A/N:

It's ya boi, coming at you from another continent

P.S.: jetlag fucking sucks


ooo


"You utter dumbass!"

Luffy couldn't help but laugh harder as Nami hugged him tight, sobs and laughter spilling out from her lips as she forced herself flush against his body, neither caring about the blood getting over their clothes, almost ignoring it completely. Seemingly also forgotten was the carcass of Arlong just a few paces to their left.

Nami laughed with gentle sobs as she pushed herself against the man with all the affection she could muster, an emotional high guiding her body as she couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Luffy accepted her wholeheartedly in turn, laughing as he returned the mindless snuggling with glee, wrapping his arms around her "I told you that I'd beat him!" he repeated, laughter in his voice.

Nami sniffled and pulled back, straddling him as she looked down on him, her hands gently caressing the cuts peppered across his body. "But you got hurt…."

"So?" He pulled the arm Arlong had bit into, letting her see the marred skin, then clenched his fist. The skin covering his arm pulsed, its texture changing in a wave, wounds stitching together as the texture shift passed over them. "I can mimic starfish anatomy for a second to close these up, won't even leave a scar."

Nami looked at the sight, down to his dumb smile, and promptly punched him in the chest, causing the man to cough. "Why didn't you do that sooner?!"

Luffy winced, still smiling up at the woman. "Didn't feel like it!" he laughed, the smile on his face making her heart melt and made her forget her anger immediately. "Besides, this makes me super hungry just for small injuries. If I did this in a fight, I'd run out of stamina."

Nami punched him again. "Should've told me that sooner, dumbass!"

"Sorry, sorry," Luffy relented, laughter still spilling from his lips.

Nami didn't relent, raising her fist again, "I was worr—"

Luffy grabbed the punch before it landed, and stared deep into her eyes with a soft smile on his lips, the action cutting off her words with ease. "He's gone now, there's no need to worry."

With his words, reality started to settle in, and Nami lost strength in her arms, hand limply laying in Luffy's as she slowly turned around to see Arlong's body.

The grizzly sight of the beaten and broken fishman greeted her eyes, and it all became real once again. Her fist unclenched, her hand opening to clasp Luffy's gently as the tension started to leave her body.

The hope Luffy had seeded in her heart had flourished into a dream, and now it had borne fruit in reality.

The cross that once had represented her mother's suffering had a new meaning now. Her sacrifice and memory had speared through the monster that haunted her every waking moment, metal stained in blood shining with the hues of the setting sun.

She started laughing again and followed her heart.

She pushed her hand holding onto his to the side and leaned down, shoving her lips against Luffy's. Their noses bumped during the impulsive action, but she didn't care, and doubted Luffy would either. Nami pulled back as fast as she'd dipped in for the kiss, looking down at the man with fondness in her eyes. "Thank you…for everything."

Luffy blinked, and Nami felt pride in causing the man to be at a loss for words. "That felt nice," he finally admitted with an owlish blink, then his eyes finally focused on hers. "But… you didn't need to do that, this wasn't much."

"Dumbass…" She whispered affectionately, holding the gaze of his dark eyes, her hand squeezing his softly. "I know. I did it 'cause I felt like it…"

She leaned in again, going for a repeat performance before a muffled voice wrenched the two out of their intimate moment. Nami remembered where she was, and that her entire village was watching them, practically flying off her captain and shooting a shaky glance back to the main gate.

She only saw a few stragglers from her village partying while the rest were gone, the only hint of them ever being there was the cloud of dust billowing down the path. She figured that most of the people had rushed off, aiming to inform everyone else on the island. Usopp was still cowering behind the perimeter wall with only his nose poking over the thick concrete, Robin was glaring at the rest of the fishmen groaning on the floor, and Sanji had his back turned, fiddling with something in his hands.

"It's really over," she breathed, more and more parts of her brain starting to register that they'd won.

Luffy finally rolled to his side as she took stock of the land, and Buggy spat out a rock as he was finally revealed again.

"I was under you the entire time you damn—" The head cut himself off with a groan looking uncomfortable before he sniffled, wiggling his nose a bit to try and get the feeling back on the bulbous red mass. He ended up snorting loudly, a pebble shooting out from his nostril. "Did a building fall on us?" Buggy asked finally with a wince.

Luffy snickered. "Yep. The fish-brain tower is no more."

"And it was truly an impressive feat," Robin congratulated as she walked forward, shooting Nami a knowing glance that the navigator couldn't match, hiding her blushing face under Luffy's straw hat, before she turned to face the corpse of Arlong. "Sorry for almost getting in the middle of your battle, Captain."

