Hello! Here we are at the last chapter. I'm pretty sad because I really love this story and I was pretty happy to finish something that's 25 chapters long. I completed my first Advent challenge and it felt very good. This isn't the last of my Crocodile/Luffy stories so don't worry.

Well let's begin!

I don't own One Piece. Oda-sensei does.

One Piece

A Strawhat Christmas

Chapter 25: The Best Present

The dawn of Christmas morning, a joyous yell traveled around the Sunny. The Strawhat crew and Crocodile slowly woke up. They were tired from wrapping presents the day before. Crocodile didn't know the difficulty of trying to keep Luffy from unwrapping a gift once it was wrapped. It was hard to hide Luffy's gifts once they wrapped them, but they did it. They finished the gifts in the middle of the night, but no one expected to get much sleep. It was a big event to celebrate Christmas together after two years.

The door to the men's cabin flew open as Luffy ran in and jumped on top of Crocodile. "Merry Christmas guys!"

Usopp smiled and sat up. "Merry Christmas,"

Zoro stirred next with a smile. "Merry Christmas,"

Sanji grinned, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "Merry Christmas,"

"Yay it's Christmas, Merry Christmas Luffy!" Chopper said excitedly.

"Merry Christmas," Franky said in a robotic tone.

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper screamed in excitement. "That's so cool!"

Crocodile chuckled pushing a strand out of his face as he sat up. "Merry Christmas,"

"It's a very Merry Christmas indeed." Brooke smiled.

"We're all together this year this is great. We have a guest this year too." Luffy grinned over at Crocodile.

Crocodile nodded. "Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem! Come on, let's open some presents!" Luffy exclaimed as he ran out the room with Chopper and Usopp behind him. Franky laughed and jogged out to catch them. Sanji and Zoro walked behind them with amused smiles. Crocodile followed Brooke who hummed a holiday tune with him.

When they made it to the deck, Robin and Nami were there to greet them in front of the tree.

"Merry Christmas!" Nami grinned.

Robin smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" Luffy exclaimed with the same excitement. He jogged over to the tree with Chopper on his shoulder. Sanji walked to the kitchen to prepare hot drinks and breakfast. Zoro took a seat next to Usopp and Franky. Crocodile sat next to Robin while Brooke played a holiday tune. Usopp got up a few minutes later to help Luffy and Chopper pass out the gifts.

Crocodile didn't expect to get any gifts from anyone except Luffy. It surprised him when he received gifts from the crew.

"These are for me?" Crocodile asked as he picked up something from Robin.

"You're our captain's guest. We couldn't leave you out of the fun." Zoro smirked.

"Besides you're not half bad." Nami grinned.

Crocodile looked back at the gifts and back up at the happiness from the crew. Something he hadn't experience in a long time.

"I guess I should get started then." Crocodile grinned as he opened his first gift. Luffy bounced over and took a seat in his lap with his own gift in hand. Everyone took that as a cue to begin opening their gifts as Sanji walked out with a tray of coffee and hot cocoa.

When everyone finished opening their gifts they started to read Christmas cards they picked up in the town. They received cards from their friends around the sea such as, Garp, Vivi, Iceburg, Hancock, and Iva, much to Sanji's horror. The next pile contained cards from Perona, Mihawk, Dragon, a few revolutionaries, Rayleigh, Shakky, and Das Bone, much to Crocodile's amusement.

The different styles of each card were enjoyable to look at. It reminded them of the varying colors on their tree. Crocodile didn't show it, but it felt good to know Vivi and Das Bone was alright. Although he would get Das Bone for the light teasing in his card.

It relieved Crocodile to know that the crew enjoyed their mugs and Luffy liked the crystals. Crocodile enjoyed his gifts, as well. The new cigar case, book on Sea Tales, a new shining kit for his hook, a personalized mug, a homemade book of puzzles, a pocket watch, a new lighter, a few of his enjoyable songs on a sound dial, and a new silk shirt. He couldn't remember the last time he received so many wonderful gifts.

Crocodile looked over his book to look at the crew with their gifts. Luffy and Chopper played with their actions figures. Robin was content with her new books. Nami loved her new map graphing kit. Zoro enjoyed the book on different types of drinks found in East Blue. Usopp loved his new sketchbook and paints. Franky couldn't put his tool kit down. Sanji did the same with his puzzle book. Brooke happily played holiday songs with his new violin.

As the day progressed, Crocodile ate, drank, and celebrated Christmas the Strawhats way. He sat back with Robin, Nami, and Zoro as they watched Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper dance. Franky joined them and one by one everyone followed until they started dancing. Crocodile was glad he could join in on the celebration. The Strawhats really knew how to throw a party.

A few hours later, Crocodile opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed they fell asleep around each other in the aquarium bar. He tried to remember when they moved the party there in his hazy mind. He tried to get up, but stopped at the weight on top of his chest. Crocodile gave a small smile and kissed Luffy's forehead. He grinned up at the ceiling as he eased back down.

He slid a hand through Luffy's hair as Usopp snuggled against him. He turned his head slightly to see Nami curled up against Usopp. Robin sat in Franky's lap with her head nestled against his shoulder. Zoro and Sanji curled close to each other. Brooke slept close by them with Chopper snuggled against him.

Crocodile rested his hand back against the pillow on the sofa. He knew Sanji and Zoro would keep an eye on him, but he noticed they eased up on him in the past couple of days. Crocodile hoped it would show that he was serious about Luffy.

Crocodile relaxed against the sofa as he continued to comb his fingers through Luffy's hair. It was the first time in a long time he didn't have a lonely or quiet Christmas. Instead, he spent the day using his awesome gifts, eating a wonderful dinner, and enjoying a warm night. He wasn't bored. He didn't think he would be bored anytime soon if he stuck with the Strawhats.

Tomorrow is going to be very amusing. Crocodile grinned. He kissed Luffy's hair as he slipped back to sleep.

Crocodile didn't know what the next day or week or year would bring. However, he looked forward to it.

Here we are the end! I hoped you enjoyed the story. Thank you to all my readers, followers, and people who put this on alert. Thanks for sticking with me when I had to take a break for awhile due to school and RL. You guys are the best! I'll see you next time. Bye!