Title: Of Dreams and Desires
Pairings: Smoker x Ace, Sanji x Zoro, and other side pairings
Ratings: T - NC-17
Chapter: 40 of ?
Summary: The road to One Piece is a dangerous one and each individual begins at different times and places. Some paths cross for a fleeting moment but the encounter could be so great that it can alter the initial direction. Every meeting is important and is planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other. Follow everyone's story and see what path they take.
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this story; all props go to Eiichiro Oda.
Author Note: Guys…Guys…I'm so tired Q_Q
Shout Outs: leon-andrew, thanks for the review! It thrills me to get feedback. Yeah it was tough writing them breaking up and poor Smoker doesn't even know it. Yeah I see Tensa as a big ol bear. Might act all tough but in the end dude just wants love like the rest of us. Blackbeard will for sure get his in the end; so nothing to worry about there. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Another equally hard piece to write lol. Until next time love.
Beta Reader: descriptionsalive21, thank you so much!

Monkey D. Luffy

The first mate sat next to his captain on the hard deck of the Merry. Chopper had been mending Usopp for hours now and all the crew could do was wait. The green haired male turned to face the raven teen, "You know what you're going to say?"

Luffy let out a sad chuckle, "When do I ever?"

Zoro nodded his head, "This is true."

The rubber boy pushed his hat down on his head, "No matter what I say, things won't go well."

"'Plan for the worst and hope for the best.' is what Koshiro use to say."

The door to the galley swung open and Chopper's happy face greeted the remainder of the Straw Hats, "Usopp's awake!"

The crew followed him back into the room where their nakama sat on a cot. Nami smiled sincerely, "Jeez, you had us worried."

When Usopp didn't respond to her words, she looked to Sanji for help. The cook pushed himself off the counter he was leaning on, lighting a smoke, "I don't know what you were thinking charging in there like that." He released the nicotine in his lungs, "We're just glad you made it out alive."

Zoro closed his eyes and made himself comfortable against the wall, "Think things through before you act."

Sanji snorted at his lover, "As if you're not one to talk."

Before the swordsman could respond, Usopp's quiet voice sounded in their ears, "I've been nothing but a burden." He looked around at his crewmates and when he saw their disappointed faces, he lunged at the first mate's leg, "I'm sorry! I really am! I'm so ashamed, guys!" He clenched at the green pants, crying, "We needed that money and I… I…"

Feeling his trousers start to slide down his hips, Zoro attempted to push the crying sharpshooter away, "Oi, stop it."

His words only made Usopp cry harder, "But I lost so much money!"

"You need to calm down!" Zoro pulled himself free of the blubbering teen, tugging his pants into their rightful position.

Chopper placed a hoof on his friend's shoulder, "Usopp, you should be resting."

Nami shook her head at the show Usopp was putting on, "Hear that? You should do what Chopper says."

With the guidance of their doctor, the longnose made his way back to the cot. He sheepishly glanced at his nakama, "So, then…there's no way to get the money?"

Luffy, who had taken to sitting at the table, crossed his legs on the bench, "Well, we won't know until this Franky guy gets back."

Usopp dropped his head in shame, "I see… I'm sorry."

The captain shrugged, "Even if it's gone, we still have 100,000,000 beli." He chuckled and waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it."

When Luffy laughed, Nami glared at him, "Money is always something to worry about!"

The happy laughter abruptly stopped and the glare thrown at the navigator made her face heat. Chopper pulled on his hat, "Nami…"

She gave a light chuckle, "Sorry, you know I didn't mean–"

"No, it's ok." There was a silence that was suffocating and Usopp cleared his throat, "But Luffy… what about the ship? What about Merry?"

Said boy gave a small smile to the inventor and Usopp's eyes widened, "Is a hundred million enough to fix her?"

The only sound heard was the burning of tobacco when Sanji inhaled his smoke. Having no one respond to his question, Usopp urged on, "We're here at a first class shipyard, so they can do it, right?"

Nami's fist tightened and Zoro crossed his arms in response. Seeing their reactions made Usopp hesitantly continue, "They'll make the ship stronger than ever and we'll keep sailing… right?"

Usopp glanced at Chopper and the reindeer gave him a sad look, prompting his patient to place a hand on his furry shoulder, "You'll see. She'll be good as new."

