One Piece Goda belongs to. Author's notes bottom at.
Chapter Titles The Beatles belongs to.
Chapter Ten
Good Morning, Good Morning
"Luffy, wake up. Luffy."
The rubber bastard was smiling in his sleep. He was leaning against the wall beside suite door number 608, seated on the floor with one leg resting above his other knee, snoring away so comfortably. His blonde brother, all in a soul grunge band Bones N Roses t-shirt and checkered boxers had appeared in front of him, and sat squatted only to hold his fingers out to touch the edge of his nostrils, so very lightly. Sabo grinned mischievously and carefully, as he ignited his fingers with the help of his mera mera fruit powers.
"Ita!" Luffy jumped on his precious little butt, all awake and in slight pain now. His nose, edge of nostrils in particular, felt as if he had accidentally breathed in lava. Thankfully he wasn't that much of a normal boy - not a single sign of burnt skin was earned. Ah well, you probably need good old bastard Aikanu for that. Sabo laughed out hard at Luffy's reaction. Once Luffy recognized him, he gave Sabo a fist on his head. "What you do that for, baka?"
"Sorry, man, I couldn't resist!" He stood up once Luffy's already on his feet. Out of his boxer's little pocket, he took out the key to his suite inserted it into the keyhole - leaving Luffy wondering. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"
"What are you talking about? I've been here all night!"
"Really? Sorry, man, I spent the night at Koala's suite last night," Sabo opened the door, and held it to invite Luffy in. The raven-haired walked inside, and settled first on the bouncy king bed in the middle of the suite. He had been here the day before, he was pretty familiar with the suite. A king-sized comfortable bed with slightly royal peach duvet, a sofa set with a low coffee table, a mahogany desk by the balcony's sliding door, and a large bathroom with fancy bathtub and shower cubicle enough for Luffy to pretend it's a water wonderland without feeling like his strength drained. "You didn't tell me you're coming. Where's your hat, by the way?"
"Nami." Luffy shrugged.
Sabo threw himself on the couch, crossing his hands over his chest. He gave his younger brother a teasing smirk. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Smart ass," Luffy scoffed. He was still too oblivious to comprehend the romance hint Sabo had teased him with, though.
"I know I am," Sabo replied. "So, what brings you here anyway? Thought you aren't supposed to stick by my side like a worthy best man should be until later at noon."
Luffy scratched his head. Yeah. What was the thing he wanted to ask Sabo? It had been pestering his mind since yesterday, maybe, he wasn't even sure. He was thinking of it in the lobby though. Oh, right. That one. I remember now.
"Well?"
"Yeeeaaahh," Luffy gave a lengthy 'yeah', with much hesitation too. He didn't want to sound stupid. He knew this was stupid. While he could understand everything else as 'mystery', this is the one thing he couldn't understand. "I've been thinking about that Pirate King and Queen thing you said yesterday."
Sabo leaned front, clearly interested. He meant it to be a joke, a tease, or a teasing joke of some sort. "Wait. Am I thinking what you're thinking?"
"What are ya thinking?"
Sabo wanted to say marriage. Marriage was probably the thing Luffy was intending to ask about, but the rubber boy probably hadn't figured out the right kind of words to explain that. It could be marriage, or it could be something similar like a relationship. Sabo wasn't the one to be cheesy as fuck about these things, and he knew his brother is much to in love with his pirate and freedom-of-the-seas kind of goals or anything around revolving those. He wondered if this wedding had triggered his new-found interest in romance. "Had a Queen in mind?"
"Queen?" Luffy looked puzzled for a second, and his first response came out as, "Boa Hammucock?"
Sabo's eyes widened at the name. "I thought you're gonna mention someone else!"
"I don't know any other Queen."
"Lu, you idiot. You can't marry Hancock!"
"Marry? Oh yeah, she always called me husband. I wonder when did we get married?"
