A/N: Hello once more!
All the preparations are complete, and all the guests are here. Everything seems to be in place, so there's only one thing left to do, go through with the Wedding! Will it go off without a hitch? Find out now!
I do not Own One Piece, It belongs to Eiichiro Oda
The morning of the 21st gets off to an admittedly rocky start. Luffy and the crew slept through his wake-up call, and a panicked Perospero had to bust down the door to get Luffy "up and at 'em" before the entire event falls behind schedule. He nearly forgot the vows the crew spent all night helping him write, forcing him to double back for it after Perospero and his groups has taken Luffy up several floors. When they arrived the groom's fitting room, they realized the tailor neglected to get a belt to accompany Luffy's tuxedo, so the let Luffy pick it, thinking it could no possibly be that bad. Luffy picks a white snakeskin belt, something Sanji would have vehemently disapproved of were he were present then and there. When things were finally ready, he is sent to wait in a room and to be brought out when the Wedding starts, but he gets curious and peaks into the Wedding Hall. There are hundreds of people sitting in the seats leading up to the alter, every man in a fancy black suit (except Jimbei, who is just wearing a black yukata) and every woman in an extravagant dress. All of the Straw Hats on the island, the Buggy Pirates, Ace, Jimbei, Rayleigh, Makino, Dandan and the boys, Law and the Heart Pirates, and Vivi with her group are all sitting in the first two rows of the left side. Almost all of the children of the Charlotte Family are sitting in the front rows of the right side, and some of the people Big Mom introduced Luffy to the day before (Drug Peclo, Stussy, and Morgan being the ones he remembers) in those rows with them. Smoothie is wringing objects and animals out in the lobby and handing out drinks made from them as people continue to enter the room. A young daughter of Big Mom's with pink hair and red eyes (Anana was her name if Luffy recalled), and a tan, older Longarm daughter with blue hair (Myukuru, Luffy is pretty sure her name is), are both littering the carpet leading up to the alter with flower pedals. Luffy slips back into the room and starts to tap his foot impatiently. There is just something about fancy clothes, it was like they were made to be uncomfortable on purpose. His feet hurt, and he is feeling really warm in this suit. He wants to just get married already, what is the big deal? He remembers how adamantly he had been against marrying into Big Mom's family, but even he can appreciate the irony of it all now that he is about to go through with it. It made him chuckle a bit, and if nothing else, distracted him from his discomfort. This must be why people talk so highly of love, it could make you do crazy things, but crazy things are sort of Luffy's specialty. Luffy waited for what seemed like forever before Perospero reentered the room he was waiting in.
"Showtime, Straw Hat! You know what to do.!" Perospero says as he starts to leave the room. He stops and turns back to Luffy,
"You do know what to do, yes?" Perosepero asks. Luffy remembers the little crash course Sanji put him through last night while his crew was helping him write his vows, and recites what Sanji told him,
"'Walk down the aisle, slowly and in time. Wait at the alter for the bride to arrive, do as the father says, then you may kiss the bride.' Did I miss anything?" Luffy asks. Despite ending with a question, Luffy's response puts Perospero at ease.
"Sounds fine to me, now go.!" Perospero says as he leaves the room. Luffy adjusts his tie in it's ascot knot and the double doors open with a bit more flair then may have been necessary. The band plays a slow prelude ballad as Luffy walks down the aisle at an even pace. When Luffy finally arrives at the altar, he stands waiting in position, standing straight with as good posture as he knows how and watching as the crowd watches him. He does not find himself nervous, actually quite relieved, mostly because this room is much cooler than the last. He is not so hot in this room, and being lucky enough to feel no embarrassment or any (emotional) discomfort makes standing in the breezy room one of the more comfortable parts of the day thus far. He is, however, characteristically impatient waiting for the ceremony to just start already. The massive double doors open once again, slowly as the entire room looks toward them and the band begins to play a tune, ushering in the approaching bride. Galette is fully clad in white, an extravagant "mermaid" wedding dress with frills that extends quite a bit behind her. She has a veil over face that holds to her head with fabric made to mimic a crown of flowers, and wears white gloves that reach past her elbows. Some of her hair is tied into white fabric flowing down past her neck, and she has a white version of her feather coat draped across her shoulders. She also has white high heels on and carries a bouquet of colorful flowers made of candy. Anana, Myukuru, and Galette's panda hat wearing twin sister Poire come out onto the aisle and scatter more flower petals before her as Galette makes her way down it. She looks absolutely stunning as she goes over to the alter, standing tall with a small smile under her veil as she hands the bouquet off to Poire and the two join hands after. Even through the veil, Luffy can see her piercing yellow eyes and cannot help but be fixated on them. They are filled with pure love, and are quite bewitching in that way. Galette feels a rush of joy and excitement as she looks into Luffy's dark eyes and can already see the happy future they will have together. She can see the man he is, and feels at complete peace with herself in his presence.