The lack of response frustrated the sharpshooter so Usopp questioned his captain again, "So? Can we afford to hire them with 100,000,000 beli?"

Luffy scratched his head, "Well, the thing is…" He stumbled over his words before starting over again, "Usopp, about the ship…" He smiled brightly at the downcast man, "I've decided to get a new one."

The teen's face gave away his surprise to his friend. Luffy held his gaze for a moment before continuing, "I'm sorry about deciding while you weren't around, but I've made my decision. The Going Merry's been really great to us… but it's time to say goodbye."

Shock settled upon Usopp's face and the members of the Straw Hats braced themselves for an outburst. When none came, Luffy turned behind him and grabbed the book off the table behind him, "See, I got this catalog at the Ice Ossan's place." He started to flip through the pages, "There's a lot of brand new ships that we could buy!"

It was so silent, you could practically hear crickets, so Luffy cleared his throat again, "Well, with a hundred million, we could buy a really big used ship–"

"Wait."

Luffy looked up at Usopp, watching with guarded eyes as the teen waved his hands, "Wait, wait. Come on, that's a pretty tasteless joke, not to mention ridiculous." He looked at Chopper, "Right?"

The doctor frowned and Usopp chuckled uncomfortably, "Chopper thinks you were serious!" He threw back his head and forced a laugh, "Jeez, our captain's such a kidder!" He chuckled and patted the floor in Nami's direction, "Go ahead and tell him off."

She kept her head down, staring at the floorboards. Usopp tsked, breathing heavily through his nose as he turned his gaze to Luffy, who had a stern expression written across his face. The sharpshooter's eyebrows furrowed, "What…you mean…we can't afford the repairs?" He climbed to his knees, "We can't afford it because I let them take the other two hundred million, right? That's it; isn't it, Luffy?"

Luffy closed the book and rested his elbow on his thigh as he listened to Usopp's rambling, "A first class shipyard's gonna have first class prices!"

As he struggled to stand to his feet, Luffy held out his hands to stop the injured man, "No, that's not it."

Usopp cocked his head to the side as anger began to light his eyes, "Oi, then what is it?"

Luffy gritted his teeth. He hated the way Usopp was looking at him, but this was their only option.

The inventor snapped, "Spit it out! Do you think I can't handle it?!"

"Of course not!" The captain stood to his feet, "Losing the money has nothing to do with it!"

"Then why are you spouting this shit about a new ship?!"

When Usopp took a menacing step towards Luffy, Zoro pushed himself off the wall, "Stop it, both of you! What good is arguing going to do? Calm down and talk it over."

Chopper tried to guide Usopp back to his resting cot but the teen pushed the small hooves away from his pant leg, "How can I be calm about this?! This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!"

Seeing Zoro's approach fail, Nami tried her own, "Hey, this is important! Don't get so worked up!"

Chopper nodded his head, "She's right Usopp, you need rest! Your body can't take–"

"I don't give a damn!" He pushed Chopper away again, "The captain simply says we're changing ships and I'm supposed to roll over and accept it?"

Luffy's devil moved in him and he stood to his full height, "It's not simple! It was a hard decision!"

Usopp scoffed, "You make a hard decision and this is what happens?" He snatched the booklet from Luffy, "Don't you dare wave this thing in my face and talk like that!"

He threw it to the ground and Luffy closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves. He let out a deep breath, "What are you doing?"

Usopp shook his head, "I don't want to see it!" He shoved Luffy's shoulder, "Oi, Luffy, if it's not because the money was stolen, then what's it about? Eh, Luffy?" There was no response and it dragged a growl from Usopp, "Tell me!"

He shoved his captain again, "Come on, say it! Why aren't you saying anything? If you think I can handle it, then don't hold back! Tell me! If you don't give me a reason I'm not gonna listen to another word!"

Each push of his shoulder irritated Gomu and the devil snarled. Handle this before I do.

"Going Merry isn't fixable!"

The words brought a hush upon the room. The seagulls could be heard squawking outside and Usopp's shoulders fell, "What did you say?"

Luffy clenched his fingers into a fist, "Don't make me repeat it." Usopp stared at his captain and the boy sighed, "The Merry can't be fixed. No one can repair her." Luffy took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, "If there were any other way I wouldn't be doing this."

