(A/N: Hey! This is my first Lemon. It takes place during the celebration after the Battle of Alalburna, about a day or so before the Straw Hats leave. I tried to make it pretty good. Read and Review, please!)

I Won't Leave You

It's amazing how humans can be so fixated on one idea and put all their time and energy into it. Then, all of a sudden, a single event can change everything.

Night had just settled on Alaburna, and few in the city were awake. Among those was one Princess Nefetari Vivi, still looking out at the lights of the city she and the other Straw Hat pirates had fought so long and hard for. Crocodile was defeated, taken away by the Marines to rot in prison, and that meant Baroque Works had fallen apart.

However, where there was victory, there had to be loss. Pell had sacrificed himself taking the mega-bomb away from the city. Chaka was even now still bleeding from two gouge holes made by Crocodile's hook, but the doctors had said he was going to recover. Kohza, incredibly, survived the four bullets planted into his back, and she had received word that even now he was up and walking around a little. Figures. Even as a kid, he was always tough. Or maybe it was just pig-headedness.

Everyone else had received their fair share of cuts, scrapes, bruises and other injuries, but most were living through it with a smile high on their face, Vivi included. As she looked out the window at the lights of Alaburna and the dark sands beyond, she reflected on how close she had come to losing it all. If it hadn't been for six individuals, herself not included, this city, and eventually the whole country, would have been destroyed.

Suddenly feeling that the room was rather stuffy, Vivi got up, pulled on a robe and some bath slippers, took another look to make sure Carue was still asleep, then headed out the door for a some fresh air.

As fate would have it, there was someone else already out walking about. Luffy still wasn't used to the robe he'd been given in replacement of his vest and shorts, both of which were in severe need of a wash and repair from his three fights with Crocodile. Luffy knew he needed sleep, but he was restless. Though he never showed it, he'd always take some time after every fight and look over what he'd done, taking note of his mistakes and places where he'd succeeded, looking for ways to improve his techniques.

His first thought was that he had been careless. He'd almost been killed three times, just because he'd felt so damn self-confident. He shouldn't have underestimated Crocodile. As soon as he'd seen the bastard come apart he should have known that brute force alone wouldn't have won that battle. However, he hadn't found a solution until round number two, with the water barrel. But, he'd made a mistake there too, with Mizu Luffy. If all that water was inside him, Crocodile could have easily just impaled him again and let it all out. The end result, as it turned out, was far, far worse. The new regular move, Guma Guma no Shotgun didn't have much effect either. He might use it again in another fight against a fast opponent, but he had felt that it hadn't had much force behind it. Another thought came to his mind; his fist could bounce. What about using it at close quarters, in an enclosed space? Just like a real shotgun, his fist would be all over the place from bouncing off walls and such. It would also help remake the momentum lost from swinging his arm at the base.

Suddenly, Luffy's foot hit soft sand, and he was distracted as he looked down, realizing he'd forgotten his sandals. He looked back up to find himself standing in the former garden, where he and Crocodile had fought the second time. Most of the ground was still craggy, with some ditches going down for a long distance. Luffy looked out towards the city, watching the odd pattern of lights. Some street lights were on, some off, and some house lights were also on, but the majority were off. He would have tucked his hands in his pockets, if he had any. It was definitely a sight to behold. However, being the Luffy that he was, the sight did not awe him for very long. He turned around, intending to go back inside and find someway to get to sleep, when a flash of color caught the corner of his eye, and he froze.

There she was, standing on the high balcony above the entrance, almost on the roof, looking out over the city. Luffy's eyes took in the long blue hair cascading down her back, the soft chocolate eyes looking dreamily out at the city, her hourglass figure that he just longed to wrap his arms around, everything. He'd known for some time that he was in love with the princess, but had somehow been able to hide it. He wasn't nearly as stupid as he made out to be.

Before he could stop himself, he yelled "Oi! Vivi!" and waved. The girl started, her eyes snapping to fix on him. A warm smile formed on her soft-looking lips as she yelled back "Oh! Hey, Luffy!"

