Of Straw and Steel

Summary: Zoro was always warned of the dangers of falling for the Captain's daughter. He just never imagined the dangers that came with falling for the Captain herself. Oneshot series on people's reaction to the Captain and First Mate's relationship.

Chapter Warnings: Surprisingly not bad for Franky...

Family was, without a doubt, the most important thing to Franky.

So, when he returned home to his precious brothers and sisters, he was horrified at what he saw. He swore vengeance on those that harmed them. As soon as he had gotten any answer out of his recovering family, he took off for the heartless bastards who had the audacity to hurt his family. It was something he couldn't - something he wouldn't - let pass, although the enemy was clearly a force to be reckoned with.

He had not expected the cute little girl to be the perpetuator. She was a tiny thing, looked almost fragile. He was quite positive that even Mozu and Kiwi could handle a fight better than her.

Oh, how wrong he was.

He later remembered his earlier perceptions of the girl as he watched her stand tall. Above him, a certain flag burst into angry, dangerous flames. He glanced at Robin, seeing the tears in her eyes as she cried and cried.

"I want to live!"

He had watched the entire thing, seen the female captain, still small and tiny like an ant in this world of powerful people, grin. And he had understood.

For family, there was no limit to the extent she would go. For any member of her crew, Luffy would sail and conquer any sea, fight any enemy, no matter how outmatched she was... Like now.

But she kept getting up, always getting up, as though her body were not already passed it's limit a hundred times over.

But she pulled it off and saved them all.

Of course, the days of sleeping and eating (at the same time!) that followed... It wasn't a bad price to pay. She had walked away and was able to recover, something many others would have been unable to do in the same circumstances.

It was then he decided he wanted build her the dreamboat. If anyone deserved it, it was someone who valued family just as much as him, if not more. The next few days were spent jumping back and forth between building the dream ship and visiting the pirates. With the marines swarming the area, he tended to avoid the latter as much as possible. The night before they set sail however, he had no such reserves. Everyone was in a good mood, not at all surprisingly, but... something was off.

Franky soon learnt what it was. Despite the fact the loud music, the great drinks and the distinct aroma of cooking meat, something was missing. Judging by the fact that the meat remained on the giant platters, Franky quickly came to the conclusion that it was most definitely the captain who was missing.

At one point later in the evening, the she-captain emerged from the the building, wrapped in a blanket (possibly nothing else, Franky's thoughts drifted) and looking positively dishevelled. Franky watched as the girl wandered over to the table, emptied at least three trays of food into her rubbery mouth, before collecting as much as she could into her arms. On her way back inside, she paused before grabbing as many bottles of sake she could fit into her arms.

Not seeing her as the drinking type, Franky grew curious. Breaking away from the party, ignoring the protests of his sisters and brothers, Franky made his way for the building. It was easy for his disappearance to go unnoticed in such a loud and big crowd and he wasn't questioned.

He slipped out of the crowd. Luffy was far from hard to find, leaving a steady trail of crumbs and sauce in her wake. The trail ended at the room the Straw Hats had temporarily claimed. The hole that Garp made was still present, though somewhat fixed. It was, however, still big enough to Luffy to slip though.

Franky stood, back pressed against the wall as he listened. He didn't mean too eavesdrop, really. He just wanted to see what Luffy was doing.

"I brought sake!" Luffy exclaimed. Her words came out muffled, and Franky imagined her face stuffed with more food than should be possible. He wasn't sure who she was talking to, but he heard a grunt of thanks that followed her words.

The captain wasn't exactly quiet as she chowed down on the food she had hoarded away. Whoever was with her was extremely tolerant as he downed the sake she had thoughtfully brought back.

Unable to contain his curiosity, he shifted to peek around the corner.

The straw hatted captain, Franky learnt, had only been wearing the blanket. Tucked away from the eyes of the party goers and her grandfather, she had already carelessly discarded it. Franky found his eyes wandering, completely focused on the lady captain. She had already finished everything she had hoarded and was now licking whatever traces remained from her fingers.