Feeling the strength leave his body, Usopp collapsed to his knees, "But she's our ship!" He slapped the wooden floor, "This ship we're all standing on!"

Luffy glared at his friend, "That's right; this ship's gonna sink."

Usopp tilted his head as if he didn't hear correctly, "What are you talkin' 'bout Luffy?"

"It's true." The string keeping his hat around his neck felt tight against his throat, "That's what they said at the shipyard: it won't reach the next island."

Usopp sucked his teeth, "Oh, we won't reach it, huh? So, you let some guys you just met feed you a line of bullshit and you were happy with it?"

Luffy's eye twitched, "Excuse me?"

"Some so-called first class shipwrights said it can't be done and you believed them?! We've been together our whole journey! Though rough seas and battles! She's a nakama who's been with us through thick and thin and you're just going to let her die here?!" Anger flooded Usopp's veins, "Is that all this ship means to you, Luffy?"

The situation started to take a toll on him, aggravating his wounds and making him cough into his arm. Chopper walked over to him, checking his injuries; when he saw the blood spots on the bandage, he sighed, "That's enough, Usopp. If you keep yelling like that–"

He jerked himself away from the doctor, wiping the red liquid from his lips, "Thanks, but move. I'm not done yet."

Luffy took another deep breath, "Are you saying you can assess it yourself?" When Usopp didn't respond he nodded, "Right. Look, we don't have a shipwright, that's why we had them look at it and they told us our options. I'm tired of going in circles, Usopp."

"It doesn't matter! We don't need any help from them!" The inventor shook his head, "I'll repair her myself, like I always have! That's how we've gotten this far after all."

His legs gave out and he hit the floor with a bang, but his determination had him crawling on the floor towards the door. Zoro looked away from the pitiful sight, his eyes catching Sanji's and both men frowned. The situation was getting out of hand and he didn't know how to fix it.

"I'll go get started. You guys help too."

Sanji ran a hand through his hair, "Oi, hold on, Usopp."

His words didn't reach the teen as he mumbled to himself, "You're right, we'll need more timber. Go buy some from the shipyard. We've got a lot of work to do."

Luffy watched his crewmate struggle to the exit and the vein in his forehead grew as his anger did. Gomu's presence wrapped around him. Make him understand.

The captain clenched his fist; he couldn't make him understand. Usopp was being stubborn and that was something he couldn't control. He didn't get it; he was making the best decision for the crew… for their lives…

He couldn't watch it anymore, "YOU'RE NOT A SHIPWRIGHT, USOPP!"

His chest heaved in anger and Nami jumped at the outburst, "Luffy, calm down."

Usopp looked back at his captain, "Yeah and what about it?! Those workers won't go out on a limb to repair someone else's ship! I don't give a shit what some irresponsible shipwright who gives up after just one look says!" He laughed, "This just shows us that we have to take care of our ship ourselves."

He looked at the sheep figurine on the steering pole sadly, "I swear I won't abandon this ship." He glared at his crew, "Have you all lost your minds?! Some big shot shipwrights just fed you a convincing story and you believed them! The crewmates I know would see past their song and dance and believe in Merry's strength."

The longnose stood from his spot on the floor, glaring at Nami in disappointment before spinning around and stalking over to Luffy, "You're just spewing some oversimplified senile bullshit while putting on airs about being a captain!" He snatched the front of Luffy's shirt, popping a yellow button from its place, "I've misjudged you, Luffy!"

Nami took a step towards the hostile man, "Wait, Usopp, Luffy feels the same way–"

Luffy held his hand out and she bit her lip to keep from talking, "Stay out of this, Nami! I've made my decision!" He felt his blood boil and his skin turn hot. He was fucking sick of arguing, "I won't change my mind and no matter what you say. We're getting a new ship! We're saying goodbye to Merry!"

The red material of Luffy's shirt stretched as Usopp pulled him closer, "I won't let you do it! Listen to me, Luffy, not everyone can tolerate following someone like you forever! I'd never keep sailing if it meant leaving a wounded nakama behind!"

His words hit a nerve, "Tolerate me?! You're talking crazy! You can't treat a ship like it's a person even if it's our nakama!"

He slapped the weak hands off of him, making Usopp growl, "Yes you can! Merry still has the power to go on! I know what you're thinking, you're hyped about getting a new ship!"