Luffy pulled his eyes away from admiring her, forcing himself to pull off the classic grin he knew looked stupid but loved to use. Again, before he could stop himself, he pulled his right arm back, then let it fly, catching hold of the edge of the balcony. With a boing! and a snap! he was up on her level, currently regaining his balance. He'd undershot, and had wound up right on the edge. If he fell off now, he'd look like a damn idiot.

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' he thought as his arms pinwheeled momentarily. As soon as he had regained his balance, he glanced over at Vivi to find her giggling. An unusual sensation rose up in his chest, and he could feel his face going red.

'No! No!'

After a minute or two, he managed to fight it down, and he grinned again, saying "Whoops! Almost had a little accident there!"

Even though he was dead exhausted, he suddenly found the energy to prance up next to her, then flop down and look out over the city. It was actually a better view up here, but still didn't hold his attention for long. Still, he put a look of glee on his face and said "Ooooh, nice view!" However, his eyes occasionally betrayed him and flicked over to her as she chuckled and sat down next to him, holding her robe closed with one hand and saying "Yes, it's really beautiful."

'It's not the only thing that is.' Luffy thought.

He wasn't alone in thoughts like that. '

Wow. I've never noticed that before.' thought Vivi as she glanced over at Luffy. 'His face is…actually kinda childish. But, with that scar…it's almost like an oxymoron. Hmm.'

They sat there like that for a few minutes, in silence secretly admiring each other. However, at one point, their eyes met, and as soon as they realized it, they both turned away, blushing. Luffy's head was reeling. Usually, he wasn't this put off, and when he was, he could mask it with ignorance. This time, however, he couldn't seem to.

Another minute passed like this, with both of them trying their hardest to stay facing the opposite direction as the other. It didn't work, however, since they kept glancing back, then facing forward again if they were caught.

Finally, Vivi broke the ice.

"Hey…Luffy."

"Yeah, Vivi?"

She hesitated. Was she really about to ask him this? Her hand tightened on her robe as she turned back to him and asked "Have you ever…been in love?"

Luffy froze.

DID SHE KNOW?!

No, wait, it was time for rational thinking. She couldn't have known. He'd given no indication whatsoever…unless Nami had found out. That devil woman could see through anything.

HAD NAMI TOLD HER?!

No, wait, he was acting stupid again!

After a pause, he answered, cautiously "Yeah, actually. Still am. She's wonderful. The best person I've ever known. Problem is…she doesn't know."

He turned back around to face her again, only to find that she was only inches away. He looked into her face, and something about her expression said…disappointment? Remorse? He wasn't sure, but whatever the hell it was, it sure wasn't what he'd friggin' been expecting. But then, what had he been expecting?

In an attempt to ease the tension, he cleared his throat and, in a still husky voice, asked "What about you? You ever been in love?"

Vivi panicked for a moment, thinking he had seen right through her. Then she realized that it was only natural. When asked a question, it was a natural reaction to ask one in return.

So she calmed down and said "Well…yes. I love everything about him. He's strong, brave, handsome to boot. He's everything a girl would want…and then some."

She could practically see the crestfallen look on his face, and before she could stop herself, she added "He's also rather…immature. But, he can be serious about something when it's appropriate. Plus, he's been a nakama for so long. We even made a mark and a promise."

Whoop, too late now. His eyes snapped up to hers as he put two and two together while she did the same. Slowly, she raised her arm, as he mimicked her, and pulled on the end of the bandage around it. The linen fell away to reveal a black X tattooed into her skin. She looked down to find that Luffy had done the same. Gently, she clasped his wrist so that their Xs were right next to each other, then looked up at him. There was so much joy in his eyes that she started, her eyes widening.

It was like a signal.

Next thing either of them knew, they were locked at the lips, her arms around his neck, his around her waist, desperately trying to pull the other closer. His straw hat had fallen off his head and was now laying next to them, while her robe had slipped off her shoulder, pooling down around her feet. The moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and she could feel the chill desert wind biting at her neck, the skin unaccustomed to the cold. She hummed softly into his mouth as she felt his thumb start tracing small circles on her lower back. In response, she started playing with his black tresses, weaving the midnight locks through her fingers, eliciting a small sigh of content. They were like this for a few minutes.

Then, things began to get slightly out of hand, as innocence turned to instinct.

