression that one had to show how much pain they could take to join Shanks' gang, so he had taken a knife and stabbed himself to show how brave he was.
That was 10 years ago. Shanks and his friends had all panicked back then, and thinking about their faces that day made Luffy laugh.
Back then, he had been so innocent. He had been naïve to think that was what it took to join Shanks' gang, but now he was strong enough to deal with reality.
The truth was harsher than he had expected, but Luffy had done it. He had done what Shanks' had asked for with a heavy heart, but he had done it. The red haired man had sat with him as he cried into his shoulder.
That was still 10 years ago. It was a long time ago, but the memories were still vivid in Luffy's mind.
So much had happened since then...he had gained his own crew, to help with the cleanings of course, and had even taken out rival bosses that had threatened to interrupt Shanks' and his family.
His black hair was a bit long. Luckily, his girlfriend cut his hair. Styling it wasn't an issue as she stated that he looked "cute" with his unkempt hair.
Peering at his reflection to see if anything was astray, he noticed that he still had a piece of food stuck between his teeth.
It was in one of those spots that were tough to reach. Almost all the way in the back.
Stretching his cheek as far as he could, he struggled to get the food particle. He had big hands, even if he wasn't that tall, and they had run out of floss the previous day.
Hoping he would remember later that he needed to pick up floss, Luffy left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen.
Maybe Shanks would have something for him to do today? It was great that his boss was one of his best friends as the red headed leader always had something for him.
Entering the kitchen, Luffy took out some leftovers from last night. He couldn't do much other than cook meat, but she would handle the other things. Without her, he probably would have been malnourished.
One of his crew, Sanji, was a master chef-in-training. The man had always thanked him for the compliments, but despite the praise he would give him, Sanji would never consider himself a master. He said he had a long way to go before he could even reach that level as he worked part time at his master's restaurant, and Luffy would gladly help his friend by eating anything he made.
After finishing, Luffy was going to leave, but he saw a bag with a note attached to it. He peered into the bag to see some fruit and took the note off to read it.
"I know you would probably be a little hungry after waking up, so here's a little snack for you during the day. I'm going to be a little late coming home, but I'll be sure to think of something to do for your forgiveness ~" The note had some little hearts on it, but it made his heart flutter to think of what she would do later.
Picking the bag up, he took what looked to be an apple out and started to eat.
Today was already shaping up to be a great day today.
"Hey, Luffy! Where were you?!"
"Oh! Nami! What's new today?"
The orange haired woman noticed the bag in her boss's hands, but pulled him by the ear nevertheless. His pained whining was music to her ears as she practically dragged him inside.
Nami was the brains of his crew. She would be the one that would be given orders and she would relay them to the rest. Also, if you ever wanted to go somewhere, or if you wanted money, you would go to Nami. Directions were cheap, but loans had 300% interest rates, so it was rare if anyone even asked her for change.
"We have an assignment! It's really important that we get on it, right away!"
"Ah! Ouch! Okay! Just...stop pulling already!" She obliged and watched as he rubbed his ear in pain.
The building they had been assigned to meet at for debriefings was a normal apartment complex. It wasn't as good as the one Luffy had, but all the occupants were members of Shanks' group, aside for the one room they had been given.
Him and his crew had affectionately called it, "The Going Merry", due to how happy the place made them and it was a little influenced by their line of work.
Walking inside, Luffy saw that some people were missing.
"Hey, where's Sanji? And Usopp?"
Only Zoro was in the room. He snored loudly on the couch and his swords were nearby.
It was slightly archaic, that the man would use swords, but he said that he liked using them. Zoro used to go around to dojos, taking their signs if he beat everyone inside. What little past he had shared with the group indicated that he had encountered one dojo that had defeated him, but he didn't say much more about it.
"Sanji is working at his restaurant right now, and Usopp is at school."
Sanji worked at a restaurant named the "Baratie". It was a high end restaurant at the edge of town that the crew went to occasionally. Most of the time, it had fewer customers than it deserved, but everyone there preferred the anonymity. Plus, they would feed you, no matter what affiliation you were, but only if you didn't fight in the building or outside.
Usopp was the only one that went to school amongst the group. Unlike the others, he claimed that he wanted to better himself through education, but everyone in the group knew he only went to school to see Kaya, one of the nobles that attended his school. Nobles rarely ever put themselves at the levels of "commoners", but Kaya was different, and was very kind.
Luffy never went to school and was mostly home schooled by his brother before he left to find a gang of his own. Zoro was a orphan and was never given the opportunity to attend school.
Nami said it was too expensive and Sanji didn't need to go to school anymore, seeing as how he worked at the Baratie.
Of course, none of them ever needed money. Shanks had seen to it that they were well provided for since they did so much work for him.
"So, what's today's adventure!" Luffy exclaimed as he sat down next to Zoro, bag still in hand.
