A/N: OH. MY.. GOD. It was brought to my attention by ilovecartoonsgirl that I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT SABO. That's embarrassing. Ahaha. And now I have absolutely no idea how to introduce him in this story because I've already finished writing the entire below chapter. UGH. So in this story I think what I'll do is: He joined the army as soon as he graduated high school. I'll make sure to have him come home and visit soon though. :) AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE.
"NAMI! DINNER'S READY." Bellemere shouted from downstairs.
"COMING!" Nami shouted back, looking over at Luffy who nodded.
They both got up and hopped down the stairs, joining Bellemere and Nojiko at the dinner table. Luffy's eyes lit up when he realized they were having steak for dinner. He wanted to jump up and down but he tried his best to remain calm in front of Nami's family. Luffy sat down next to Nami and smiled, "Thank you so much for the dinner, Bellemere." He said as politely as he could.
Bellemere smiled, "Oh, It's no problem, Luffy. You're always welcome."
Luffy smiled and started digging in, unfortunately as messy as always. Nami looked over and sighed, nudging him, "Eat like a normal person." she said.
Luffy looked up and noticed everyone staring at him. He looked confused, "I thought I was eating like a normal person." Luffy said with his mouth full. Nami whacked him on the head again.
"HAVE SOME MANNERS, YOU IDIOT." She yelled and then gritted her teeth, "Use your fork and knife and cut your food.. AND DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL."
Luffy was rubbing his head, "Sorryyyyy." He picked up his silverware, finally eating his food properly. Nami sighed and looked up at Nojiko and Bellemere, who were shocked, "Sorry."
"So, Luffy, How long have you lived in this town?" Bellemere asked.
Luffy swallowed his food and thought for a second, "Hmmm. I moved here when I was around 8, I'm pretty sure."
"That's nice," Bellemere smiled, "So you like the school system here?"
"It's okay. Shishishi. I have good friends, and the teachers are okay. Most of them are nice! A lot of homework though."
"Well, I'm really glad Nami's made friends so quickly." Bellemere replied, "She had a hard time making friends at her old school."
"Mom…" Nami said with a slight glare, trying a to get her to stop talking, but was unsuccessful.
"She was bullied. I feel terrible for not pulling her out of that school sooner. But my Nami is so strong, she acted like nothing was wrong and never told me what was going on..Then one day the principal saw some girl calling her names and gave me a call." Bellemere frowned. Nami looked down, embarrassed.
Luffy was shocked, "How? How could anyone not like Nami?" He asked, clearly upset, "She's… She's so kind and beautiful. And she has such a great sense of humor too...And... and she's probably the smartest person I've ever met! I think Nami's really great!" Luffy grinned and looked over at Nami who still had her head down, hiding a huge blush that had spread across her cheeks. She took a deep breath and looked over at Luffy with a huge smile, "...Thank you."
"Shishishi… No problem, Nami!" He grinned.
Bellemere and Nojiko smiled before continuing their meals.
When everyone was finished eating, Luffy glanced at the time.
"Well, I'd better get going before my dad starts to wonder where I am! But thanks again for the meal, it was delicious!" Luffy said.
"It was very nice to meet you! Come over anytime you'd like!" Bellemere smiled.
"Nice to meet you too!" Luffy said as he stood up.
Nami looked up at him, "I'll walk you out!" She said before getting up and following him outside.
"Thanks for coming over today, it was fun." Nami said with a huge grin.
"Yeah, it was! Well, I'll see you tomorrow!" Luffy exclaimed before pulling her into a tight hug. Nami remembered something and pulled away, looking at him.
"Your sweatshirt! I totally forgot, it's in the wash, I'll give it back tomorrow."
"Shishishi..I wasn't worried about it! But thanks!"
"No problem!" Nami giggled.
"See ya, Nami!" Luffy said, walking down Nami's driveway.
"Yeah…" Nami said with a soft smile, wishing he didn't have to leave, "See ya.."
Luffy looked back and waved, then continued walking down the street towards his house. He didn't want to leave either but he knew it was getting late. About 5 minutes later, he reached his house and walked up the steps, turning the doorknob and walking in. He instantly felt a hand mess up his hair and looked up to see his older brother, Ace.
"Hey, little bro." Ace smirked, "Where've ya been?"
"Oh, ya know," Luffy grinned, putting his hands in his pockets, "Just over my friends house."
Shanks walked into the room with his arms crossed and sighed, "Luffy. You know I don't like to be a strict parent, but what the hell, man? Why did you leave school early today?"
"Huh? How'd you know?" Luffy asked with his eyes wide.
"The principal saw you and called me, dummy." Shanks said, shaking his head.
"Oh yeah!" Luffy remembered the principal trying to come after him.
"And he said you were with a red haired girl, and that you guys took off running."
"No way! Luffy's got himself a girl! Way to go, Luffy!" Ace cheered.
"Shishishi… Nah, it's not like that, we're just friends. She was having a bad day so I walked her home, and then her mom asked if I wanted to stay for dinner."
Shanks shrugged, "Ah well, I don't know if the principal's planning to punish you or not, but couldn't you be a little more sneaky next time? Jeez."
"I didn't think he'd see me!" Luffy laughed.
"Well, I'm gonna go out for a bit! See you guys later!" Shanks said, walking out the front door. Luffy gave Ace a confused look and Ace just shrugged.
Luffy walked into his room and plopped down on his bed. He sighed and looked around. Nothing to do. I'm boreeeeddddddd. He thought. He got up and walked into the hallway, knocking on Ace's door. Ace opened the door and looked down at his little brother, "What's up?"
"I'm sooooooooooo boooooorrrred." Luffy sighed.
Ace smirked, "Okay, tell me about this new friend of yours."
Luffy tilted his head, "Nami?"
Ace nodded and Luffy began, "Hmm, Well, she's really really nice! And she has this really pretty red hair. She also has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen! She's such a great person, and already one of my good friends. I hope you get to meet her soon, Ace!"
Ace smiled and crossed his arms, "Ya know, Luffy. You never spoke about Vivi or Robin this way…. You have feelings for her, don't you?"
"EH? WHAT?"
"Luffy I'm not dumb, you came home with a stupid smile on your face." Ace said bluntly.
Luffy looked down, twiddling his thumbs, "Yeah… I think I really like her… I mean, when I'm with her, I feel sooooosooooo happy. Everything about her is just so amazing."
Luffy's eyes widened. Shocked at his realization, he repeated himself, "...I really like her."