Luffy's hand slid around to clasp her sides just below her ribcage, his thumbs still tracing circles, except these were on her belly. Her hands slipped down over his shoulders, sliding down his chest. Even through the robe, she could feel every single muscle in his rippling torso. His tongue snaked out, sliding over her lips, and without a second thought she bid him entrance, sliding her own tongue out to play with his. After a few seconds of this, the need for oxygen broke them apart, both gasping heavily. Luffy leaned forward, touching his forehead with Vivi's, his hands still on her waist and making circles. Vivi's hands were currently in the process of sliding up to wrap around his neck again. However, her fingers brushed the area between his neck and his shoulder, making him shiver slightly.

Vivi's eyebrows shot up and a childish grin plastered itself onto her face as she said "Oh? Is that a ticklish spot there?"

"No! Of course It's not!"

Luffy knew it was a lost cause, particularly when she leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the tender spot. His whole body went into shivering spasms as her velvety lips and tongue worked the sensitive skin, then he gasped as she popped the top button on his robe, sliding the shoulder down some to get better access. A small grin appeared on his face, and his hand snaked up to her pajama top, popping the first two buttons. Her face pulled back from his shoulder, though he did nothing to fix the robe, and she regarded him with slight surprise.

After a second, Vivi looked down at the buttons on his robe, then looked back up at him with a devilish grin on her face. Luffy barely had time to gulp before she dove forward, giving him a lip-bruising kiss that almost knocked him over. Almost. Actually, knocking him over and gaining the upper hand had been what Vivi was intending. However, she forgot one thing: Luffy was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked, and therefore was a hell of a lot stronger than her.

Since she was currently off-balance, it was easy for him to tip the scales, pushing against her until he was laying on top of her. She squirmed a little before glaring up at him, frowning and spluttering "N-no fair!"

Luffy's response was to grin, then lean forward and begin nibbling at her neck, popping a few mores buttons on her pajama top as he did so. Vivi bit her lip, trying to fight down the groan rising in her chest and the pleasure his nibbling was giving her. All of a sudden, the desert air wasn't feeling so chill anymore. She gasped aloud as his hands suddenly came in contact with her stomach, cool skin touching skin recently exposed. His hands slid up her torso until they were right under her bra, his hands resting on the bottom of her ribcage, making her breathing hitch a bit. In her mind, she could imagine him taking off her bra and continuing. In fact, she could imagine how the entire night would turn out. And she really wanted it.

And then, his thumbs pulled up the cups slightly and his hands slid underneath. Her eyes went wide, then closed as she inhaled sharply, then let it out in a soft moan. With a casual flick, Luffy shoved the bra up off her breasts, then continued what he'd been doing. His hands caressed her breasts, kneading up and down, and he grinned at the responses it brought forth from her, but couldn't decide whether he preferred the hardening of her nipples or the moans and occasional cries of pleasure. Slowly, he slid his hands away, and as Vivi groaned in disappointment, he replaced them with his mouth, eliciting new cries from her. He switched back and forth between breasts, leaving both himself and Vivi breathless.

The moment Luffy rose for oxygen, he suddenly found himself on his back, Vivi straddling his hips, one thing on her mind: revenge. The bra currently got in her way, so she reached back, opened the clasp, and discarded it. However, once she had done so, she went right back to the task at hand. Pulling at his robe, she ignored the buttons that popped off, only concentrating on getting the cloth out of the way. Once his chest was exposed, she immediately glued her lips to that sensitive spot on his shoulder, running her hands over his chest again, feeling him shiver underneath her. And it wasn't from the cold.

Their bare chests were currently pressed together, and Luffy could feel the heat emanating from them both. His shivering and shaking didn't ever seem to be stop, and it was taking all his willpower to suppress his laughter. At least, he was going to laugh, until she changed tactics and starting gently kissing her way down his chest. Light grunts and groans worked their way out of his chest as her velvety lips found sensitive places, scars that hadn't healed properly and were slightly ticklish. One spot in particular, the place where he'd been impaled by Crocodile's hook, still hadn't healed completely, and was extremely ticklish when lightly touched. Somehow, Vivi knew that. Her mouth was hovering just above the partially healed wound, and he shivered as he felt her breath on it. Slowly, her tongue slid out and gently, oh so gently, licked the scabbed mark. She barely even touched him, but he broke into a fit of shivers so violent, she was almost thrown off.