Sanji pushed the two teens apart, "Guys, let it go! Nothing good will come from being so hostile!"

Usopp ignored the cook's words, "Everything you said about loving Merry was just empty words!"

Luffy pushed past Sanji, tackling Usopp to the ground and pinning him by the shoulders, "That's enough out of you!"

Nami gasped as Usopp let out a pained moan from under the irate man. Luffy leaned in close to the longnose, "Don't make it sound like you're the only one who's suffering! We all feel the same way!"

Usopp struggled to overpower the devil eater, "Then how could you even think about changing ships?!"

Luffy tsked, "Fuck it!" He shoved Usopp away and the wounded man's head banged against the floor, "Have it your way then! If you don't like how I do things, then you can just pack up–"

A swift kick to the face cut the boy off from his rant, sending Luffy crashing into the only table they had in the kitchen. Fuming, Sanji spat out his long-ago burnt out smoke, "You jackass, what were you about to say?!"

The silence from the debris gave him his answer, "Get over yourself!" He looked at Usopp, "The both of you! Don't talk so carelessly! You both hear me?!"

Zoro closed his eyes at his lover's actions. Everyone was on edge.

Luffy sat up and moved some of the broken wood around, adjusting his hat on his head, "I'm sorry. It just slipped out."

Usopp's quiet voice came from the other side of the room, "No… it's ok, Luffy." Everyone looked at the sharpshooter lying on his back, "That's what you want, isn't it?"

Luffy let out a tired sigh, "What?"

The skinny man painfully rolled over and lifted himself from the ground, "Any nakama who can't pull their weight gets cut loose and left behind." He sat cross legged on the floor, "If you're gonna do that to Merry, then do it to me too."

Sanji lit a cigarette, quickly inhaling a good portion of the tobacco stick, "Don't say such stupid things."

Usopp shook his head, "No, I mean it! I've done a lot of thinking about it. To tell you the truth, I've known that I could never be as incredible as you guys. Just today, I couldn't even handle guarding some money. Where you're headed, I'll be nothing but a burden." He stood from his spot, "You don't need weak nakama, right?"

Realization and sadness filled black orbs and Usopp looked away from them, "Luffy, you're the man who'll be the Pirate King, right? Well as for me, I don't need to go that far. Come to think of it, just when I was about to set sail you invited me to join you… that's the only real relationship we have. There's no reason to sail together knowing we have different purposes."

Usopp brushed past Nami and opened the door he'd been trying to reach all along. Sanji stared after him in disbelief, "Hey man, where are you going?"

"I'll go wherever I want. It's none of your concern anymore… I'm leaving the crew."

The words dropped like an anvil on the Straw Hats' chests, and when the door closed, they all looked at their captain for his next actions. When he didn't move from his place amongst the scattered wooden pieces, Nami snapped, "What the hell are you waiting for?! Are you just going to let him do that? Go after him!"

She didn't know what to do…she felt helpless, "Hurry up and go!" Luffy stood and began to clean up the mess he'd made and Nami huffed, "We've come so far together… are you sure you want to part ways like this?" She couldn't get through to him, so she turned to Sanji, "Usopp… is one of our nakama, right?"

Blue eyes clouded before he looked down from the begging brown ones. When no one made an attempt to go after Usopp she choked out a sob, "Please, Luffy, you…you're the captain, right? Why won't you say anything?"

Not knowing what else to do, she ran out the door followed by Sanji and Chopper. Zoro walked over to Luffy and placed a hand on his shoulder, stilling his movements. No words were said between first mate and captain but the message was relayed; they would get through this.

Luffy sighed and stood, "Do you think I'm wrong?"

Zoro's earrings jingled when he scratched his head, "Do you think you're wrong?"

The captain left the galley and joined the remainder of his crew on the deck as they watched Usopp walk away. Said man stopped, keeping his back to his former crew as he spoke, "Luffy, I'm leaving your crew. I've been a burden to the very end and because you're the captain, the ship belongs to you." He turned to face his former leader, "That leaves me only one alternative. Monkey D. Luffy, I challenge you to a duel! I will return at 10 o'clock tonight! Whoever wins the duel gets to keep Merry. I'm going to beat you and take her with me and THAT will be the end of our relationship!"

