WARNINGS: Cross-Dressing, YOAI (boyXboy) Shanks X Luffy, and wide age differences between people in a relationship.

Don't like, don't read. You've been warned.

'…' what they are thinking

"…" what they are saying

Disclaimer: Oda owns One Piece and all it's characters, I can only dream.

Being a Girl

Chapter 3: A Strange Feeling

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Luffy sat up in his hammock, rubbing his eyes. The boy was so excited about seeing Shanks that he could hardly sleep. 'He'll definitely come,' Luffy nodded to himself. He had been to nervous yesterday to stick around for Shanks to agree on their meeting, but he knew he would come. From talking to him as a little kid and their day together yesterday, he knew.

Luffy walked out of the men's cabin, across the deck, and was about to climb down the ships ladder to head to the park when a hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Luffy, where do you think you're going?"

"To the park, Nami," the young captain turned his head and grinned his trademark smile at his navigator.

"Your quite happy, but don't you think you're forgetting something?" the navigator replied.

"Huh?"

"Well, for one, you're still in your pajamas."

Luffy looked down and noticed that she was right. "But I want to go to the park right now! What if Shanks is already there?"

"Shanks?! Red-Haired Shanks? The one who gave you your hat?" Nami was surprised.

"Yup! I ran into him yesterday, and we spent the whole day together!"

"He spent the whole day with you?"

"Yeah," Luffy grinned.

"Hmm... Did he recognize you?"

"Nope."

"Did you tell him who you were, or that you're a guy?"

"Heh, nope!"

"Why not?"

The boy shrugged.

"Well… that's… not good…"

"Why not? I like Shanks!"

Nami raised an eyebrow, "He thinks you're a girl. Now what kind of guy would spend the whole day with a girl, and the next day too, if he didn't like her."

"What's wrong with him liking me?"

The girl signed, "Luffy, it's the kind of 'like' where… where… ugh, never mind, I might be wrong."

"?"

"So... You were going to meet him before I stopped you?"

"Yup!" Luffy started to climb down the ladder when Nami grabbed his shirt again.

"Unless you want him to know it's you, you should change into your girl clothes."

"Oh yeah."

-----8 minutes later-----

"There! You can't see your scar at all now, and the cover-up is waterproof this time, too." Nami said, satisfied with her job of making her captain look like a girl.

"Thanks! Oh, and Nami, what time is it?" Luffy got up from his chair next to the girl, who was currently putting away her makeup.

"Around 10AM. What time did you and Shanks plan to meet?"

"Umm… I didn't say."

"That's so like you." Nami sweatdropped.

Luffy's laugh was interrupted by Sanji, "Ladies, your breakfast is ready! And the rest of you idiots too!"

There was a blur of color as Luffy ran into the kitchen, gobbled down his food, and sped off.

Nami had only reached the door when he was will into the town. "Hmm," she thought out loud, observing her captain.

---------5 minutes later------

Luffy jogged up to the park entrance; a large gate made of out intricate, metal bar designs. No one was around except for a young couple sitting in the park grass not too far away, but out of hearing distance. It looked like he'd have to wait for Shanks, though Luffy didn't mind. He dusted off his jeans, which somehow managed to get dirt on them during his run. They were black colored jeans, slightly more baggy then the tight ones he wore yesterday. His shirt was a white and red striped, long-sleeved shirt. Somehow it made him look like he had the curves of an actual girl. Luffy picked some lint off of it and looked around again to see if Shanks was coming. There was no sign of the red-haired man.

---------5 hours later-----------

"I wonder what happened." Luffy said, his excitement at the beginning of the day now replaced with a dull misery. He was sitting on the sidewalk edge, knees pressed against his chest. The couple in the park earlier was long gone. 'Why won't Shanks come?' Luffy thought, resting his head on his knees, 'Did he not like hanging out with me yesterday?' The young boy's depression increased, and he wondered, 'Why am I so sad? I should be concerned. If Zoro, or Nami, or any my nakama wouldn't show up then I would go out looking for them. I wouldn't wait here for so long… So why?' Luffy tried to think, but his thoughts just kept circling back to: 'Shanks, where are you?'

