A drabble I wrote years ago, just after Brook joined the crew and before we (the Fandom) lost Ace. Still working on my Misconceptions, and Weaving Fate, but I found this sitting in a dusty corner on my hard drive.

Note, this is set before Sabody, Saboady, okay, how do you spell that? Anyway, it's set before they rescue Keimei, or Caime, or whatever her name is.

The great Oda-sensei came up with these characters and everything else. I'm just musing on their bonds as a crew.

A Crew's Love

There were several different types of Love, Robin remembered from one of her books. Love for family, passionate love, love for friends, . . . and a fourth that she couldn't remember.

But she knew that passionate love wasn't what any of them felt for each other (with the possible exception of Sanji, but she was pretty sure it was a romantic ideal that he held all women too, . . . then again, with this crew, you couldn't judge a book by its cover, ever.) Yet they all looked at each other with a gentle love. Even Sanji and Zoro, who growled at each other and acted like they wouldn't have a problem leaving the other to bleed out in a gutter somewhere, had a spark of affection that screamed "You're my brother/crewmate and I love you for that."

But strangely, the most love that everyone showed, was when their Captain was in their midst. It was mixed with admiration and adoration and hope . . . it softened and strengthened the edges that defined them all.

Brook, despite being a skeleton with no physical heart, was pulled in easily. Luffy gave him hope, a purpose to exist, and a reason to continue the journey. It was like he gave the skeleton more life, and the Skeleton was glad for it. Brook had no problem obeying his captain's request for music, no matter what the time was, or what the skeleton had been doing previoulsy. Brook loved the life Luffy had given him, and that in turn made him love his captain even more.

Franky, their shipwright, well, Luffy had used rather unorthodox methods to get him to join, but like all of them, there was a huge respect for Luffy. A magnetic pull that Franky couldn't avoid. A chance to live a dream that he thought he would never get. And a chance to live with misfits like him that understood the dream and desire. Franky loved his captain for his excitement and enthusiasm, happily accepting his place in the crew.

For herself . . . Luffy had pulled her out of a dark place, and she was eternally grateful. He had pulled out emotions that she had long forgotten, and as long as she stayed with the Strawhats, she knew that she wouldn't fall back into darkness . . . She loved Luffy like a little girl loved the dream of a white knight in armor. Robin was convinced he would always come to her rescue, with that smile and strawhat. He would never let her down, at least, not without a fight, and she loved him for that.

And it was the same for the Alabasta princess, Robin knew. Vivi believed that Luffy would be the knight to save her and the kingdom, overthrow Crocodile, and she had a pretty good feeling that had Vivi lost her kingdom, she would have gone with the Strawhats. There might have been more, behind the Princess' belief in Luffy, but Robin doubted either would have acted. Not with Luffy's sense of adventure, and the Princess' sense of duty . . . it would have seperated them eventually.

Chopper had been actively chased by Luffy, the rubber captain had declared himself the reindeer's friend, then chased all over the Drum island Castle until Luffy yelled at him to join the crew. Chopper loved Luffy for seeing past the fact he wasn't human and saw the person that was inside the reindeer's skin. He adored Luffy like a hero, more so than the rest of them.

Sanji, the skirt-chasing cook, got pulled by his dream to find the All Blue. There was definetly love there, but sometimes she felt that he belived more in Luffy as the King of Pirates, than in his own dream. Sanji was often the one that dove after luffy when he went overboard, loyal to his captain and always concerned for him.

Usopp . . . she wasn't quite sure about. There was belief in Luffy, sure, but it got tainted, she knew. But since his return, the usually over the top moments between the two were less, and Luffy would occasionally look for Usopp if he wasn't nearby. More and more, the two could be found sitting quietly by each other, neither really talking.

Nami probably had the same love for Luffy as Robin herself did. An unwavering belief that the rubber captain would rescue them from their demons, no matter what the cost. Robin also know that as much as Nami claimed Luffy owed her, it was the other way around . . . she charged more out of him and Zoro, the two who had been with her the longest, than anyone else. It just proved that as much money they owed her, that was how much the navigator was in debt to them for being there.

Then there was Zoro . . . out of all of them, Zoro probably loved Luffy the most, because they had been together the longest. Zoro's love for their captain was filled with respect and understanding . . . a bond that had been forged with fire and blood, and it could never be broken. (She remembered what she heard, how Zoro had offered himself in place of Luffy. It reminded her of a quote she had once read, about the greatest show of love was laying down one's life for another.) Zoro and Luffy would probably die together, going down fighting rather than have the first mate live without his captain.

And Luffy loved each of them without limit. He cared about their dreams and goals, the adventures they had. He loved them, more than life itself, no matter how far they went, he pulled them back like the rubber he was made of, wrapping them in his arms and letting them cry before he beat up the demons that dared to harm his crew.

So it was no wonder that when Brook played a song, Zoro would wake up to watch his captain and the doctor's antics. Sanji would serve food out on the lawn, and they would all watch Luffy, loving the light that their captain was and let themselves get pulled closer, tightening the bonds that defined them as a crew.

And when a new crewmate was pulled aboard by their captain, they would open their arms and show them the love that defined their crew, bringing them closer than ever to each other and easing their hurts. (opening their arms being a metaphor to bring the new Crewmate to their fold, Zoro didn't hug, and neither would Sanji.)

Luffy did plan on having a super crew of ten, so far they had nine (not counting those that were considered their crewmates despite the distance and choice to live elsewhere than on the ship) which meant they were only missing one more before their family was truly complete.

Robin felt almost sorry for the missing one, because it was quite a shock to be subjected to Luffy after so long of thinking one was alone, but whoever they were they wouldn't be alone for long.

A/N: The four types of love are Agape (Friendship) Storge (Family) Eros (Between two people that want to spend forever together) and Charitable love, the other name for it I don't remember, which is noted by C.S. Lewis as being the most 'unnatural' of loves. Why? Because Agape is normally between people who have something in common, Family is family, no matter how much we wish otherwise, and there are these things called Pheremones and Hormones that happen with Eros. Charity, on the other hand, is the love that pushes people to disregard their own safety for the sake of another. With the others, they're all about making one feel better, or safe, but with the fourth … that's the type that makes you want to do better for another.