Luffy glared down his nose at his ex-nakama before he stormed off the deck.

M.D.L

Luffy lay in his hammock watching the hands move on the clock… waiting… anxiously. By no means did he want to fight Usopp. Despite their argument, he still considered him his friend, but he knew what had to be done. They couldn't move past this until things were settled.

The hatch to the men's quarters opened and Nami came through it. He watched her pace the room, their eyes occasionally meeting as he waited for her to speak. She finally stopped and looked up at the ceiling, "You can't seriously be thinking about doing this."

He rolled his eyes and stared at the wall.

"Why would two nakama have a duel? You two will calm down after a while, Usopp was just overreacting because the situation got out of hand."

Luffy slid a bored look her way before dragging his hat down to cover his eyes, "It's too late to back out now."

She huffed, "That's not true! You can apologize and talk things over!"

He shrugged, "Like I said, it's too late."

"Why?!"

He sighed, "Usopp's not stupid enough to bet his life because he's overreacting and we wouldn't be here if talking it over would fix it." He turned on his side, putting his back to her, "If that's all, leave."

Nami gasped at the dismissal. She sucked her teeth and stormed out of the quarters, livid. The navigator made her way to the deck and breathed in the salted air, today was a shitty day.

The door to the galley was open and she heard the deep voices of Sanji and Zoro. She climbed the stairs and neared the entrance but didn't step inside as she listened to the conversation between the cook and the swordsman.

Sanji walked pass the door to the sink, turned on the water and splashed some on his face, "What can we do?"

Zoro let out a noncommittal groan, "There's nothing we can do."

"This is partly our fault…"

Black eyebrows furrowed, "How?"

Sanji lit a smoke, "If we weren't out fucking we could have been with them. None of this would have happened."

Nami's eyebrows rose. Well, at least something good happened today. She heard boots crossing the floor and she looked into the glass and saw Zoro standing in front of Sanji.

"You saying you regret it?"

Sanji bonked Zoro on the top of his head with the heel of his foot, "What I'm saying is, I could have been doing better things than fucking you!"

Nami's head banged against the glass. Stupid answer, Sanji.

Zoro didn't get a chance to respond due to the door bursting open and the navigator storming up to them, pulling them apart, "Shut up! This isn't the time!" She let go of the men and ran her hand down her face, "I can't stand any more bickering."

Nami sighed as she walked over to the cot Usopp had laid on not only two hours ago and rested on it, "Don't fight over things you can't fix."

The sound of creaking turned their attention to the slowly opening door. A red hat peeked out before the owner slid through the opening. The crew's heart ached when they saw big watery brown eyes.

Zoro fought his urge to console the tiny reindeer, "Chopper… don't tell me you went after Usopp."

The large hat shielded their view of his eyes as he walked further into the room, setting his backpack of medical supplies down and tracing the cross with his hove, "I wanted to treat his wounds but he turned me away."

He walked over to Nami and when he was close enough, she could see his fur was wet from crying, "Usopp got a room in town and he said we–"

He hiccupped and Nami mumbled an "Aw" before she scooped him up in her arms and cuddled him to her. He rubbed his face in her shirt and cried, "He said we weren't nakama anymore! He told me to go back to the ship!"

Nami shushed him as she rocked from side to side, running her fingers through his coarse fur, "It's like all the fun times we had up until this morning never happened and we still don't know what's become of Robin." She looked Zoro in the eyes helplessly, "It's almost like the crew is falling apart."

The clock struck ten and Sanji dropped his cigarette in the sink, "Let's go."

The four Mugiwara Pirates left the galley and approached their captain, who was standing in the middle of the deck. Luffy didn't make eye contact when he addressed them, "It's time. Usopp will show." He jumped overboard and walked inland, "You guys stay on the ship and don't come down, got that?"

He stopped and looked up at the full moon in the sky, steeling himself and his devil for the fight to come. The wind whipped through Luffy's clothes as Gomu stirred inside him, alerting him of another's presence. He watched the man he'd come to love as nakama… his family… arrive for their duel.

Whew, that moment when everyone's on edge lol. Chopper reminds me of my baby nephew. I think it's how cute he is lol. Thanks for reading everyone and please review if you can. Like I stated before, I love to hear what you all think and the feedback helps a lot. Please stay tune for the next chapter: Kong - Huredhiel