These Days
The smell is so sharp, so familiar that it makes Luffy's head spin. He's never noticed it before, but Shanks smells like a veteran warship, like the breeze that used to sweep over his village from the sea, like salt caked onto his worn black cape, and gunpowder and oil and booze. Shanks is laughing in his ear and Luffy's smiling so hard he can't even think.
Luffy, what the hell, you're taller than me...
Your hat. I still have your hat, look, I kept it safe! It's broken a few times, but Nami always patches it up and Zoro always catches it and...
I know, you found yourself a good crew.
Usopp tackles Yasopp to the ground and drags him off to the other side of Sunny. He wants to talk for hours, long and loud, and to call him 'dad' and show him that he can shoot the wings off a fly from fifty yards away, like he'd always said he would. Usopp wants to tell him that mother was happy until she died, and that he doesn't blame him for leaving, and that Yasopp's still his hero, and he still wants to grow up to be just like him.
But you already have. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see.
And you won't believe what we've been through--
Zoro and Benn eye each other warily from across the deck, until Sanji comes out of the kitchen with Roo and they're both loaded down with plates of food ("Meat!"). Brook starts on his violin, and Nami and Franky and Chopper take that as a cue to finish checking out Shanks's ship, and they come back loaded with supplies and trinkets the rest of Shanks's men had shoved on them.
Robin rolls out kegs of rum and Zoro and Benn silently come to an agreement.
Once Luffy's made sure that everyone's gathered, he draws himself up straight, grins, and looks Shanks square in the face to say what he's been waiting to say since the day he set out.
This is my crew! I'll introduce 'em to you.