"It's fine, I understand." He waved the apology off with a smile, looking back at his handiwork. "I just really wanted to beat the shit out of him on my own. No devil fruits, y'know? That felt right."

"Is that the real reason you didn't let yourself heal!?" Nami squawked, glaring a hole into the side of her captain's head.

Luffy, brilliantly, didn't even attempt to explain himself, earning a slap on the side of the head for his gallant effort.

"Understandable," Sanji hummed, casually walking over with a smoke between his lips, struggling with his match, eyes locked onto the tip of his cigarette. "Proving these… speciests bastards wrong felt very vindictive.'' He shot a look at Kurobi's unconscious form, making sure the karate master wouldn't be standing up anytime soon, then continued to scan the rest of the chaos. His eye landed on the corpse of Arlong. "...Don't you think killing him was too light for everything he did?"

Luffy shrugged. "Didn't want people to lose sleep over him ever coming back. People getting to sleep easily is more important than him suffering. Besides, I think I put him through hell in that fight."

Nami let go of his ear, remembering what he'd done for her, caring about that more than getting to give him a piece of her mind over the idiocy of him fighting without his fruit.

"You snapped his nose…." Nami mumbled, remembering the sight and sound like a chiming bell in her mind, a sigh escaping her lips. "He'd… done so much with that damn stupid… 'unbreakable' thing… You don't know just how much it means to see it broken, do you?" she asked, giving him a gentle look with the side of her eyes.

Luffy ruffled his own hair in thought. "Nah, can't," he admitted, a sad smile on his face. "Even after hearing your story, I can't even begin to imagine how you all feel. I'm just glad to be able to end his sorry ass for what he'd done."

"And with that staff…" Nami mumbled, looking back to the sight of Arlong once again.

Luffy hummed gently. "Felt… right to use that."

Nami nodded with a gentle huff and a smile on her lips.

"Awfully considerate, Captain," Robin quipped with a gentle giggle, still staring at the staff rooted to the ground in thought. "We might be standing in a new historical sight."

Nami scoffed at the idea, before smiling brightly. She crouched down next to Luffy, who was still ignoring Buggy's constant requests to 'get off his lazy ass', and placed his hat back on top of his head. "You can have your treasure back now."

"Hm? Oh! Thanks, Nami!" Luffy chirped, shooting her a dazzling smile, hand resting on the brim of his straw hat and twisting it a little to settle it back onto his wild mop of hair, "It looked good on you, so I must've forgot, shishishi!"

"Stop flirting and get off the ground!" Buggy begged, "I'm up to my flashy neck in Arlong blood! That's not a head joke, it feels disgusting!"

"Wait!" Sanji paused, the smoke he still hadn't managed to light dropping out of his mouth. "That hat wasn't Nami's?"

Everyone turned to the cook with tilts of their heads.

"Oh yeah… I'd lent it to Nami before we got you aboard, didn't I?" Luffy muttered, pinching his chin, then looking at the man with an owlish blink. "Was it that important to you, Sanji? Why?"

Sanji fell to his knees, trying to erase his imaginary visions of Nami in a wedding dress wearing the straw hat out of his memories, letting out a pained howl in the process.

"Oh God!" Usopp yelped from his perch on the wall. "I knew it! It's still not safe down there, is it?! We missed a fishman!"

Luffy shot a curious look down to Sanji, then turned back to Robin. "What's wrong with him?"

Robin didn't look away from the sobbing form of the cook. "...I'm honestly at a loss, myself, Captain."

"Mystery illness," Luffy concluded with a sage nod.

Buggy silently questioned his Captain's intellect once again.

That's when the door Luffy had smacked into the wall groaned and fell down, revealing a fuming octopus-man behind. "What gives!" Hatchan screamed, flexing his six arms in a display of anger and might.

The straw-hat crew looked back at him questioningly, Luffy's head tilting to the side so much his hat almost fell off his head. "Oh hey, Usopp was right, we missed one!"

"I knew it!" Came a scream from the wall.

Hatchan was still struggling to comprehend the sight before him. "A-arlong?" he gasped, looking at the body of his now ex-captain, then looked out to the rest of his crew. "Y-you… killed them?"

"Not all of them." Luffy denied, crossing his legs and shooting Nami a glance. "Your call, though."

Nami was gripping onto her own staff and trying to come to terms with the sight of utter horror in the eyes of the octopus man.