--------2 hours later---------

After hours upon hours of waiting Luffy looked up at the park entrance gates, eyes dull and face sullen. 'Shanks…' He walked through the gates. Looking at the ground he felt like he couldn't raise his head. It was as heavy as his heart. 'Even though a time wasn't set, Shanks should have been here by now.' The wind blew and the fall leaves stirred. There was a pile of them under one tree. If Luffy didn't feel so down he would have jumped in and played childishly. But how could he when Shanks wasn't there? The small boy eyed the leaves miserably and continued walking, starting down at the white gravel pathway. He shivered; it was a cold day. 'Shanks, where are you? Did I do something wrong?'

"Rully!" Luffy felt soft fabric touch his face as an arm wrapped around his back, pulling him into a warm body.

"Shanks…." He pressed himself closer to the older man, who's long, black cape was blowing in the wind. It almost seemed to wrap around Luffy, as if trying to obscure him from the rest of the world, and bring him closer to the older man.

"I was really worried about you Rully!"

Luffy's head shot up, "Why were you worried about me?" He clutched at the back of Shanks' white shirt. "I was waiting for such a long time!" Only then did Luffy notice the other's worried expression. 'Eh?'

"You were waiting for me? Where?"

Luffy turned slightly in the older man's embrace to point in the direction where he had come from, the entrance gates still in view, though far away.

"Oh… that's why. I was on the other side of the park. I thought we would meet where we parted last time." Shanks forced a chuckle. It was hard to laugh when both of them had previously thought the other wasn't coming.

"But… that wasn't where we…" Then Luffy remembered that where they parted last time didn't have metal gates. "Oh…" The boy chuckled, burring his head into Shanks' shirt. The older man tightened his grip when the laughing turned to sobbing. "I'm sorry Shanks." Luffy looked up at the man with tear-stained eyes. "I-I'm just crying because I thought you wouldn't come… and… I… I don't know!" Luffy buried his head back in the taller man's shirt and mumbled, "Do you think it's weird that I'm sad over this?"

"No…" He paused, "I was heartbroken when I thought you weren't coming."

"Why wouldn't I come to meet you?" Luffy voice was muffled by the shirt his face was currently in.

"I don't know." 'Because you might have realized it's bad hanging out with an older man like me.'

Luffy lifted his head to smile up at him. "So, what do you want to do today?"

---A few hours later---

Luffy walked though the park with Shanks, humming happily as the sun began to set. Luffy wondered why he felt so miserable when Shanks hadn't shown up. And he had cried too, something he never wanted to do in front of Shanks. When he was small he had vowed to get strong, strong enough not to cry, but just a few hours ago he was sobbing away. Though he felt better afterward, being with Shanks just made him act so out of character. If it wasn't the author's fault, then why? Luffy couldn't figure it out.

"Well, looks like the sun's setting." Shanks stated looking at the fast darkening sky. "We should start heading back, hopefully we'll find our way out again."

"Shishishi, I hope not," Luffy laughed, "That way I'll get to stay with you longer!"

Shanks grinned down at the boy, "Your not afraid of the dark?"

"Of course not! It'll be fun being in a park at night."

"Fun? How?"

"My brother always told me that places seem completely different at night." The boy bounced up and down in excitement.

"Your brother, eh? What's his name?"

"A--" BOOOOM!!!!!!! Luffy was interrupted by the deafening noise of an explosion. "Wow! That was loud! What do you think it was? Let's go check it out!" Luffy slurred in the same breath, curiosity and excitement propelling him towards the sound before he even finished his last sentence.

Shanks ran after the already far away Luffy. 'How does she run so fast?!'

"Ah!" Luffy's yell was heard as he suddenly disappeared from Shanks' vision.

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