A/N: Hey everyone!
Here I am again with a new chapter, a bit of an "aftermath" of it's own, if you will. After Luffy and Galette's secret meeting in the rain, what will develop in both of them? Find out!
I do not own One Piece, It belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Luffy does not remember how long he and Galette were out there in the rain last night, but the round of sneezes he experienced when he returned to his room and those he is now waking up to this morning would imply they stayed in the rain for perhaps too long. Chopper was already asleep last night when Luffy returned, so he decided to sleep on the floor to not wake his furry friend, which likely contributed to the cold he now seemed to have. The cold was not really what he was focused on anyway, though, there was one thing last night that he could not stop thinking about. After he comforted Galette last night for who knows how long, she kissed him on the cheek and departed. It was his first real kiss, technically. Makino had given him little cheek kisses when he was a boy, but that was clearly different. He could not put his finger on it though, the feeling it created. Sanji had always put some high level of value on a girl's kiss, but he had never understood why. Admittedly, he still does not really get it, but he knows he would not mind if Galette kissed him again some time.
"Another mystery feeling!" Luffy thinks to himself as he goes off looking for a bathroom. He is still all sticky from being in the syrupy rain all night, and he wanted to wash up in the shower. When he finally found the bathroom, he goes in and finds a strange man in armor and a green sombrero sleeping in the shower. Laying down in it and just napping.
"Hey.! Who are you?" Luffy asks, waking the man.
"Oh-nasu! Straw Hat, were you going to use the shower-nasu? I must've fell asleep in here last night-nasu." The strange man says, taking his leave. After that, Luffy finally takes his shower and can start his day.
After some contemplation on the strange feelings he had been having during the rather short shower, he steps out of the bathroom in a towel. As he is heading back to his room, the Longleg daughter of Big Mom's he saw at the Tea Party walks by, spots him, and turns to seemingly confront him. Before she has a chance to say anything to Luffy, he spots her approach and speaks up first.
"Hiya! You're one of Big Mom's daughters, right?" He asks rather innocently.
"Yes I am, I am Charlotte Smoothie." She answers simply.
"And you are Straw Hat. Your engaged to Galette now, aren't you?" She asks. Luffy's serious face makes a reappearance at that. Even in spite of what happened last night, Luffy is still dissatisfied with the circumstances, though he is still not entirely sure the situation and the feeling even are connected. Regardless, he answers her truthfully,
"Yes." He replies simply. A small smile grows on Smoothie's face, a small but slightly devious smile.
"Well then, I'd like to tell you something, consider it 'friendly advice.' Normally, I would just leave to your own devices, but I quite like you. You're one of the only decent men Mama has brought home to marry one of us off to, so I want to give you this, at least. Mama has let you resist thus far because she quite likes you as well, and because she sees great value in your Delivery service, but you should know your charm will not last forever. If you continue to resist her desires at every turn, she will kill you and take your business by force. She will only be patient to a certain extent, so be warned." Smoothie explains. Luffy starts to get angry. Luffy does like being told he will be killed, in his mind, that was more up to him than anyone else. He is quite sure he can handle himself, even against Big Mom, but before he can say anything in retaliation, Chopper comes running up crying and shouting.
"Luffy! When I woke up there was some weird guy wearing a sombrero sleeping in the bed! Who is that guy?!" Chopper shouts as he rushes over to where Luffy is standing. Smoothie's face immediately lights up as she lays eyes on Chopper, smiling pleasantly.
"Oh my! What and adorable raccoon-dog you have, Straw Hat.!" She says in a delighted tone. Chopper's fear and worry are immediately replaced by anger.
"HEY! I'M A REINDEER, DAMMIT! A REINDEER!" He shouts out, flailing his arms about wildly. Smoothie chuckles a bit before she returns her attention to Luffy. Her smile fades, but the softness in her face is still present.
"Well, I should be going, but please take my words to heart, Straw Hat. I would hate to see something bad happen to you or your friends." Smoothie says as she walks away, continuing the way she was going before.
"Who was that?" Chopper asks, now concerned about her and what she just said. Luffy stays stone-faced for a bit.
"Don't worry about it, Chopper. Everything's gonna be fine." Luffy says as he watches her walk away with his serious expression holding strong.
"Oh, Straw Hat-nasu! I'm sorry about that, I went to check on your room to tidy up and I fell asleep in your bed-nasu." The man with green sombrero says as he approaches Luffy and Chopper, rubbing one of his eyes.
"Agh! That's the guy! WHO THE HELL EVEN ARE YOU?!" Chopper shouts out, angry again and flailing his limbs. A rather entertaining scene of Chopper chewing the strange man out for his actions ensue, but Luffy has no real interest in it. Even Luffy can see the writing on the wall, but it will not deter him. If there is one thing someone can count on regarding Luffy, it is that he has not, is not, and never will do something he does not want to do. Even so, this whole thing was a real dilemma that required some serious thinking on Luffy's part, his least favorite thing to do.
A/N: With a warning from Smoothie, will Luffy change his plan or stay the stubborn man he has always been? Another short chapter, the shortest yet, I believe. Sorry! This chapter is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but still sets up a more prevalent theme of how Luffy decides to do things in the situation he is in, so that is why it is here. On a side note, the sleeping character, for anyone who does not recognize him, is named (or perhaps just called) Eggplant Solider (it is not very clear whether it is a title or his actual name, and honestly could probably go either way), a minor character I quite like that appears during the Whole Cake Island arc, so I squeezed him in here and he may or may not show up again later. In the meantime, don't forget to follow, favorite, and review, and I will see you next time!