Memories of him sneaking in food when he noticed her starving surfaced, every time he'd done something dumb to try and get her to laugh. Part of her wondered if he had been in on Arlong's plot to manipulate her, or if he was just even a shade more innocent than the rest of the crew. She shot a glance at Robin, searching for an answer on what to do.

Robin caught her look and her shoulders twitched a little, face remaining neutral. "You heard our captain. The decision is yours"

That didn't help her at all. Nami chewed on her bottom lip, not sure where this should go.

"You…" Hatchan seethed, looking down at Luffy, still on the ground. "You think you can take Nami away? She's our crewmate!"

Luffy's face scrunched in disgust. "You think enslaving someone is them being part of your crew?"

"Eh? N-no," Hatchan barked, taking a flinching step back. "Nami was here cause she wanted to be! Right?"

Nami blinked, and the pieces fell into place. "Oh..."

Hatchan was an idiot.

Even if Arlong had a plan to manipulate her, he couldn't have used the octopus-man. Hatchan just couldn't follow something so cerebral.

"You had no idea, did you?" She asked.

"What are you talking about, Nami?" Hatchan asked, turning to her with a confused tilt of his head.

Sanji closed the gap, seemingly recovered from his 'mystery illness', and tried to take a potshot at the fishman, only stopped by arms sprouting from his body. "Don't you have any idea how much your 'crew' made Nami suffer!?"

"Sanji, stop," Nami commanded, dropping her staff, and resolving herself on what she was about to do. "He didn't know. Just… stop."

Hatchan looked at the cook, then at the arms holding him in place. "What? You got multiple arms too?"

Righteous anger left the cook as he came to the same conclusion as Nami, and he stopped struggling against Robin's limbs, slowly pulling his leg back down and shot a look at Nami. "If you want that, then of course, Nami-swan."

Luffy scratched the back of his head, confused with the terminology the cook used, then glanced up to Robin for an answer.

Robin shrugged, not looking away from the octopus man.

Nami shuddered at the weight of the scales she was trying to balance, then regained her composure and turned away from Hatchan, eyes shaded as she spoke. "Just… grab everyone and leave Cocoyashi, Hatchan. Your crew is not welcome here. Never were."

The octopus shrank at that, even his hair drooping. Nami couldn't find it in herself to actually feel bad, but she didn't feel good about it either.

Luffy dusted himself off and got to his feet, glaring at the octopus fishman. "You heard her."

Hatchan grit his teeth, then looked to the side, staring at Arlong's corpse one last time before his posture slumped again. He grabbed onto his elongated mouth, blowing air through his fist to make a noise like a horn.

The ground shook as a giant Sea King swam into the flooded drydock, mooing into the air to announce its arrival before it too noticed the missing giant tower, and the dead body of Arlong.

Hatchan whimpered and started picking up the broken and defeated bodies of his comrades. Luffy and Robin watched him like hawks as he started piling them on top of the giant cow-esque Sea King that was whimpering while glancing at the straw-hatted captain, fear legible in its massive eyes.

Nami looked away from the sight, not sure what to feel about watching the only fishman that had ever approached being kind to her looking so broken and defeated. Sanji, noticing the dip in her mood, noodled around her to try and get her to feel better, to no avail.

"After long consideration, we've arrived to help you out, brothers!"

The somber moment was shattered as Johnny and Yosaku made their entrance, hands on their massive blades as they looked onto the wreckage of the plaza.

Usopp slapped the air. "You're late!" he called out, in conjunction with Buggy.

The two bounty hunters dropped to their knees and hands, sobbing.


"Arlong is dead!"

The call echoed through the town, and everyone except Zoro, who'd managed to fall asleep while sitting up, reacted with shock at the news. Genzo rushed out to the window to catch sight of the man running down the main road, holding the tattered flag of the Arlong pirates as he did so.

"He… really did it, huh?" Nojiko gasped, tears on the edge of her eyes. "Nami's little boyfriend did it."

"He's what now?" Gonzo grumbled, a smile fighting on the edges of his lips. "If he thinks he can just take my girl away without getting an earful, he's got another think coming!"

"Oh hush, dad," Nojiko laughed wetly, tears spilling over as she took a joyous, gasping breath. "This is when you're supposed to be happy about your little girl finding a good man for herself!"

Genzo harrumped, but didn't argue back.

"As much as your parental banter fills me with joy," Nako cut in, shaking in his seat slightly, giddiness escaping the old man's every pore. "I think we should get moving to set up for a banquet!"

