A/N: Hey there everyone!
After the "experience" Luffy and Galette shared, Their relationship has reached a whole new level, but what is in store for him now that the Wedding is only a day away? Find out now!
I do not own One Piece, It belongs to Eiichiro Oda
When Galette's ship finally arrives back at Whole Cake Island, the sun is rising on the next morning. Luffy and Galette are sleeping peacefully in the bed, Gallette curled up into Luffy and with his prized straw hat sitting proudly atop her head, and Luffy with one arm wrapped around Galette protectively with the other dangling off the edge of the bed. They are awoken by a knock on the other side of the door, a subordinate of Galette's who knows better than to try to barge in or even open the door himself.
"Lady Galette! Mr. Straw Hat! We have returned to Whole Cake Island!" The man on the other side explains. They awaken slowly, smiling, a good night's rest only a small part of the reason. They share a kiss as they wake up.
"Good morning, handsome…" Galette says.
"Morning.!" Luffy says, the little "greeting game" going right over his head.
"Well, last night was fun…" Galette says as she traces circles with her finger on Luffy's chest.
"Yeah! We should do that again sometime! Shishishishi!" Luffy laughs. Galette chuckles with him and speaks up in a sultry voice,
"Yes, I believe we should as well, especially when you're ready start that 'family' you were talking about a while ago." Galette says.
"Huh? What do you mean?" He asks.
"You know, we can have kids together." She explains.
"Huh? Wait…that's how babies are made? I thought they were delivered by a pelican?! Or was it a penguin? Swan?" Luffy wonders, looking a bit nervous. Galette sits up while stifling a laugh, her breasts uncovered as she holds herself up with one arm and lays the other at her side.
"God, you're so cute.!" She says with love overflowing in her eyes and voice as she leans down and kisses Luffy on his forehead. She climbs out of bed and reaches for her underwear, strewn out across the floor. Luffy sits up as well, revealing the myriad of kiss marks and love bites all up and down his body.
"Wait, does that mean you're gonna have a baby?! I don't wanna be a dad yet, though! Not until I become King of the Pirates!" Luffy says, a bit panicked. Galette chuckles again as she puts her panties on and starts to explaining,
"No, don't worry. I won't get pregnant unless, what did you call it? "That Stuff," gets inside me. We were careful, so we've got nothing to worry about." She says. Luffy still seems a bit paranoid,
"But wait, some was in your mouth.!" He says, but she puts him at ease.
"It only matters if it goes in here." She says, lightly patting her pelvis. Luffy lets out a sigh of relief as he slumps back down and sprawls out on the bed. He scratches the back of his head and watches Galette bend over to pick up her dress. Luffy slides out of bed and slips on his discarded boxers, then his trousers, shirt, and sandals before Galette is even done putting her dress back on. He helps her drape her feather coat over her shoulders as she puts her gloves on, and she looks him over as he does her. Galette looks perfectly normal aside from Luffy's straw hat nestled between her horns, and one could not even tell what a wild night she just had. Luffy, on the other hand, shows absolutely no subtlety. His clothes are wrinkled, his hair is a mess, and he takes no notice to the kiss marks and hickies littering his neck and upper body. Galette stares at her work, proud, but embarrassed, since Luffy will likely be parading it around unknowingly for the rest of the day. Placing his treasured straw hat upon his head helps, and she is able to get him to button up his floral shirt before they step outside. She wears down the kiss marks with her thumb (much to Luffy's annoyance purely out of the mild discomfort, since he cannot not and/or does not care to see the marks himself), but can do nothing about her little "love bites." She sighs as she just hopes her random placing of them last night turns out to be strategic in the end. They step out onto the deck and see that they are not the only ship docked on the coast, one of dozens, actually. And one in particular sticks out to Galette.
"T-that's the Moby Dick!" Galette says, shocked as she lays eyes on the whale-shaped ship, several time larger than any other ship they have seen since (or at least Luffy, as the Big Mom Pirates' flagship, the Queen Mama Chanter, could perhaps be either a bit smaller or a bit bigger), but Luffy does not seem at all concerned.
