Out on the Line
Chapter One: Living the Dream
It took Candy a few days to regain her strength after waking up without Edelbrock. She had become accustomed to the extra flow of energy her God Stone fed into her over the past five years or so. Without Edelbrock she felt terribly weak; it made her want to slip on the Kai bracelets all the more. Candy refrained and turned the Kai set over to Robin and Ussop for closer study. By the end of her first week aboard ship Candy found her strength and her sea legs and joined her nakama outside of the confines of her room.
Luffy was beyond excited to have Candy with them. It was like having his best friend back again. Proudly he showed her all around the ship explaining how everything worked. In the lounge he presented her with the parting gifts her friends from High Roll had sent them off with. Elton had insisted Candy have a piano wherever she was to go and so he gave her his. It was rough looking and the top was stained with beer but Elton had always kept it perfectly tuned. Candy sat at it immediately and pounded out the first few notes of Great Balls of Fire laughing and missing her friend.
Elton knew how fond Candy was of the old movies he sometimes put on down at The Broken Barrel too. He sent along the projector and a crate of old movies for her and her new nakama to enjoy. Everyone was thrilled to have such entertainment aboard. They all agreed Candy and movies were much better then Ussop's singing.
It was lucky for Candy that Robin was a collector of old books. Several of them mentioned the God Stones. Candy sat with Robin and Ussop at the table in the galley researching her would be weapon. "There's something I don't understand," Candy said with a frown staring down at a picture of Lord Kai. "Roulette wore her Kai set even longer then I wore Edelbrock. She was wearing them when I met her. Didn't she collapse after she took them off?"
Robin shook her head negative. "She was weakened some, but unharmed."
"How is that possible? She wore Kai for years."
"Alucard."
Candy blinked at Robin. Ussop looked up from his book and at the sink Sanji was listening too. "Alucard? What does he have to do with it?"
"The powers of Edelbrock passed through your body and your body alone Candy chan," Robin explained. "Roulette shared herself with Alucard. Their intimacy allowed for the powers of Kai to flow into Alucard as well. They shared the burden and thus it was easier for Roulette when she removed the Kai set."
"Ah," Sanji grinned washing celery. "So Candy chwan needs a lover to combat the effects of the God Stones ne? I volunteer!"
The girl's cheeks turned pink and Robin rolled her eyes. "Not quite Cook san. Alucard had the ability to absorb energy. That is what saved Roulette."
"Oh, I see," Candy felt terribly embarrassed. She had led a sheltered life. Sex talk made her terribly uncomfortable and she tried not to squirm in her seat. "Well at least Roulette is okay then."
"She's a strong woman. I'm sure she'll be fine," Robin tried to ease.
Ussop's brain was hard at work. He wanted his new nakama to have the Kai weapons, to defend herself if nothing else. So Alucard served as a buffer to Kai's power? Then I just need to find a way to make some sort of buffer for Candy chan. Deep in thought he moved on to the next book.
When Candy wasn't researching with Robin and Ussop she was with Luffy. They soon came to realize that not much had changed between them in ten years. Luffy didn't wrestle her to the ground anymore but they still pushed, shoved and hugged all over each other a lot. Candy didn't hit nearly as hard without Edelbrock giving her a boost. She tried to teach Luffy some of the steps from her vaudeville act, but her buddy had two left feet. Ussop and Chopper picked up the steps easily though and the trio entertained the others in the evening with silly skits, songs and dances. It was great fun having Candy aboard. She was truly one of them.
The first island they came to with Candy aboard was uninhabited jungle. Luffy took Candy and the pair disappeared into the dense foliage. They spent the day exploring the island running through the jungle and swinging through the tree tops. They returned to the ship just before sunset damp, dirty and giggling their fool heads off. Nami wrinkled her nose at them. "Candy chan you're all muddy."
Candy giggled. "We had a mud ball fight."
"I woulda won too if you hadn't got that last one in my mouth," Luffy insisted still chuckling.