Zoro snapped awake with a snort. "Y'all got booze for that?"

Nako grinned at the swordsman. "I've had some fermenting for a long time, waiting for this very day, kid!"


Luffy couldn't help but laugh boisterously, cheering with the rest of Nami's village as they watched Johnny and Yosaku dance a dumb dance with chopstics in their noses. Usopp cheered from a tower he built, alternating his hurrahs with telling the story of how he'd defeated the Kuro pirates when he was fifteen. He held Buggy's head high, the clown joining into the tall tales of piracy and adventure.

Luffy loved it. He loved every second of the party, seeing the people that had looked at him with so much fear in their eyes a few hours ago laughing brightly, no more weights on their shoulders, their hearts unshackled.

Now, if they didn't insist on calling him a hero, the moment would've been perfect.

"For the last time," he almost growled, his smile still wide as he turned and faced the man with the clipboard in his hands. "I'm not a hero, I'm a pirate!"

"What difference does it make!?" The so-called reporter shot back, raising his arms over his head. "You're the hero of our village! Hell, our entire archipelago! All of East Blue, even!"

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Cuz' heroes are all about 'justice'. I'm freer than that."

That got the reporter's jaw to swing open, looking at the man incredulously. "What the hell does that even mean!?"

"Figure it later, paperboy!" Someone Luffy didn't know chided, a pair of feminine arms wrapping around the young captain, a set of lips gently blowing into his ear. "He's gonna be busy while I thank him properly, after all!"

Luffy blinked as the reporter blushed, clamming up and looking down at the interview notes before dashing away. The captain turned to face the woman who looked barely older than him; her cheeks flushed from drinking, he assumed. He scanned the lady one last time, trying to remember if he'd met her, only to come up with nothing while the woman pushed her arms around her breasts, making them squish and jiggle, biting her lower lip and shooting him a smoldering gaze with half-lidded eyes. "Like what you see, captain?" she cooed, swaying her hips a little for added effect.

He smiled widely at the mystery woman. "You're welcome!"

With that, he wandered off, sobering the woman with his succinct dismissal of her feminine wiles.

"Zoro!" Luffy called out, pushing past a few people crowding around the makeshift bar, which his swordsman had decided to make into hisbase of operations for the night. The moss-haired Straw Hat laughed boisterously while sitting on a few kegs he'd already emptied out, toasting with another large mug of mead, if Luffy's nose could still be trusted in the mess of sights sounds and scents the banquet had become "How's the wound?"

"Just peachy!" His swordsman cheered, shooting a sharp smile at his captain. "Ale helps!"

Luffy roared with laughter, grabbing the mug the bartender was offering him and toasting with Zoro, both downing their drinks in a single swig. "Have you seen Robin?"

"Nah, not really," Zoro admitted, rubbing the back of his arm over his mouth and tossing the empty mug back to the bartender. "She doesn't seem to be a people person, she might be hiding back on the ship."

Luffy hummed in thought for a moment before the scent of food pulled his attention away. "Alright! Have fun!"

He dashed away, following his nose, and proceeded to start stuffing his face once more.


Robin didn't enjoy any of this. Or rather, she didn't enjoy that she wasn't enjoying it.

She sighed, trying to lose herself in her book and ignore the growing pit in her stomach. It was easy to ignore the guilt over what she'd been… associated with back in Alabasta. She'd long since grown numb to doing unsavory things on the path to her dream, but now, seeing the stark joy Cocoyashi was radiating…

Her heart ached. Her mind couldn't help but keep pacing around what she would lead this crew towards once they entered the Grand Line.

Would the people of Alabasta celebrate like this too…?

She closed her book with a huff, glaring at the cover. She couldn't grow a conscience now. Not after so long. Not when she was so close to making their dreams come true. She couldn't aband—

Her thoughts died in the back of her throat with a sob, seeing the first of her tears land on the cover of the book. Robin couldn't help but laugh gently, rubbing the bottom of her palm over her eyes.

"...this crew's bad for me."

"Are we really?"

Robin, quite uncharacteristically, 'eeped'. Almost falling off her chair in the process, only a strong arm to stop her from doing so.

A wide, curious eye greeted her sight, and Robin froze.

It was Luffy, munching on a leg of ham idly as his other hand held her by the shoulder.

"Oh," she mumbled, her eyes locking onto his and refusing to look away, no matter how much she willed them to. "Captain."

Luffy swallowed his mouthful of meat and flashed her a smile, letting go of her shoulder with a gentle chuckle. "Shishishi sorry! Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."