"Viviiiii…" he chattered through his teeth, his eyes wide. She simply smiled down at him, then leaned forward again and gave another lip-bruising kiss, although this one was a little bit gentler than the last one. Digging his tongue into her lips again, he penetrated once more, tasting every hollow of her mouth. Oh, yes, he knew all about this stuff. Back home, before he'd left, he'd had a relationship that just hadn't worked out. He'd never gotten this far though. Although, on second thought, if he went his entire life and never got this far with any girl but Vivi again, he'd probably be the happiest pirate king ever. But, the point was, he wasn't nearly as stupid as he let on. Not at all…

Suddenly, he felt the wrath of Vivi's revenge. It came in the unexpected form of a small hand sliding down the front of his robe and gently grasping his rapidly hardening erection. He jumped in shock, accidentally biting his tongue.

"OOOWW!" he yelled, his jolting now so powerful that Vivi let go of him and jumped off in fright, eyes wide. Luffy had a hand up on his cheek, but one glance of Vivi sitting there, topless, sweaty and chest heaving, made all the pain go away. A devilish thought crossed his mind, and he continued the act, muttering angrily "Bit my tongue. Dammit…"

Vivi frowned, moving closer to him. "I don't see any blood in your mouth, and your tongue doesn't appear to be swelling. It doesn't look too-LUFFY!"

While she'd been leaning forward, Luffy had been mentally preparing, and when the moment was perfect, he'd taken his hand from his cheek, wrapped it around her waist, and moved forward to pin her down, narrowly missing his straw hat. He grinned as he looked down at her surprised expression, while his other hand reached up and grasped the waistband of her pajama pants, pulling them gently down her hips. Vivi squirmed in his grasp, slightly, but gave it up when the cold air hit her lower half. She looked back up at Luffy's face, biting her lower lip before saying "No fair." for the second time that night.

Luffy laughed whole heartedly, discarding the clothing he currently held before standing up, looking down at her. What he saw took his breath away. In his mind's eye, Vivi looked like an angel, her pure, pale, sweaty form stretched out before him. True, she was still wearing her panties, sky blue like her hair, but it left very little to his imagination. He felt a slight stirring in his nether regions, and Vivi noticed the small bulge in his robe get slightly larger. She grinned, putting her hand behind her head and saying "Like what you see Luffy? Cause someone seems to be getting excited."

Instead of getting all embarrassed like Luffy knew other guys would at that statement, he simply laughed and started pulling off the remainder of his clothing. True, he hadn't had much to start with, but that just made it easier to take off. God, he wanted her so bad, wanted to feel her from the inside, wanted to hear her screaming his name. Apparently, she wanted the same thing, since she'd just shed her panties without hesitation. Luffy grinned wider than ever before as his eyes took her in, swallowed her up. At the same time, Vivi was entranced by his body. So much muscle hidden by his clothes…

He moved towards her, his smile shortening but still present. Slowly, he went to his knees, then lay down on top of her. Sweaty flesh met sweaty flesh, and the chill night air only served to heat things up even more. Luffy growled in lust, and started nuzzling her throat, getting only a few words in when he had to come back up for air. "Vivi…mmm…God, I love you."

Vivi was squirming underneath him, and with their lack of clothing this served to only arouse him even more. In between her breathless whimpers of pleasure, she managed to squeeze out the words he was longing for. "I…oh…love you too…unh…Luffy."

The grin reappeared, and Luffy moved his face over to hers, giving her a quick kiss before breathlessly asking "You sure about this? We can wait-"

Suddenly, Vivi looked incredibly pissed off. She sat up as much as she could, snarling right into Luffy's face "Luffy! That has got to be the stupidest thing you have ever said!"

Luffy was taken aback. Yelling and insults were the last things he'd been expecting right now, yet here she was, doing both of them. She continued to rant, and it was most definitely killing the mood.

"Honestly, the things you do sometimes! And here I was for the last few minutes that you had actually said the right things!"