Sabo slapped his forehead in defeat. "Lu. Lu, Lu, Lu. Look, if it's Boa Hancock, then I'm afraid I can't help you with anything. Alright, let's put everything aside first, shall we? About more than 30 hours to my wedding so you need to stay with me and be a good best man." Sabo stood up, and took off the golden ring he was wearing. It was a plain golden ring, still heavy, still polished and still new. Sabo tossed the ring to Luffy, in which he caught it perfectly in between the palms of his hands. "Wear it, Lu."
Luffy held the golden ring up to his eye level, to examine it closely. There were letters engraved at the inside of the ring, but Luffy couldn't care reading at all. "What is this?"
"Best man's ring," Sabo explained quickly. "Koa's idea. She thought the idea would be romantic and all. Maid-of-honor will have one too, so you don't have to worry 'bout being weird about it."
Luffy missed Sabo's smirk as he put on the ring on his finger. It did fit perfectly. He had nothing against jewelry anyway - yes, he had no interest in wearing jewelry - but hey, maybe this is one of those cool heroic thing that a best man gets," he thought to himself.
The change of scenery was pretty surreal. It's not every day you wake up earlier than usual and find your friends battling over preparing coffee and sandwiches in the kitchen - especially if one of them is a cook with an always-treat-woman-as-a-princess policy. That was what Nami bumped into after she had gotten herself showered and dressed, in her Paramour band sleeveless top and a straw hat on her head. Robin and Sanji argued ever so softly about who should make coffee and sandwiches. It is pretty amusing too, to have Robin assuring Sanji that breakfast would be okay over the coffeemaker while Sanji made a barrier around his chopping board of sandwiches to prevent this lovely goddess from doing any hard work in the kitchen.
"Good morning," Nami greeted, and seated herself next to Usopp, who apparently, was half-asleep on the dining table. Upon noticing that their captain wasn't around, she nudged Usopp with her elbow, "where's Luffy?"
"Off to Sabo, I suppose. I hope. Looks like he won't even be home for breakfast," Robin explained, as Sanji tried to slip by her and take over the coffee job, in which Robin only responded with a very motherly, "Sanji-kun, I told you I would do it. Now go sit down, you haven't slept all night."
"You hadn't slept all night either," Zoro, who appeared at the kitchen door leading to the backyard of the guest house, interrupted. Given the towel hung around his neck, it could easily be told that he had just finished his morning training.
Sanji gave a Robin a little gentle escort to the dining table, but Robin refused. Nami tilted her head in curiosity. "What kept you up, Robin?"
The woman shrugged, while she carried five mugs of hot milk coffee with her mighty phantom hands onto the dining table - one mug each - and took a seat beside Zoro. "Oh, Luffy wanted supper. And then I was up talking to Koala over the Den Den."
"Take a nap, later," Zoro suggested to her. It was rather funny to Nami that Zoro was all attentive and concerned towards Robin today, but then again, he was always concerned of her, only not in a very much apparent way.
"And what kept you up, anyway, Sanji?" Nami asked.
"Yeah, how was your date with mystery chick?" Usopp inquired, now that he appeared all awake, thanks to the milk coffee Robin had prepared.
Sanji shivered at the mention of 'date' and 'mystery chick'. "Don't... ever... mention..."
"Looked like it went down horrible," Usopp commented.
Nami nodded. "Who would've thought Sanji would have a horrible date, after all, he's all about women..."
"Curlybrow probably had a date with a man, who knows-" Zoro interrupted as well, sipping his milk coffee properly, oh, very out of his character.
"Shut up you gay Marimo!" Sanji yelled, being butthurt at his remark.
"Did you just call me gay, you fucker?"
Usopp and Nami sighed, while Robin plugged her ears with fingers sprouting from both her shoulders.
"I helped you out of the closet, gay Moss head, you should at least thank me-"
"You couldn't even date a woman and you're calling me gay?!"
"Merry Christmas, ho-ho-homos!"
Nami gave the two a hard fist punch on both their heads, causing the argument to die down. "One more of those arguments and I'll make you two homos!"
"Euw, Nami!" Usopp cringed slightly. "You just shoved a-an uncomfortable image into my head!"
