Welcome back!
I bring you the next chapter, please enjoy!
Relevant Tarot Cards:
-Minor Arcana-
Page of Cups: When related to time and environment, it signals a time of fresh emotions, feeling them purely and wondering at them. Romance is at the stage of puppy love and crushes.
-Major Arcana-
The High Priest: The High Priests symbolizes a community's traditions, ethics and faith, the spirituality that defines and unifies them, generation to generation. "Remember where you came from," this card tells you, "the traditions of your forefathers, the lessons of your faith, and you will know how to survive this crisis." In the most dire times of loss and fear, the High Priest is there to remind you that you are never alone.
Page of Cups - The High Priest
They all had dinner together in the courtyard that evening, enjoying the warm weather and the home cooked meal by Sabaody's most popular chef. They reminisced about times long gone with laughter and looked forward to a future that seemed all the more brighter with well seasoned wine.
"A televised cooking show? Really?" Luffy sarcastically said, taking his glass of wine in a hand. "Because the world needs another chef to tell us we suck at cooking food?"
Sanji grinned from his position at the head of the long table they'd brought outside from the kitchen, ready to cut the red velvet cake he whipped up for dessert.
"As long as there's one hausfrau out there that I haven't touched with my cooking, I will not relent in spreading the enlightened word that is 'Sanji's Kitchen'!"
"Being famous has really gotten to your head, hasn't it?" Usopp commented, pushing away his empty dinner plate.
Luffy grinned, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I don't see any difference with 4 years ago..."
"It's just his wallet that's gotten bigger," Chopper said with a shrug. "His ego is just fine."
They laughed at that, the many tealight scattered over the table accentuating their smiling faces, casting shadows on the walls around them.
"I guess money really doesn't bring happiness," Zoro stated. "I would've been so happy if your money had taken you far, far away from me."
Sanji gave him a murderous look, "Oh really? How about I use my money to send you far, far away from me, musclehead!"
"I wonder how many dumplings you'd have to sell to get me to go, food geek!"
Luffy snickered along with Robin, taking the plate of cake Sanji was offering him while continuously bickering with Zoro. He kinda missed their incessant arguing. Now that he thought about it, many of his memories had them fighting in the background over one thing or another.
"Chopper," Franky called from his spot at the other end of the table. "I hear that Dr. Kureha is retiring? Has the clinic found a replacement for her yet?"
"Dr. Kureha of the free clinic is retiring?" Luffy asked, passing on Usopp's piece of cake.
"Yeah," Chopper answered, taking the plate from Luffy and giving it to Usopp. "They've found a new head doctor for the clinic. He starts next week."
"What is Dr. Kureha going to do now?" Robin asked, bringing her first piece of cake to her mouth.
"She plans to go back to her birthplace, Drum," the small reindeer answered, accepting his part of the cake from Luffy.
"She's deserved her rest, eventhough I'm sure she thinks differently about it," Zoro commented.
Chopper grinned, "You were a regular patient of hers, Zoro. I'm sure she'll regret not seeing you again."
Zoro made a quizzical face, "That woman used to grope me in places that didn't need groping. There were many times when I wondered whether I valued my dignity more than my health."
Usopp grinned, "Who's the new doctor?"
"The only thing I know is that he's a medical prodigy and rather young," Chopper replied.
"You're considered a medical prodigy as well, Chopper," Franky said, smirking.
Chopper blushed and shook his head bashfully. "Oh come on. I'm not that good. I still have a lot to learn and I'm too young for the position of head doctor..."
"He never suggested that you should be..." Usopp started, letting his voice die out as the entire table began to laugh.
"So, Luffy," Zoro began, siting back in his seat. "The Santoryuu Gym and the Thousand Sunny Centre are organising a marathon on Saturday two weeks from now to raise money for the Thousand Sunny Fund for Underprivileged Children."
"Yeah," Usopp chimed in, "We were wondering if you'd be interested into helping us out?"
Luffy took a bite from his cake, looking at his friend with an interested expression. "What do you need?"
"Well, your organisatoral skills for one." Franky said. "Usopp and I have been managing the brunt of it, but we'd like to have your expertise on some final details."
"Sure, if you'd like I can come by the centre tomorrow after work, so you can show me what you've come up with and how I can help," Luffy answered, smiling.
"Are you sure it's okay?" Usopp wondered. "Judging from what I hear, you'll be quite busy for the coming month. Mugiwara is presenting their phone in five weeks, aren't they?"