Mud ball fight? The hell? They act like they're still children. "Yes, well," Nami straightened. "You should get cleaned up. Sanji kun is making dinner now. It will be ready soon."
"Hai Nami!" Candy chirped. She and Luffy started off to go and get cleaned up for supper. Candy bumped him and Luffy bumped her back.
Nami waited until they were out of earshot. "Weirdoes," she grumbled.
Zoro had seen it all. His grin stretched ear to ear as he stepped around the mast. "Looks like Luffy and Candy are making up for all that lost play time ne?"
Miss navigator didn't entirely approve. "She'll ruin her clothes playing in mud. What is Candy chan thinking? She doesn't behave like that when she's hanging out with me and Robin."
"It's all about Luffy. Goofing around is how Luffy and Candy deal with each other. It's their way."
"Their way ne?" Nami wondered if all the mud flinging and shoving was just a cover for something else. Like a couple of kids too immature to admit they like each other. Nami sighed. "Yeah I guess."
After dinner Luffy and Ussop sorted through the crate of films Elton had sent them off with. Something caught Luffy's eye and he snagged it. "Whoa! Zombie Fog! Remember this Candy chan?"
Zombie Fog! Candy's blood turned to ice water in her veins. She laughed trying to hide her fear. "Sure I do Luffy." Luffy and Candy had snuck into the theatre to watch Zombie Fog when they were about eight years old. It had scared the hell out of them. By the time the movie was over Candy was practically glued to her friend.
Luffy laughed, he remembered too. Candy held his hand in the movie theatre. She had been really scared, so scared she made him sneak out of his room at night and go sit under her bedroom window until she fell asleep. That went on for weeks. "Let's watch it! It will be cool!"
Not wanting to let her nakama know she was scared blue of zombies Candy smiled and agreed. "Sure. I bet it's not even scary anymore now that we're grown up."
Candy was dead wrong. The crew sat around watching the zombies attack from within the fog. Candy scotched closer to Luffy on the couch. She saw a zombie munching on some poor shmuck's brain and Candy hid her face against Luffy's shoulder. She was glad it was dark. She didn't want her nakama to think she was a chicken. She breathed a sigh of relief when the credits rolled and detached herself from Luffy before the lights came up. He was all smiles.
It was late when the movie ended and after a few drinks everyone but the night watch shuffled off to bed. Candy put on her pink bunny covered jammies trying not to think about zombies or fog or zombies in the fog! She lie in bed and put out the light trying to clear her mind.
"There's no such thing as zombies." Candy said it, but she didn't believe it. A pirate had once told Alucard about a place called Haiti where there were real zombies! "He was only kidding." Lieing to herself wasn't getting her anywhere and after a long and agonizing hour Candy got out of bed and tucked her feet into her slippers. She made the mistake of peeking out the window. Her distraught mind saw the moon's reflection on the water as a fog bank and panic ensued. Candy fled her room with a quickness.
"Luffy? Luffy? Luffy are you awake?"
He was now. Candy's panicked whispers brought him up and out of sleep. Luffy sat up rubbing his eye. Candy stood beside his bed in the dim. She looked scared. "What's the matter Candy chan? Are we under attack or something?"
"No it's just that," she was still whispering, perhaps afraid a wandering zombie might hear her. "I keep hearing all these weird noises and stuff."
Luffy listened to the ship settling on the waves all around them. "It's just the ship."
"I keep hearing footsteps too."
"Ussop's got the night watch. He always steps heavy."
Logical explanations weren't much comfort. "Oh."
His Candy chan still looked frightened. Her eyes were big and she was nervously biting at her bottom lip. Luffy smiled. He suspected she was more scared of zombies then noises in the night. "That movie scared you again didn't it Candy chan?"
"No," she tried to be brave. "I'm not scared at all."
"Sure you're not," Luffy chuckled and pulled down the covers beside him. "Come on, get it."