"Oh, that's Ace's crew's ship!" He says nonchalantly. Galette mulls the words over in her head for a moment before realizing the implications.
"Oh, yes! Of course! Your brother is Fire Fist, he and Marco the Phoenix are captaining the Whitebeard Pirates now. I was worried for a moment there…" Galette says in relieved voice.
"That must mean the guests arrived last night for tomorrow's Wedding…" She adds, then she looks Luffy once over and her face turns red as she realizes something.
"Luffy, you have to sneak back in somehow.! If we both walk in there together, disheveled like this at this time after being gone all night…" She says, starting to get redder. He does not get it, or at least not why it is embarrassing, but he just agrees with her.
"Okay, I'll sneak in from the side! See ya later!" He says, leaping off the ship and running toward the side of the castle, using his Venom-Venom Road to make a path to his window. He arrives in his room and finds Chopper curled up on the foot of the bed, but there is a lump in his bed. He goes over, curious, and finds a familiar man with a green sombrero in his bed. He wakes up slowly and sees Luffy,
"Oh, Straw Hat-nasu. I came in here because Mama wanted me to check on you last night, but you weren't here, and I guess I fell asleep-nasu." He says.
"WHO THE HELL EVEN ARE YOU?!" Luffy shouts with an annoyed expression.
Several hours pass, Luffy takes a shower and changes into different clothes, a "Criminal" designer brand shirt he picked up while he was on Fishman Island a while back and a blue pair of trousers. Luffy then goes downstairs and finds tons of new faces mingling in the castle's entry hall. Among them, Luffy sees a large man with very puffy light hair and a metallic mask with star markings over the eye holes, a youthful-looking woman with short curly light-colored hair and a light dress, and a tall, humanoid bird with small eyes and a large beak wearing a top hat with a large striped feather in it. After looking around a bit more, finally spots a familiar face, two in fact.
"Oi! Ace! Jimbei!" He shouts, waving and rushing over to where the two are talking.
"Oh, there he is. Hey Lu!" Ace shouts the last part to Luffy as he waves back. They clasp hands and pull each other into a short brotherly hug. Luffy pats Ace's bare back with the Whitebeard Pirates tattoo he is so proud of (with the words "Rest In Peace" now arching over the Jolly Roger) before they separate. Ace smiles.
"Good to see you again, little bro. It's been too long!" He says. Luffy chuckles in agreement. As much as Luffy is looking forward to catching up with his brother, he is also excited to see Jimbei.
"Hey Jimbei! Are you gonna join my crew yet?" Luffy asks.
"Not just yet, Luffy-kun." Jimbei replies. Luffy laughs but Ace looks to Jimbei in a bit of surprise,
"He asked you to join him, huh?" Ace states with a knowing smile.
"Yes, when his group arrived at Fishman Island a few months ago. I was there to oversee the candy delivery from Fishman Island to here when Hordy Jones launched an attack. Luffy-kun and his group took them down and protected my home. In addition to helping save you, I suppose I am getting to be quite indebted to him." Jimbei explains, ending with a chuckle. Ace and Luffy laugh with him.
"Still, I can honestly say I was not expecting to hear you were getting engaged, Luffy-kun. And to one of Big Mom's daughters, no less." Jimbei adds. Ace puts one hand on his hip and lets the other dangle at his side. Luffy notices his hand is unrestricted by the knife usually hanging off his hip, and assumes it must have been taken during the "pat down" when he got here.
"Well, knowing Big Mom, I'm sure it's a Political Marriage. But knowing you, Luffy, it's nothing you don't wanna do, am I right?" Ace says with a smirk, and Luffy nods.
"Oh, Luffy.! There you are. And Ace as well." A female voice calls out in a quiet tone, prompting the three of them to turn and see a young, green haired woman calling out to the brothers.
"Oh, Makino! Hey!" Luffy calls out as she approaches them with a warm, gentle smile. Ace looks like he has something to say, too, but they both pause when they see the bundle she is holding.
"EEHHH?! YOU'VE GOT A BABY NOW?!" The brothers shout in surprise and in unison. Her expression is still warm and kind, but looks a bit disturbed by the outburst, like a mother about to lovingly scold her boys. She puts her finger to her lips and "shushes" them gently.