Luffy nodded, "They are, but I wouldn't pass up on a chance to hang out with you guys again. Ever."
Franky grinned, clapping his hands together. "Alright! Super!"
"Nami and I are running in the marathon too," Sanji informed, sitting down on his chair and lighting a new cigarette.
"Nami?" Luffy echoed.
"The latest love of his life," Usopp said, chuckling.
"She works at Mugiwara too, Luffy," Robin told him.
"She's a junior financial executive," Sanji proudly announced. "She's so smart and sexy!"
"Yeah, I've met her," Luffy commented with a nod. "She is beautiful."
"Gorgeous woman," Franky agreed. "With curves in all the right places!"
"Her body is that of a Goddess!" Sanji amorously said. "And soft...so soft! Did you know that she and Vivi are best friends?" he said in one breath to Luffy, who was very interested in that piece of news.
"Really? That I did not know," he replied. "That's definitely something worth knowing."
"Ahhh... Vivi and Nami are like angels, come down from Heaven to teach us mere mortals what beauty is!" the blonde male sighed, a big goofy grin on his face.
"Stupid idiot," Zoro muttered. "For someone who calls himself a lover of women, haven't you ever wondered why they always end up running away from you?"
Sanji scowled, "Running? Running?! What the fuck are you talking about, mosshead? What do you know? You're just a poor imbecile who thinks he knows best because he hit the jackpot with one of the most beautiful women in this world." He then addressed Luffy's sister, "I feel your pain my sweet Robin, please don't hide it; you can do so much better!"
Zoro jumped up from his chair, infuriated. "Listen up you, Dumb Juan! Where the fuck do you get the deluded idea that you can talk to her like that! I'll fucking rip your head off!"
"Look at you, you're more of an animal than a man," Sanji said in an exasperated tone, standing up in turn and taking a drag from his cigarette. "Fucking moron."
"Oh my," Robin gently whispered, standing in turn and keeping Zoro from launching himself at Sanji. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and made him turn towards her, smiling gently. "I understand your concern, Sanji, and I apreciate it, but I'm perfectly happy with Zoro," she stated, taking Zoro's left hand in her right to calm him down. She then placed her left hand on his cheek. Their eyes met and she lovingly gazed back at him before whispering; "He's the one I've chosen."
Zoro returned her smile and turned his head against the palm of her hand, kissing its center.
Sanji scratched the back of his head, "Now you're making me sound like a spurned lover, Robin."
"I know," she said. "And I'm sorry, Sanji. I value your friendship just as much as I value my relationship with my little brother, but understand that my heart has chosen Zoro and all that comes with that."
Zoro took a step closer and pulled her closer by her waist, kissing her.
Before Luffy left, Robin had been married to a man called Suna Crocodile, an oil magnate. They'd been married for 3 years before their marriage hit the rocks; he cheated on her and left her, then 4 months pregnant with their first child. A fated fall from a set of stairs deprived her of motherhood, leaving her without a husband, without child and her life in shambles.
Zoro had taken it upon himself to keep her company when Luffy decided to go to college and aided her moving back into the estate her father bought for her and her brother here in Sabaody. He helped her get over her loss and when he inherited the Santoryuu, he moved in with her, eventually discovering the love he had for her and she for him.
They've been together for almost 4 years now.
Chopper sighed in admiration, eyes gone dreamy. "You guys should get married already..."
Luffy grinned, knowing that his sister would say yes in a heartbeat when Zoro felt the time was right. He had an inkling feeling that that time wasn't too far away from now.
"We're not in a hurry," Robin whispered, looking at Zoro now.
"I'm not going anywhere, Chopper," Zoro agreed, smiling at her affectionately. "As long as she'll have me, I'll be here."
The table then went silent as they looked at the couple with endeared expressions.
Luffy briefly wondered if he'd ever be able to find someone who could love him the way Zoro loved his sister, but abruptly stopped his train of thoughts when it took him back to the memories he still had of his time with Shanks.
He may have been young then, but he knew that what he had felt, what they had shared had been true. How many times hadn't he imagined how things could've been if only-
Luffy sighed and forced himself back into the present and put things in perspective.
His sister was happy and in love, his best friends had gathered around him and were doing well too. He was building a career and a life for himself and loving every moment of it, without regrets.
"What's gone is gone, it's what you still have that you need to cherish."