It was only when she moved that Franky remembered the second person. For a moment, she looked as though she were walking towards him and he dodged out of sight. Instead, she dropped on the couch. The movement was greeted with a grumble, but not exactly of protest. It was more appreciative than anything else. Figuring it was safe, Franky peeked around the corner.

Hey, everyone already knew he was a pervert.

He caught a glance of green hair. So, it was the first mate, huh? Lucky guy.

Luffy clambered into his lap with a wide smile on her face.

"You pulled some stupid shit back at Enies Lobby," the first mate reprimanded her. His voice was steady and hard, like a parent lecturing a child, but also brimming with worry. The captain only laughed and kissed him deeply in return. He responded, his hands tightening on her hips as she knotted her hands in his hair.

Franky realized with a start that the swordsman himself was naked. He was probably part of the reason for Luffy's dishevelled state.

Luffy moaned loudly, shifting in Zoro's lap as the man broke away to kiss along Luffy's neck.

Or all of it, Franky thought in almost jealousy.

Zoro broke away after only a few minutes, looking accusingly at Luffy. "I'm not joking, Luffy. You need to be more careful."

"I'm fine though, aren't I?" She asked, seeming more than ready to drop the topic. Luck was not on her side, however. The swordsman wasn't having any of that.

"I can't stop asking you to take risks but... be more careful, Luffy... none of us would be able to take it if something happened to you." Franky could understand where he was coming from. Not only had he almost lost his captain, but also his best friend and lover. He couldn't simply pretend it hadn't happened.

The captain herself frowned, as though she had never thought about this before. And. in all honesty, she probably hadn't. She didn't seem the type to sit back and think about things reasonably.

"If something happened to me?" She paused for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "You guys... would be able to manage without me." The swordsman's eyes seemed to sharpen, glaring at the girl. Her laughter stopped as soon as she saw it and instead she frowned. "Zoro?"

"How could you even say that?" He snapped, causing the girl to jump slightly. "God damn it, Luffy. How can you even think that? After everything we've been through, how do you think we'd make it a day without you?"

Franky, ever the emotional one, felt tears prick at his eyes. How could he not when such touching words left the mouth of one usually so aloof to everything around him? He rubbed at his eyes, trying to avoid crying. That would most definitely get him caught.

"Zoro, I-"

"Fuck, how do you think I'd make it a day?"

Luffy looked puzzled. Just as she was to the crew, Zoro was a pillar of strength to her. It was obvious she had not considered that something as simple as her death could send Zoro to this... She would be the same should anything happen to her nakama, of course, but that was different. She was the captain, it was her duty to protect them. Not the other way around.

Luffy sighed, leaning over and pressing a kiss against his lips. He didn't seem anymore pleased and she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, a small pout on her lips. A few moments passed before she muttered an apology. It was muffled by his shoulder and followed by a quick, "I love you."

Zoro let out a gruff grunt, running his fingers through Luffy's hair and taking a deep drink of sake. Franky supposed it was the swordsman's way of returning the sentiment. Luffy laughed lightly, the previous atmosphere disappearing in an instant.

"I won't leave you ever, Zoro," she murmured. "You're my family."

At this point, Franky was getting ready to run off, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold in the tears. At her last words, Franky couldn't help it and took off, bawling his eyes out the entire way.

Man, even if they weren't his, this family was just SUPER.

FRANKY IS JUST SUPER. His reaction chapter, not so much.

If you guys want to see anyone besides the crews' and Luffy's families' reactions, lemme know and I'll work it in. Already planning on: Garp, Coby, Brooke, Law, Jinbei, Rayleigh, Boa Hancock, Shanks, Sabo, Perona, Ben, Mihawk, Kidd...

Not exactly in that order but yeah.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, alerted... or even read. I appreicate it! :D Especially you anon reviewer -coughHippo andAzayaandothersThankyouuu-I can't reply to [which I will do eventually, I have been very busy and a bit stressed lately]