Candy frowned trying to decide what to do. She didn't want to go back to her dark room alone but "Me sleep in here with you?"
"Sure why not? We'll make it a slumber party."
She was contemplating her rebuttal when Candy heard something else go bump in the night. Quick as a flash she flew over Luffy and dove into the empty spot in his bed. Candy pulled the covers up to her chin. "Did you hear that?!"
Sure, it was Ussop coming down from the crows nest. "It was just Ussop Candy chan."
"He sure is noisy."
Luffy yawned and lay back down. "It's those big clunky boots he wears."
Her friend wasn't scared in the slightest. Luffy settled and Candy tried to settle too. "Ussop's boots."
"You'll get used to all the sounds of the ship soon enough. It just takes time."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right Luffy." Candy let out a big breath and lay back. "Oi Luffy?"
He smiled in the dark. "Don't worry Candy chan, I'll protect you."
Candy did feel much safer in here with Luffy. "Okay." She snuggled up to her friend and tried to relax and get some sleep.
Luffy slipped an arm around Candy and closed his eyes. Some things hadn't changed, Candy was still afraid of zombies. Some things were defiantly different; it was a woman's body his dear Candy chan pressed against him now. Luffy fell asleep with a silly grin on his face.
Their days were fun and full of laughter. Candy got into the habit of crawling into bed with Luffy when she woke up in the night. At first it was her zombie panic, but after a few weeks it became force of habit. Luffy didn't mind. His ears quickly got used to listening for Candy in the night. Most of the time he woke up when he heard her come shuffling across the hall. There was always room for his friend beside him anytime of the day or night. After about a month of Candy's nocturnal visits the pair had become quite used to sharing Luffy's bed. Neither Luffy nor Candy mentioned to the others that Candy sleepwalked into Luffy's room in the night. If someone happened to see her leaving Luffy's room in the morning it was dismissed as Candy going in to wake Luffy up.
After the fifth time Zoro saw Candy sneaking out of the captains room just after sun up he became a bit suspicious. If Candy chan was waking Luffy, why did it look like she had just peeled her eyes open herself? Zoro decided to confirm his suspicion one night when he had the late watch. He crept down to Luffy's room around four in the morning and peeked in. Luffy and Candy were both asleep in Luffy's bed. Candy was sprawled out all over him and Luffy was snoring loudly. There wasn't any funny business going on, they were both in their pajamas. Zoro rolled his eyes and headed topside.
The next island was small but inhabited. As luck would have it the locals were having a harvest festival and the crew joined in on the festivities. It was just like carnival back in Foosha Village. Luffy dragged Candy all over playing games and riding the rides. They ate candy apples and pink cotton candy. Chopper was the only one brave enough to try a few rides with them, but after one go on the Tilt a Whirl the little reindeer was all done. No one else had the stomach for such dizzying rides.
Finally Luffy and Candy made it to the Ferris wheel. Candy rocked their car a little as they slowly climbed to the top. "We're doing it Luffy!" she giggled excitedly. "Just like we promised!"
Luffy laughed. "You bet we are. I always keep my promises Candy."
She looked away from the view of the sea and smiled at her friend. You really do. "Luffy, thank you." Candy leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek just below his scar.
It was good for Luffy that the Ferris wheel got moving again and Candy was distracted by their sudden plummet because all at once he was eleven years old again. Candy chan kissed me! His cheeks felt hot and Luffy just had to laugh. Candy kisses were exciting. "Yatta!"
A few days after they left the harvest festival behind Ussop had something for Candy. All of their research had paid off and Ussop had found a metal that would inhibit Kai's power. He used the metal, a pure silver, to surround the God Stones and absorb the brunt of their power. Candy was thrilled to have bracelets again. She had felt so naked without Edelbrock. The anklets would take some getting used to but she didn't mind. Kai was a special gift from her sensei and her nakama had made them safe for her.