A small smile grew on his lips as he looked around at his friends and their antics, feeling a quiet sense of complacency come over him, his heart now more at ease than it'd ever been in the last 4 years.
The following day passed by in a haze as the preperations for the Media Event finally began to take shape.
Having gotten the green light from Finance and Sales to coordinate the event according to Luffy's Event Planning Strategy, it was finally time to put things into motion. Luffy visited 'The Bloom Room' that friday morning with Nami to talk to Robin about permits and insurance and to sign their mutual agreement contracts. Luffy also scheduled an appointment with the audiovisual company that was in charge of the lighting and the presentation that was going to take place in the main room.
The preliminary invitations had already been sent out weeks prior, the press had been notified and Vivi's manager had given their agreement to the new terms Mugiwara's Legal Department had come up with in concordance to their mutual needs.
They still had five weeks, but it was already time to finalize some key elements like transport and hotel accommodations for the more influential guests and VIP's, the security, the hired staff for registration and hosting, the plans with the decorator and Sanji's catering service. This operation took up all of Luffy's afternoon and even when he'd delegated some of his work, by the time 6 o'clock rolled around, he still needed to make up a task sheet and a review of the budget on behest of Ace, who'd asked a daily update of how things were going.
He stood up from his desk nearly an hour later to find the marketing floor almost abandonned, the printer at the other side of his working island springing back to life to print out the report and task sheets he needed to show Ace. Luffy grabbed the prints and looked them over a last time before picking up his carrier bag from his desk and his jacket, making his way to the big office in the back.
As he approached Ace's office, he heard him talking behind his closed door. Wishing to know if he was on the phone, or if he had someone in there with him, Luffy briefly peeked through the blinds decorating the side door glass panel and stopped at what he saw.
Ace was sitting on the side of his desk, his chest bare. He was still wearing his shoes and his dress pants, his face turned to the side to look at the person he was talking to that Luffy couldn't see. The next moment, a tattoed hand landed on Ace's left shoulder and Luffy gasped in surprise before moving away from the glass panel.
There was some more conversation and when he didn't hear anything for a few moments he dared to look again.
A very tall, black haired man wearing a black tucked in shirt with rolled up sleeves and bootcut jeans stood in front of Ace now, obstructing Luffy's vision. It looked like he was doing something to Ace, who was talking softly. The man answered back with a chuckle and they laughed, seemingly sharing a good joke.
Luffy took a shaky breath, feeling a sudden feeling of resentment well up inside of him. He didn't have the time to be standing around here, it'd been a long day and an even longer week. He'd also promised Franky and Usopp he'd pass by the Thousand Sunny Center. If Ace wanted to give strip shows in his office that was fine, but Luffy needed to give him his report so they could stay in sync about their planning checklist.
He knocked once and heard the expected scurrying inside, smiling quietly to himself as he reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought that-"
Ace was buttoning up his red shirt with an annoyed expression on his face. "No, it's fine. You're here for the reports?"
Luffy raised an eyebrow at the coldness of his voice, but didn't let it deter him. "Yeah, here," he said, stepping in further into the office, pointedly looking at the man standing by the leather couch opposite Ace's desk. Short black hair, stricking grey eyes, thick black eyeliner and arms, hands and fingers covered in peculiar tattoos.
The stranger gave him a small condescending smile and Luffy shifted his gaze back to Ace.
Ace took the documents from Luffy without a word and looked them over for a moment. "I'll need for us to go over these before Monday," he then stated, dropping the papers next to him on his desk. He looked up at Luffy with an indifferent expression. "I'll call you later, alright?"
Luffy cocked his head to the side, but swallowed the words of protest he wanted to utter at the fact that, one, Ace seemed to be in no hurry to introduce the man standing at the other side of his office, two, that this was the first time he was so suspiciously cold towards him, and three, that he was under the impression that Luffy was at his beck and call, which he most definitely wasn't. A little more appreciation for what Luffy had accomplished today couldn't hurt either and why the fuck was he still buttoning up his shirt like nothing happened?
Luffy simply forced a minim smile, rolled his eyes at Ace and walked back out of the office, feeling like a complete ass.
"Whatever," he then muttered, putting his carrier bag over his shoulder and walking out towards the elevators.
Luffy arrived at the Thousand Sunny Center half an hour later, parking his dark red Mini Cooper in a side alley of Yarukiman street. Both the Center and the Gym where located on this street.