Zoro snorted in his sleep due to the slight disruption, but stayed unconscious.
"We're delivering this." Nami put a sack onto the table, "I don't really understand what they are, but they look like fruits."
'Huh? Fruits?' Looking into his own bag, he couldn't believe the coincidence.
"Um...who are we delivering it to and what's in it?" Luffy and looked to Nami, hoping for more answers.
"Some guy named Crocus who the boss knows." By "boss" she meant Shanks, "Apparently, the boss wants to reward this Crocus with this." Their swordsman started snoring even louder than before, which began to annoy her.
"Wake up!"
Nami kicked Zoro in the shins and the man rose with a scream.
"Ouch! You bitch...! What was that for?!"
"Luffy's here! It's time to go!"
Zoro looked over and noticed his leader.
"Oh? Hi."
"Yo."
"Alright! Let's go earn me that paycheck!" Nami shoved the bag into Zoro's arms excitedly and marched towards the door. Zoro grunted at the sudden weight that he had been given, but matched her pace.
"Hey! Luffy! You coming or what?!"
"Ah! On my way!"
The trip wasn't as eventful as the two men would have hoped it to be. Usually by now, some idiot would ambush them and-
"Give your valuables to me, Buggy, flashily! Or else you'll taste the powerful "Buggy Ball"! Gyahahahaha!"
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami stared at the clown that stood in their path. With him, he had his whole crew behind him.
Buggy was a known troublemaker to them, but they couldn't do much about it. Shanks had said that Buggy was like a brother to him.
An annoying, violent thief, but a brother nonetheless.
"Buggy, you incompetent, just leave us alone! Shanks wanted to give this as payment to one of his-"
" 'Oh, Buggy! Stop! Shanks wanted to use this and-' bah! Just shut up and drop the goods!"
Nami huffed and prepared to send the two men his way so they could demolish him.
"Go Richie! Steal!"
Before they could respond in any way, a large animal ran around the corner and rushed past the three, taking both bags away from them.
"Gah! Luffy, Zoro! Go after it!" Nami ordered the two as she started chasing it.
Taking off screaming at the large dog, Luffy and Zoro followed, hoping that the fruits wouldn't be damaged.
Chasing the animal named Richie was really hard work. Dodging cars, people, Buggy's gang...
The dog seemed really fast, but not as fast as Zoro. He leapt onto the animal, pushing it to the ground, but the owner of Richie rushed by, taking the bags away.
"What the hell?! This is a goddamn lion!" It roared at Zoro, but with one hit, it started to whimper.
"Hey! Don't hurt my poor Richie!"
"You bastard...! Give that back!"
The owner was about to insult the swordsman, but Nami was already upon him, bringing her staff down on his head harshly.
He screamed as he hit the ground, but before Nami could retrieve the bags, someone swung a sword at her, cutting her and causing her to step back.
"Captain Buggy gets what he wants, little girl! Stay out of the way!" He shouted as he started running with the bags.
"Nami! Are you alright!?" Luffy caught up, pausing to see if his friend had been badly wounded.
"I'm fine! Who would have thought there would be a person as crazy as Zoro..." She ignored his annoyed retort, "Anyway, I'll round the corner to block them off. Luffy, you chase him, okay?"
"Okay! Leave it to me!" The man sprinted after the man, who had already rounded the corner into an alleyway.
"Gr...it's troublesome carrying two bags." The man grumbled, dumping the contents of one into the other, "There...much better!"
"Hey, prick!"
In his surprise, the man drew his sword, accidentally cutting a slit in the bag, in which two fruits fell through.
He wanted to curse, but Luffy was already at him, about to drive a fist into him. He tried to block with the sword, but Luffy only feinted, swinging his other fist and catching the man in the side of his head.
"You fool!" The swordsman exclaimed as he fell to the ground, making sure that more fruit wouldn't fall, "Don't you realize what it means to defy Bugg-?!"
"You shouldn't have cut Nami. Buggy or not, nobody hurts my family!"
Looking back up at Luffy, the man froze in fear. The expression on his face was more terrifying than even Buggy's.
Cocking a fist back, Luffy glared fiercely at the man kneeling at his feet.
"Hold it right there, bastard!"
Back stepping, the enraged man avoided the knives of Buggy, who now stood in front of his subordinate.
"Quickly! Take that back to the base! I'll hold this guy off!"
"Cap-Captain!" Shaking, the man got up to his feet and started running away.
"Buggy...damn it. Why does Shanks consider you to be a brother?" Sneering, Luffy clenched his fists, preparing to fight the clown.
"Shut it! That man is no brother of mine! Doing whatever the hell he wants...shit! It pisses me off!" The clown raged before pointing all the knives he held between his fingers at Luffy, "Starting with you, I'll show that red-headed bastard that he can't boss me around!"