"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to join Monkey D. Luffy and Charlotte Galette in holy matrimony." The preacher starts, snapping the two out of their little trance and bringing attention back to their own wedding ceremony. They both share a quiet, knowing chuckle as the father resumes,
"Therefore, it is not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons now come to be joined." He adds. He opens his book and reads from it, speaking a message on love and commitment for a few moments before he closes his book again.
"We are here today to bear witness to the joining of these two in the contract of marriage. That the two be bound together by destiny and remain at each others' sides until the day they die. They shall honor their commitment to each other and keep their promises of love and devotion to each other and only each other. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The father says. Sanji looks like he has something to say, but Nami glares at him, and he keeps quiet.
"Wonderful. Now, I believe you both have written your own vows." The preacher says, taking a step back and allowing either one to speak up. Galette takes the honor first, clearing her throat quietly and speaking loud and clear,
"Luffy, I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you. When we first met, I felt an incredible attraction, a feeling of longing and desire I had never felt before. Even though we had only been together a couple of hours before your departure, I found myself with you on my mind every day since you left. When you returned, I found myself elated just knowing we could be near again, and I discovered what I felt was love. I knew then, that I would always belong to you, body and soul, a thought that would terrify me under regular circumstances, but instead brought me great comfort. I want to spend my life with you, spend every waking moment by your side, as your wife. I love you, Monkey D. Luffy." She says, tearing up a bit but with certainty and confidence in her voice. Now it was Luffy's turn, and since he had written it all last night, he had no time to memorize it. So, he has to let go of one of Galette's hands to retrieve it from his inside coat pocket. He unfolds it with one hand with a certain expertise and looks at the words on the paper. Someone or something is looking out for him, because his handwriting is utterly illegible, and yet, he can make out every word of it. He clears his throat rather loudly as he starts to read from the paper.
"Gal-y, How to show you, to tell you how I love you? Like the heart to a human or a sail to a ship, I need you to be whole. Like the strings to a violin or the 'Void Century' to the world's history, you complete me. Being with you is a feeling I would not trade for all the Beri in the world, or even the Shodai Kitetsu." He reads, not realizing in time that that last line was scratched out and not supposed to be said aloud, but it was too late to unsay it now. Zoro smirks at the line, but the other Straw Hats are rather exasperated. Regardless of the hiccup, Luffy resumes without missing a beat,
"Either way, in the words of a man wiser than me, 'A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal.'" He says. The card says "pause for laughter," and he nearly reads that part aloud too, but he stops himself when he sees it is in parenthesis, and the laughs do come. Ussop looks quite proud of himself for that one, definitely a boost to his ego. With a quick chuckle from Galette and a smile from Luffy (though he does not quite "get it"), he continues,
"For all the days of my life, from today onward, I affirm my love for you, and vow to share my life with you in everything—to respect and love you. You are the most kind, honest, and beautiful person I have ever known. I take you to be my wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health." He finally says, reaching the end of the paper. His words are wonderful, but he is not finished just yet. He folds up the paper and puts it back in his coat pocket. He grabs her other hand again, and looks right into Galette's eyes as speaks up,
"I can admit i've never really been good with feelings and stuff. I don't really know how to express myself most of the time, and I sometimes get confused about things that I'm not totally sure about. But, there are only a few things in this world I am completely sure of, and one of them is how I feel about you. I love you, Charlotte Galette." He proclaims with a wide smile and eyes closed, also finally using her actual name. Galette is on the verge of tears now, but she holds them back.