Robin, the lover of all Mpreg dark fictions, chuckled.
Sanji looked slightly disgusted, but then he returned to his sandwiches, and served them on a beautiful ceramic platter and joined them at the table. "Meh, what a normal sized dish. It's a little surreal to see the breakfast table without Luffy around."
Nami adjusted the straw hat on his head. It's hard tearing Luffy apart from Sabo the first day they were here, and now that he's off with his dear brother, she doubted that she would see him all day. The ginger navigator sighed, as he took a sandwich off the plate. "What have you been doing all night, by the way, Sanji? I saw a girl outside the gate earlier with you, who is she? I don't remember that Ivanka girl having blue hair and all-"
Sanji took a large sip of his milk coffee and gurgled before deciding to swallow it - spitting out coffee made by gorgeous Robin-chan? Hell no way! "Let's just not talk about Iva shall we? I'm deeply traumatized by that shitty date," Sanji sank into his chair, eyes widened in terror, but only for a while. His shift of mood was quick when he remembered the girl Nami had mentioned, and he almost had sprang to his feet dramatically, but he quickly held back and pretended a James Bond kind of calm demeanour. "Ah, her. She's the gorgeous of all gorgeous, the wonder or all woman, the princess-"
"Yeah, we get it," Zoro cut him off, "but did you even got laid?"
"You son of a bitch," Sanji replied, but he was too bothered to even start an argument with him, much to Robin's relief. "That lady is going to be my date at the wedding, and you're not gonna see her until then!"
"Meh, does this means I need to have a date too?" Usopp said in between munching his sandwich. "Nami, d'you wanna-"
"No, thank you, Usopp," Nami said quickly.
Usopp pulled the straw hat on Nami's head lightly. "Of course. Why would I even bother? You'd be with the Luffy and all," Nami blushed slightly at this remark, "aren't you gonna be the maid-of-honor or something?"
Nami gulped down the bite of sandwich she was chewing, and sighed. Maid-of-honor? Her? Pfft. Robin got the chance to be the maid-of-honor, bet she's going to wear a pretty white dress and flowers in her hair - so hana hana of her, bet she's going to stand at the altar with the wedding ring, with the Revolutionary couple, bet she's gonna walk off with Luffy sending the bride and the groom off the altar, bet she's gonna be in the wedding pictures next to Luffy, bet she's going to share a table with Luffy at the reception, being next to the bride and the groom and all, bet she's gonna sit where Bellemere would sit... Nami snapped. She shook her head from those rather stupid, stupid thoughts. She had enough of missing her foster mother last night, and she wouldn't want to spoil her day being all emotional. Especially now that she has the hat.
She heard Robin spoke from behind her warm mug slightly pressing on her cheek, "well, Koala had decided that-"
"Robin's the maid-of-honor," Nami interrupted, though she didn't mean to be that rude of her. She was still a little pissed - she wanted to be the maid-of-honor, who cares if she feels that that that that, that that, she would accept it as she is. "Belle... Koala's friend couldn't make it so Robin would replace her."
"I bet Robin-chan would look beautiful in a white dress!" Sanji said, but Robin did not seem to respond to it. Rather, she toyed with her sandwich, and looked as if her mind was occupied with something else. Unnoticed by the blonde cook, Zoro slipped his hand behind Robin in attempt to comfort her, and she only glanced back to him with a slight smile in response.
Fishy.
Knowing Luffy, you wouldn't be the one to actually take him out for a meal in public eatery - if you're lucky, the cool would be able to provide enough for his monstrous appetite. While he attempted to swallow a whole plate of pasta in a fancy restaurant with red-and-white tablecloths and finest of the finest cutlery, his brother sitting opposite him was trying so hard to save his portion of food for himself. He was trying to be a nosey person and throw questions about Luffy's love life while they were still on their way, but Luffy apparently were to busy chugging down food that all his answers sounded like 'om-nom-nom' and maybe some 'nyom-nyom' too.