Luffy had had enough. He wasn't going to let her spoil the moment entirely. He slipped his erection to right over her entrance, and she was so busy reprimanding him that she apparently didn't notice. After making sure he couldn't miss, he gave a short thrust. His aim was perfect. He slid into her a little ways, and she instantly shut up, eyes wide, mouth open noiselessly. Luffy grinned once more. After a few seconds, he asked "Better?" She closed her mouth and nodded, eyes still wide. Slowly, he slid into her a little further, trying his best not to hurt her. However, soon he came to her barrier, and before either of them knew it, he'd broken through. Vivi definitely wasn't expecting it, and hen you aren't expecting something, it just hurts more. Such was the case now. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried her best to hold them back. However, one managed to squeeze itself out, making its way lazily down her cheek. Luffy noticed this and leant forward a little, sticking out his tongue to lick the rogue liquid up. Then he moved over to her lips, giving her small, fleeting kisses to help her out, muttering "Anytime you're ready…" She nodded, getting his point.

For about a minute, this was how they stayed, until Vivi finally started kissing Luffy back, and he read that as her way of saying 'go.' Slowly, he thrust in the rest of the way, then pulled out a little, setting up a rough rhythm that she started to follow. After a minute, teen inexperience fell away to be replaced by lustful instinct, and soon the air was filled with the sound of sweaty flesh smacking together, her moans of pleasure and his grunts and groans of exertion. Her face was buried in his shoulder, but that did nothing to muffle her cries. The fire in her stomach was threatening to explode, and the same went for him.

"Mmnh…L-Lu-LUFFYYYYYY!"

"Oh God! VIVIIII!"

Their cries rang out across the former garden and also echoing back through the marble hallways of the palace. They both fell to the floor, suddenly exhausted beyond belief. They lay like this, him on top of her, both of them breathing each other scents, both bodies still slippery with sweat, for several minutes. During that time, however, they began to cool off, and suddenly the air seemed a lot more chill.

Slowly, Luffy slipped out of her, groping around for something to cover them up. His hand brushed across Vivi's bathrobe, temporarily forgotten, and decided that it would do. He silently pulled the robe over them both, bringing her closer as well, both for the added warmth and to exploit another opportunity to embrace her. They lay together for a few minutes longer, before Vivi broke the silence.

"That was…incredible."

Luffy chuckled and said "More like heavenly if you ask me."

They both smiled, looking into each others eyes, before Luffy said "Vivi. I want you to come with us. I'm still giving you the free choice to leave or stay, but I can't help but ask you to come. I love you, Vivi. I love you so much."

Another tear leaked out of Vivi's eye, and she gave him a small kiss, softly saying "I love you too, Luffy."

They fell asleep like that, holding each other and just looking into each other's eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning, it was discovered that both Vivi and Luffy were missing. As soon as Sanji found out that they were both gone, his first instinct was to run through the halls screaming "VIVI-SWAAAN!!"

And of course, what do you think he found?

As soon as he kicked down the door on the upper balcony above the palace entrance, he stopped and stared in shock, cigarette falling from his lips. The kick had woken the two lovers up, and currently Luffy was trying to cover Vivi up while he muttered "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"

Sanji finally composed himself to yell "BASTARD! I'M GONNA FRIGGIN' KICK YOUR ASS!"

However, Luffy managed to snap a regular punch into Sanji's stomach, knocking the cook down the hall again. However, as the blonde began to rush him again, Luffy sent a stretch punch at him. Sanji would've dodged it, but Luffy slapped his arm at the shoulder, causing it to bounce into the floor, then the ceiling, then it was everywhere, and Sanji managed to grimace for a full two seconds before being hammered back into the wall, while Luffy yelled "GUMA GUMA NO…SHOTGUN!"

As soon as the dust cleared, Luffy looked up to find that he had knocked Sanji through the wall, leaning a clean outline of the cook's figure. Luffy grinned, and Vivi's laughter sounded out behind him. He turned to her, his trademark grin in place.

He wasn't ever going to leave her.

(Yes, yes, I know, the ending's slightly rushed, but I was running out of time. Review, please!)