Lunging towards Luffy, Buggy prepared to eviscerate the young man.
Until the younger man had somehow disappeared from sight.
"W-What?!" Stopping, Buggy didn't realize the mistake he had made before it was too late. His world went dark after a violent blow to his head sent him to the ground.
"Tch...I really should do worse to you, but Shanks would be sad." Picking up one of the fruits, Luffy's stomach grumbled.
He looked at the fruit in his hand before shrugging. He wasn't very informed about fruits, so some weird purple colored fruit was alright, wasn't it?
As soon as he took a bite, he almost spat it out. The taste was beyond terrible! Rotting flesh, something he had actually smelled, would probably taste better than this! But...
She did get fruit for him. Luffy took one disgusted look at the fruit before devouring it as fast as he could. It would be insulting if he didn't finish it.
Swallowing the last piece was difficult, but his head suddenly started to hurt. In the corner of his vision, he could see Buggy picking up the other fruit before running off.
"...Damn...don't touch that...you bas-" Luffy tried to finish, but his body felt weak. He struggled to maintain consciousness even as Buggy started running away, but his head hit the concrete and he passed out.
The sky was dark when he opened his eyes. Lights from the street hurt his eyes as he managed to get up.
His entire body felt as though it was on fire. Every nerve was screaming as he dragged his feet to help him get to the entrance.
Was she waiting for him at home? What about Nami and Zoro? Were they alright?
It was too painful to really do anything, so he decided that the best thing to do was to go home. There was nothing he could do at the moment, and taking a closer look at the street, he saw that he was closer to his apartment than to the Going Merry.
Stumbling, he managed to catch the eye of a few people who walked the streets as this time of night. His body really hurt, but he needed to get home so he could rest.
The stairs sucked, and his hand wouldn't stop shaking when he tried to unlock the door which was annoying.
Entering his home, he collapsed onto the sofa. Luffy didn't see any shoes at the door, so he was alone at the moment. Thinking about that, he considered that to be lucky. He wouldn't want to be seen like this anyway.
Resting would be a good idea, so he let himself fall asleep, hoping that when he woke up, he would be better.
It was a late night, and her body did feel exhausted, but she was determined to make it up to Luffy. Usually, she would greet him in the morning before work, but as of late, someone had attempted to break into the security systems and apparently she was the only one capable enough to stop the invasion.
Being one of the most intelligent people did prove to be useful, but too many people expected too much of her at times.
"I'm home!" She called as she entered their apartment. A small smile formed on her face as she remembered the day they had both moved in.
The memories of such a day would never be forgotten.
His shoes had been at the door, but she was surprised when she didn't receive an answer. Normally, he would be rushing to the door, arms wide open and eyes gleaming with excitement, but nothing happened.
He should have been rushing to the door, but perhaps he was too embarrassed? The thought brought another smile to her face. If he knew what she had in store for him, he would have probably been too embarrassed.
"Luffy? Are you here?" Strolling in to the kitchen, she didn't find him there. Further investigation of the fridge indicated that he did eat some, but only the leftovers were gone.
She decided to check the front room next. The bag of fruit she had left before going to work was something that she hoped that he had taken. The man really didn't eat anything other than meat, so leaving something like it should have sufficed.
Instead of finding the bag, she found him on the couch.
"Luffy!" Noticing his condition, she rushed over to him, "What's wrong?! Are you al-?!"
As she touched her skin, she yelped in pain and looked at what had caused it.
A scrape had formed on her hand from touching his skin.
"W-What is this?" Touching Luffy again, she noticed that his skin had become rougher, and it stuck to her hand like a tire would.
He grumbled as he was roused from his slumber, opening his eyes slowly to see who it was.
"R...Robin...?"
His voice was rougher and pained.
She hugged his head, and winced with displeasure as his hair shared the same quality of his skin.
"It's alright, Luffy. I'm right here."
Hope you all enjoyed!
During the end, I was thinking how funny it might be if I had done a completely different woman than Robin, and explained I was going to slowly ease her into the story, but then I thought, "Build it up like this, have LuRo in the summary, and Luffy and Robin as the characters of this story? I can't do that.".
Also, romance stuff is something I'm not too good at, but maybe this'll be good practice. Anyone telling me that maybe real life romance would be a better experience will be ignored ~
And about lemons/limes/whatever they're called - I never do that sort of thing. Sorry, but it's against my writing. I mean, I may reference the act (like I did above) and I may even allude to acts of extreme violence (might have to change a few things in other fics...) , rape (not in this story ever) , sexual activites, etc. , I will never actually put it in. Not only lack of experience, but surely you can use your imagination or something to fill in those blanks.
Anyways, long end note is long. I'll probably post a chapter for a "Different Take" when I get into the mood, and when I finish thinking/writing/typing it out.