Ussop had some final information about the Kai set for Candy. He waited until they were alone to pass it on. "The crest around the stones will keep a great portion of Kai's power from entering your body Candy chan, but it will also limit the power of your weapon."
Candy looked at the bracelet on her left wrist. "I see."
"However Candy chan, should you ever need the full power of Kai, I built in a release."
"A release?"
"Yes. You can remove the inhibiting crests but," he hadn't been sure he wanted to do it, but with some of the enemies they faced out here Ussop wanted Candy to be able to protect herself. "If you remove the inhibitor you're going to be stuck with Kai."
She wasn't worried. Alucard had targeted her bracelet specifically because he knew what it would do. Such a thing would probably never be repeated and Kai was much stronger then Edelbrock had been. "I understand. Thanks Ussop!" She gave the inventor a big thank you hug.
"No problem Candy chan," Ussop blushed.
Luffy could tell Candy was glad to have her weapons back. She had talked Sanji into showing her how to do some fancy kicks now that she had the power of Kai in her feet. The love cook was more then happy to train his beautiful apprentice especially when she wore short shorts. Candy trained alone too. She took studying Kai and learning her new abilities quite seriously. She worked hard to make Roulette proud even if she would never see her mentor again.
Evenings aboard ship were always fun. Candy loved playing Elton's old piano and Ussop kept if finely tuned. She got Chopper into most of her skits; the doctor loved being a showman. The two made a hilarious pair and they kept their nakama laughing. Of course Candy sang for anyone anytime; Sanji when he was cooking, Nami when she wanted to dance and Luffy all the time. He didn't rest his head on her chest when she sang to him anymore but sometimes she'd put his hand just below her throat so he could still feel the vibrations. Luffy liked to sit with his head on her shoulder and his hand below her voice box when she sang sweet songs to him.
To all of their nakama Luffy and Candy were best buddies. The only time he ever got really aggravated with her was when she teased him about Ace which she just had to do once in a while. Candy still thought Ace was totally sugee! Candy was impressed with his position in Whitebeard's crew. She thought he grew up to be totally handsome too. Candy and Nami would go on about how sexy and powerful Ace was while Luffy sulked in the corner. Nami caught on quick that Ace was a bone of contention between the childhood friends and learned to use it to her advantage. Whenever Luffy would annoy her acting a fool all Nami had to say was, "No wonder Candy chan prefers Ace to a dummy like you!" and the disgruntled captain would settle right down.
The captain could still remember his talk with his big brother about Candy pretty clearly. Ace had warned Luffy that Candy had grown up, he had called her beautiful. Big brother had teased little brother commenting that he still intended to make Candy his girlfriend and he reminded Luffy that Candy was always far more impressed Ace then her good buddy monkey face. Thinking about Ace and Candy always brought a gloomy frown to Luffy's brow. Candy chan was Luffy's girl. She had always been the most beautiful thing in Luffy's world, it was no different now then it was they were kids. He had told his pain in the ass of a big brother long ago that he would never let Ace date his friend. Luffy intended to stick to his word. If Ace did show up and try putting a move on his Candy chan, Luffy would just have to beat him up or at the very least try. There was no way in hell Luffy was going to let his big brother steal his Candy chan away from him.
Fortunately for Luffy Ace showing up to steal his musician away wasn't something he had to worry about right away. Nami was more of a Candy hog then Ace had ever been. The women bonded over clothes and shopping. The navigator just loved having another female her size and age aboard ship. She also loved playing with Candy's long golden hair. Candy was generally content with a ponytail or a braid down the back, but Nami just loved to make her look cute. Silly pigtails and fun buns were Nami's favorite designs. Luffy liked to grab Candy's pigtails like reigns. Nami usually hit him for it.
One evening Nami broke down and admitted something to Candy that got her laughing pretty hard. Before they left High Roll Nami had Sanji and Zoro retrieve the gold bars that blocked off Candy's windows in La Palacia. A good portion of that gold was still in the ships hold. Candy laughed until there were tears leaking from her eyes. She thought it was hilarious that Alucard was financing her adventures on the Grand Line after all. Deep down she felt a release knowing that there would never be bars on her window again, golden or otherwise. Her nakama had really saved her.