"I'm surprised you could," Robin admitted, quickly regaining her composure, but still unable to pull her eyes from Luffy's.

"So…" Luffy started, "Not avoiding my gaze anymore?"

Robin hummed softly, not really having an answer for that accusation. "Have I offended you?"

"Nah," Luffy hummed, finally blinking and breaking their silent staring contest, looking down at the hunk of meat in his hands and taking a massive bite.

Robin was sure she heard him bite through the bone.

Luffy swallowed like he'd gulped water, not even chewing the meat, locking gazes with her again. "Honestly, I was worried I had offended you."

Robin couldn't help but smile a little at the assumption. "Now, how would you do that captain?"

"I can read people, but not minds, Robin," Luffy assured with a gentle huff. "And why are you calling me Captain instead of Luffy again? Aren't we friends?"

Ah.

"Right…" Robin hummed, managing to finally break eye contact in her embarrassment. She'd tried to distance herself from them when she'd noticed how attached she was getting, but now…

Luffy walked to the spot she'd averted her eyes towards, locking gazes again. "What's wrong?"

The dam broke open.

"...Like you said when we first met. I've been lying to you about Alabasta," Robin admitted, not even knowing why she'd done so. But while gazing into Luffy's eyes, she couldn't help but be honest.

Part of her knew she couldn't really hide it even if she wanted to, with him looking at her like this.

And frankly, she was sick of averting her gaze from his eyes. She wanted to enjoy the warmth they held without feeling guilty over it.

"Mr. 0 isn't aiming to overthrow a dictatorship. He's trying to stage a coup on a rightful king that loves his people. And I've been helping him," Robin continued, feeling the weight start to leave her shoulders. "I… was numb to it for so long, but seeing this banquet… opened up feelings I've locked away."

Luffy nodded slowly. "...you were afraid of how well I was reading Nami,," he concluded.

Robin gave him a sad smile. "I've got many more skeletons in my closet than this, Luffy. Ones I'd rather forget."

"Then forget them," Luffy stated with a huff. "Stay with us, and forget that Mr.0 bastard."

Robin flinched, blinking widely at the man. "I-I can't do that."

Luffy's face scrunched a little before clarity hit his expression.

Robin bit her bottom lip. "...you can guess why, now, can't you?"

"...I don't get it," Luffy admitted, clarity melting into confusion again. "What could that have to do with your dre-…"

He blinked incredulously as pieces clicked into place. "It's the history of that kingdom, isn't it?"

Robin felt like laughing. It'd taken Luffy just over a week to see her true goals. After more than a year, Crocodile still thought she was following his scheme just for the protection he could provide her. "Not… not just that kingdom."

Luffy's face softened, a small smile gracing his lips. "Your eyes are really pretty" he blurted, not letting go of her gaze "especially when you talk about your dream…wanna talk about it more?"

Robin's shell cracked further, a bittersweet laugh escaping her lips as she shook her head. "If I tell you what I'm after, you'll get marked by the world government as people that cannot be allowed to exist."

"So?" Luffy shrugged, picking his ear with a pinky. "Fuck 'em. We're pirates."

"You're showing your naivete." Robin hummed, looking at the eighteen-year-old. "I've lived with that weight for the past twenty years, Luffy… I don't want that for you."

Luffy's face scrunched. "Since you were two?"

That took Robin off guard, and she giggled again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get in my pants, captain."

"Can't. Your legs are longer than mine."

Robin looked at him blankly.

Luffy gave her a cheeky smirk.

"I'm not going to make you reconsider, am I?" She asked with a fond smile, deciding that ignoring that would be the best course of action.

"Greater men have tried," he admitted with a sage nod. Somehow, Robin didn't doubt that. "Now what's this mystery thing that's bothering you so much?"

Am I really doing this? Robin thought to herself, fingers drumming on the table, eyes locked onto Luffy's.

She couldn't really bear anything bad happening to the young man. Clearly, her attempts to not get attached were futile when it came to Luffy.

"You can tell me, you don't need to be alone with it," the straw-hatted captain grumbled impatiently before his boisterous energy quelled again, his features softening. "Being lonely is the worst, isn't it?"

…he's not wrong.

"...It certainly is, Luffy," Robin hummed, leaning to her side and finally giving into the sense of camaraderie Luffy had been showering her with since she'd met the man.

"Have you heard the term 'Void Century'?"


ooo


A/N:

Luffy's gonna weasel his way into all of their hearts, and that's not even using his fruit

next chapter:

we'll see