"Now, do we have the rings?" The preacher asks. Two round, identical-looking sons of Big Mom, Dolce and Dragée, if Luffy remembers correctly, present the rings to the couple on pillows. They both take the rings in their hands. Galette takes the ring in her hand, and makes a promise with it.
"I, Charlotte Galette, give you, Monkey D. Luffy, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." She says as she slips it onto his finger. Luffy takes his ring and does the same, literally mimicking her (because he actually did forget what he was supposed to say during this part until she said it) but swapping their names.
"I, Monkey D. Luffy, give you, Charlotte Galette, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." With a smile, the priest finally says what Luffy honestly would have rather had him just say right away,
"By the power vested in me by the Queen of Totto Land, I now pronounce you husband and wife.! You may now kiss the bride.!" He says. Luffy lifts Galette's veil gently and plants a deep kiss on her lips, after she bends down a bit so he can reach her lips, that is. The whole hall erupts in cheers and applause as the band plays the couple out while they walk down the aisle as husband and wife, hands intertwined.
The reception following the ceremony is one of great liveliness as the guests laugh and cheer, all in congratulations for the newlyweds. At the couple's table is pretty much Luffy's entire guest list, and his crew mates, of course.
"Congratulations, Luffy! I'm so happy for you!" Vivi says, lifting her drink in the air with a beaming grin as the rest of the table follows suit.
"Cheers!" Everyone says in unison before taking a sip of their champagne. Luffy seems a bit repulsed by the taste at first, so he retrieves a little bottle of poison and pours the contents of it into his own drink before downing the whole thing.
"Much better." Luffy mutters to himself. The main course is served and even at his own wedding, Luffy cannot help himself from just gorging. Sanji wants to smack him for using such bad table manners at a wedding, his own wedding even, but Galette cannot resist to comment how much she loves watching him be happy as he shoves food in his mouth, and Sanji cannot bring himself to even scold him. All the guests say a bit about how proud of Luffy they are, and how they hope for nothing but blessings for the both of them, even Marco, who barely knows Luffy and is still technically enemies with Galette and her family. When the utterly massive wedding cake is brought out, Luffy and Galette are served first, and even feed each other the first bites of the wedding cake (which also prompts a chorus of "aww's" at the cute little ritual from the table). After the first bites, Big Mom eats pretty much all of the massive cake. Everyone does get a slice first, but that is it, as her craving for a wedding cake needed to be satisfied (or else).
"Jeez, and I though Luffy was bad…" Usopp comments while Big Mom eats the cake in a slobbish manner. Soon, the band starts setting up and none other than Brook jumps up on stage with his violin in hand.
"I would like to dedicate this song to my Captain and his new wife! May they have long and prosperous lives together, and to grace everyone's ears with wonderful music for their first dance.! Ah, but I don't have ears to hear it anymore. Yohohoho, Skull Joke.!" Brook laughs. The entire wedding thinks the joke is kind of in bad taste, but Luffy has to bite down on his fist to avoid laughing out loud. When the band starts playing, the two get up out of their seats and move to the middle of the floor, while the rest of the dancing guests all give the couple plenty of room. They share a romantic slow dance to usher in their marriage, whispering sweet nothings and sharing a few kisses as the gentle tones of the full orchestra accompany their every move. Everyone finds themselves happy with this turn out, Big Mom and her crew get a strong ally, as do The Straw hats, Buggy, and the business side of the Straw Hat Delivery service. Dogtooth gets a member of his family who knows his secret and accepts him (aside from a certain purple haired sister), and the whole world will soon shake at the mention of the star of the Supernovas allying with an Emperor. But most importantly, Luffy and Galette have found true love, and satisfaction in their circumstances. Because in the end, they did not do this to build an empire, they did it all for love.
A/N: And with that, a fairytale romance gets it's happy ending! A life of happiness and prosperity surely lies ahead! Thank you all so much for reading, for your positive words, and your feedback! Your collective support means a lot to me, and I am very appreciative of everyone who read, Favorited, Followed, and Reviewed! I hope you all enjoyed this story, and see you, space cowboys!