A sudden hard pat on Luffy's back nearly choked him, though, he might get killed if his body wasn't rubber. Luffy turned to scold whoever it was, and found the faces of the two person he had never imagined seeing so soon.
"And you'd think it'll be hard to tell you without your hat?" Dadan - with her usual curly hair tied in a bun, shirt tucked into her cropped up pants like a bandit version of Ellen DeGeneres - gave him a stern smile, of course. She was more than happy to be reunited with the kid she had raised, but even happy tears would be embarrassing, isn't?
"Dadan! Makino!" Luffy was overjoyed. Sabo gave him a nod, noting that Sabo was the one who invited the two for breakfast - and to the wedding as well. The rubber boy wrapped the two woman with his absurdly stretched arms for a hug, squeezing the two together.
"Eh, let us go, you dramatic brat," Dadan said, but it wasn't like she was complaining.
"We missed you too, Luffy!" Makino said as Luffy released them both. "How have you been?"
"Great!" Luffy replied, while Sabo invited them to join the table. "Sabo, did you invite them? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Surprise, brother," Sabo grinned. "Oh as if you don't know I enjoyed giving you heart attacks!"
"Yeah, like that time when you told me you're still alive," Luffy replied.
"Eh, you're not alone, boy," Dadan said. "When he visited us in Fuchsia about three months ago we thought he was a ghost or something. Not that I believed in ghosts!"
Makino chuckled. "What do you know, you've grown up to be such a handsome young lad." Sabo's cheeks reddened at the compliment, which earned him a teasing laugh from Luffy. "Oh, let's not forget about you too, Luffy! The young girls back at home are admiring you like a celebrity," she patted his head.
"Celebrity? Is that like a hero? Can it be eaten? Do I look like meat?"
Dadan gave Luffy a punch on his head. "Don't be ridiculous! Oh, feels good to finally do that. Haven't punched you in years now!"
"Dadan-san sure misses Luffy," Makino chuckled again. "Oh Sabo, have Luffy gotten himself a good suit?"
"Yeah," Sabo nodded. "Got himself fitted yesterday. He looked weird in a suit though-"
"Oi!"
"-but the good kinda weird. Best man, heh. Let's just hope he'll look good with the maid-of-honor," Sabo said, as Makino listened attentively like a mother. After years of disappearance, it was hard picking up the actual friendship they had while Sabo was still a child. He remembered her, but the woman needed to be reminded with his signature top hat with goggles, and his accurately detailed memories with Luffy. Sabo spent a week at Fuchsia village - Dragon only observed his hometown from the ship - and revisited places from where him and Ace and even Luffy, had adventured. He was actually surprised that even Dadan and the bandits remembered him, but meh, you're the only blondie in a top hat that often come over with the two bloody brats, it ain't so hard to tell.
"And who's the maid-of-honor?" Makino inquired curiously, which bought Dadan's attention, and Luffy too was forced to listen.
"Isn't it Chimney?" Luffy interrupted, trying to be smart and all.
"That's the flower girl, Lu," Sabo corrected. "You all know the maid-of-honor. She's a pirate too, everyone knows her by the name of Cat-"
"Oi! Startin' breakfast without me?" A buff old man in his white suit, white hair, white handsome beard and a scar around his left eye, appeared at the table. He was grinning widely, something you'd be familiar with from the Monkey family - the wide grin. Dadan made no reaction at his arrival, Makino smiled back, Sabo gave a short handsome wave while your favourite rubber captain's eyes widened in terror.
"G-g-grandpa?!"
I'm currently writing chapter twelve with sweat in my eyes - I'm not crying, you are! I just miss Ace, that's all.
Arigato gozaimasu scatteredPhilosopher, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, murasakiana and BlackSteel-97 for your lovely reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter too, loves!
Thanks for the reads, reviews, favourites and follows. I love you like I love fried chicken and ramen and teh tarik and shrimp dim sum.
(I just decided to name my future kids Ace, Luffy and Sabo. Let's hope they don't find the abundance of figurines named after them in their mom's future basement.)