Akane was a small island with a sleepy little village. Sanji Nami and Chopper went to do a little shopping, Luffy and Candy just had to go exploring. There wasn't much to see in the village, it was a quiet place, but there was the ice cream incident. Luffy and Candy saw a little girl sharing her cone with her puppy. Unfortunately for the child, the puppy really liked the sweet treat and knocked her scoop out of the cone and onto the ground. The little girl started to cry and Candy went to her rescue.
She bought them all a fresh ice cream cone and kept the puppy busy while the kid finished her ice cream. Afterward the sticky child told them about the big open fields outside of the village. It made him think of Foosha Village Luffy was up for the adventure. He pestered Candy until she agreed to take a nice long hike with monkey face. They left the village and just like the kid had said; rolling fields of wildflowers and tall grass met them. Luffy laughed and dragged Candy off with him.
They spent the better part of the day exploring the island. In the afternoon they came to a hill that overlooked the beach and the sea. A big willow gave them some shade. Luffy lay on his back chewing on a piece of grass watching the wind move the leaves. Candy never could resist water and she just had to get her feet wet. She left her shoes with Luffy and went down to the waters edge. Candy walked in the surf keeping an eye out for interesting sea shells.
Luffy sighed and rolled over. He propped his chin up on one hand and watched Candy in the water. She was bent over when a big wave knocked her down. She landed on her butt in the water, soaking herself and laughing about it. Luffy snorted a laugh too. Candy just loved to make a mess of herself. Her fun buns were falling down so Candy said to hell with them and took them down. Luffy was sure Nami would be disappointed. After a while Candy shook off and headed back up the hill. Luffy sat up to greet her. "How's the water?"
Candy giggled and sat down beside Luffy in the dappled shade. "A little cold but it was fun."
"Find anything good?" he spit out his grass.
"Naw. The kids around here must have picked the place clean already." Candy smiled at Luffy and ran a hand through her hair to shake it dry. "I shoulda brought my bathing suit."
His eyebrow twitched. Luffy had seen Candy in her bathing suit before. That little bikini. It was distracting to say the least. "It will be a day before the log pose sets. We can come back here tomorrow if you want to."
She shrugged. "I promised Nami we'd look at fabric."
"Sounds boring."
Candy laughed. "Luffy!" Nami likes that stuff, besides we have to pick out something for new throw pillows."
He rolled his eyes. "What is it with women and pillows? You have like thirty of them on your bed."
"They're for decoration."
Luffy still thought it was silly. "You have thirty pillows on your bed for decoration and yet you always steal mine."
It was true Candy never brought her own pillow into Luffy's room when she wandered in past midnight. She laughed a little feeling her cheeks heat up. "Yours is comfortable to sleep on."
Is Candy chan blushing? Luffy watched her fiddling with her toe ring. "I must be pretty comfortable to sleep on too ne?" he teased. "You like to sleep with your head on my chest."
It was true but embarrassing to admit. "So what? The sound of your heartbeat puts me to sleep."
He smiled at the thought. "It does?"
"Yeah," she laughed and looked back up at Luffy. "I like hearing something when I fall asleep. High Roll was a twenty four hour city. I need some kind of noise."
That made sense, but Luffy thought there was a little more to it then that. Candy was blushing. "I like the way you keep me warm at night. I never wake up with cold feet anymore."
Candy blinked at Luffy's smile. He said some weird things sometimes. "Well that's good I guess."
Luffy chuckled at the face Candy was making. "Yep sure is. It sucks waking up with cold feet. I'd much rather wake up to you Candy chan."
He was almost always awake before she was and in all the time Candy had been climbing into Luffy's bed not once did he ever make a move to wake her up or roll out from under her. Candy would wake, Luffy would smile at her and say good morning and then she'd shuffle back to her own room. Thinking about it now she got a funny feeling in her stomach. "You can wake me up when you get up you know Luffy."