"Shhh.! I just put him down for his nap.! He'll get cranky without his rest." Makino explains quietly as Jimbei leaves the two to catch up with this woman. The two apologize in unison, and Makino chuckles into her hand.
"Meanwhile, it's so wonderful to see you boys again.! It's been much too long.!" She says with joy in her voice and a happy expression. Her expression changes a bit as she walks up to Ace, and she suddenly gives him a tight hug.
"I heard all about the war…I'm so sorry for your loss, Ace, but I'm happy you're still alive. The both of you." She says, and Ace hugs her back tenderly.
"Thanks, Maki." Ace says, using his little nickname for her as Makino wraps Luffy up in the hug too.
"Hey, you bastards!" Another female voice calls out, much gruffer than Makino's but just as nostalgic to the brothers. A portly woman with a big, masculine face and long, curly orange hair shouts out as the source of the voice approaches accompanied by a group of men. She looks angry, but the men behind her seem delighted to see the two.
"Oh, Dadan! I didn't think you'd come!" Luffy says with a smile. Dadan runs over and grabs Luffy by his shirt and pulls him in close,
"You brat! Like I had a choice! What was I gonna do, huh?! Say 'no' and have an Emperor come gunning for us?!" She scolds while Luffy, Ace, and Makino continue to smile.
"But Boss, you were so happy to hear Luffy was getting married that you cried.!" A short man in a turban says.
"SHUT UP, DOGRA!" Dadan shouts at him, prompting Makino to shush her and Dadan to apologize quietly. Luffy laughs at Dadan's display and she returns to scolding him, but doing so quieter this time.
"So Luffy, have you written your vows for the big day tomorrow?" Makino asks.
"My what?" Luffy asks, having no idea what she is talking about. Ace smacks Luffy upside the head in response.
"C'mon, Lu! You're trying to tell me you didn't write your own vows? You gotta write something from the heart to show how you feel about your bride!" Ace scolds.
"Ugh, that sounds hard.! This whole event's been a lot of work, and I gotta wear a stupid tuxedo, too. Can't I just get married?" Luffy says, rubbing his head where Ace hit him and pouting.
"Sounds like you've got 'lukewarm feet,' eh, Luffy?" A whole new voice asks as it approaches, a man's voice this time. He is an elderly man of average height with round glasses, facial hair arranged embattled across his lower jaw, and a scar over his right eye.
"Old Man Rayleigh, you're here! Wait, what's 'lukewarm feet' mean?" Luffy asks the man, Rayleigh.
"You want to get married, but you don't want to go through the whole 'rigamarole.' Am I right?" Rayleigh asks. Luffy nods, it seems to explain his feeling perfectly.
"Woah, you're the 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh, right? Did you just make up that term by the way?" Ace asks, whispering the last part in Rayleigh's ear.
"Uh-huh." Rayleigh responds to both questions. Since Ace made no mention of his biological father or his crew, Rayleigh decides not to mention Gol D. Roger either, in his infinite wisdom.
"So how exactly do you know Luffy?" Ace asks. Luffy answers for him.
"Rayleigh trained my Haki for two years, and he coated my ship so we could visit Fishman Island! Oh! And with the Haki he taught me, I bet I could finally beat you, Ace.!" He exclaims, beaming with pride.
"Is that so? We'll see, little bro." Ace says with a cocky expression and voice when he notices something on Luffy's neck. He grabs Luffy's head and jerks it to the side to get a better look at it.
"What is that? Did you get hurt or…" Ace starts, but then he realizes exactly what it is.
"IS THAT A HICKY?!" He shouts, causing their whole group to gasp in shock, even Makino. Rayleigh, however, just laughs.
"Ah, to be young again…" He says distantly while laughing boisterously afterward.
A/N: A big reunion and talk about the Wedding, the event only draws nearer! Is Luffy really prepared for this undertaking, or is it all too much for him? And what's this "vows" stuff all about anyway? How will he handle the task before him, one that has shaken many a man, even those who look forward to it? You'll have to tune in next time to find out, but while you wait, don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!