"It's alright," Luffy shrugged. "I don't mind watching you sleep. You look really cute when you're asleep. All peaceful and innocent."
She frowned at him. "I do not." He laughed at her and Candy went back to playing with her toe rings.
Yes you do. He was wondering if he was embarrassing her. Luffy was under the impression that Candy sneaking into his room was something she wanted kept a secret between them. She was probably worried that somebody would get the wrong idea. He chuckled again. "We're secret bed buddies."
"Luffy!" Candy whirled on him. "Don't say it like that!"
Her reaction was funny and it kept him laughing. "But its true Candy chan."
Candy scowled at her giddy friend. "Baka! You don't say that! It makes it sound perverted."
If liking Candy in bed with him made Luffy a pervert then so be it. "Sorry."
"Just say slumber party, that sounds much nicer." She turned her heated cheeks into the refreshing sea breeze. Idiot saying stuff like that!
He couldn't help it, he was a man. He started to wonder what it would be like if there was a little less slumber and a little more party going on in his bed with his beautiful Candy chan. Luffy felt his own cheeks heating up. Looking at her now he thought it might be a good time to ask. "Oi, Candy chan, after I've become pirate king lets get married and have a couple of kids. What do you say?"
Her world came to a grinding halt. Na-nani!? Candy turned back to her friend. "Nandeyannen Luffy!" She thumped Luffy in the head hard. Her face was crimson. "You can't just say things like that! Baka monkey face! Aho!"
Oww that hurt. Luffy reached for his aching crown blinking at Candy. "Eh, you won't marry me Candy chan?"
Candy was stunned. He's...serious? "Keh, why would I?"
Luffy shrugged his shoulders. "Why wouldn't you."
He can't be… "Humph," Candy lifted her nose. "Maybe I want to marry someone who isn't so stupid. Maybe I want someone more like Ace."
"Oh, Ace ne?" Luffy straightened his hat and looked his flustered friend in the eye. "You'd rather pass on the will of D with my brother?"
All at once the silliness went right out of their conversation. Candy realized that Luffy wasn't just teasing her or being a goof. The look in his eyes made that perfectly clear. Luffy… In his own dumb monkey way he was asking her to bear his heirs with the will of D. Candy's mouth fell open. "I … that's not what I said."
He stared into eyes bluer then any sea he had ever seen. Candy's cheeks were pink and Luffy thought she looked beautiful. His heart speed up in his chest and Luffy smiled a little. "After I become the pirate king, you'll marry me."
Candy was even more surprised to see that Luffy's cheeks were turning red too. Marry Luffy after he becomes pirate king, if…when he becomes pirate king. She had faith in her friend and believed in his dream but the Grand Line was a long and strange place. It could take years, maybe decades for Luffy to become king of this watery realm. The will of D. It means so much to him. "Alright Luffy," Candy answered with a grin. "I'll marry you after you become pirate king."
Giggling excitedly Luffy held up his pinky finger? Candy said she'll marry me! Yatta! Take that Ace! "So it's a promise?"
She had never heard of a proposal or a promise quite like this and his smile made her laugh. Candy locked pinky fingers with Luffy. "Alright, it's a promise. I'm doing the rest of the world a favor you know, saving them from a goof ball monkey face like you."
Luffy laughed smiling at the love of his life. His heart had wings. "It's a promise!"
Luffy and Candy kept their proposal promise to themselves, just like Candy climbing into his bed at night. Being a promise of the future it had little to do with their daily lives and things went on like normal. Nami and Candy picked out fabric for throw pillows on Akane Island and spent the next week pricking their fingers trying to sew the damn things together. Nami had little patience for such work and Candy got stuck doing most of it by herself. She didn't mind, Candy was used to running a quick stitch in a costume before a show. Soon enough the lounge had its throw pillows too.
11