As he locked up his car, he received a text message from Ace. He grunted and set his phone to silent before putting it away again, deciding to deal with his boss at a later time since it was finally weekend and he really did not want to hear from anything or anyone related to his work.
He pushed open the glass door of the Thousand Sunny Center and smiled as he looked around. The reception desk was empty as it was after office hours now, but next to it, ahead, he heard music playing in the large recreational room and children laughing and yelling in delight.
He opened the double doors, stepped in and froze.
On the stage stood a light blue haired girl in a dark blue sweat suit, dancing and singing to the poppy music that was blasting through the speakers, the small, young crowd before the stage dancing and singing in time with the beat and the lyrics.
Luffy saw the parents of the children, teachers, tutors and volunteers of the center standing by against the wall on the left next to the row of schoolbags and backpacks that belonged to the children who came straight here after school. With smiles on their faces, moving their heads and clapping in their hands, they watched the obviously impromptu perfomance of the popular songstress, Vivi.
Luffy's eyes then began to look for Franky and Usopp to figure out how they managed to fix this without him knowing about it. He looked up and took a few steps away from the door to get a view on the monitoring room right across from the stage. He grinned when he found Usopp already making excited gestures for him to come up. Luffy's eyes got an understanding expression in them when Nami suddenly appeared in his line of sight, waving at him with a smile.
"We saw you come up to the frontdoor on the camera monitors so we unlocked it just for you," Usopp said, greeting Luffy with a hug and a pat on his back.
"What is she doing here?" Luffy asked, the disbelieve dripping from his voice as he looked at Nami and Franky who was sitting behind the control board of the recreational room.
"When I told her about the beautiful cause that is Thousand Sunny, she asked to come," Nami answered, greeting him with a kiss to his cheek. "She's supposed to be here all week next week anyway for promo shots and interviews, so she came ahead of her crew with two of her bodyguards."
"I got a call from Nami here this afternoon about Vivi," Franky said, "Believe me, I was as shocked as you are right now. Our Vivi has a thing for underprivileged children; she immediately offered to sponsor the marathon."
"She's such a good soul," Usopp said, looking through the observation window at the performance Vivi was still giving. "I've been trying to get a hold of you all afternoon, but your office told me you were out on the field. I figured I'd just tell you when you got here."
"And she'd like to meet you, Luffy," Nami said, getting his attention again. "She wants to meet the Event Planner who made the deal with Mugiwara possible."
"She does?" Luffy whispered back, scratching the back of his head.
"And she was dying to have a taste of Sanji's cooking and have a sitdown with DJ Cutty Flam," she added with a grin. "Seems like she's a fan, Franky."
"Au! Not only does she have a kind heart, she also has good taste!" Franky replied, putting on his sunglasses just to make cool.
They all grinned and looked back at Vivi's performance that was coming to an end. Nami left the room to go get her while Usopp and Franky monitored the emptying room below from behind the control panel.
Nami appeared a few minutes later with Vivi and her two guardians in tow.
"Luffy, please meet Vivi," Nami announced, gesturing to the blue haired girl. "And Vivi, please meet my collegue and professional event planner, Luffy."
"It's a pleasure," Luffy said with a big smile, shaking her soft pale hand.
Vivi gave him a radiant smile. "Likewise, Luffy! I hear you're the one who made it possible for me to return to Sabaody?"
"I thought you were from Alabasta?" Luffy asked in turn, letting go of her hand.
"I went to college with Nami here," she explained. "She majored in finances, I have a degree in psychology," she then added happily.
"Well then, welcome back to Sabaody," Luffy said, smiling at how effervescent she was. "I'm sure you've noticed that its skyline has changed quite a bit."
"Yeah!" she said with a chuckle. "It's so awesome that they finished the Dome! We're you gone from Sabaody too?"
Luffy nodded, "I went to study in Mariejois for 4 years."
"Whoa, Mariejois Academy? That place only accepts the best!" Vivi exclaimed, visibly impressed.
"So they say," he said in abashment.
"Well, it makes me more confident in this cooperation with Mugiwara," she then said with a big smile. "I'll be in good hands."
Nami smiled too and nodded. "He's impressed us all and he's only been with us for a week!"
"Really?" She asked, raising both her eyebrows. "Young, cute and supersmart!" she giggled with a wink to him, making Luffy chuckle. "So you guys," she continued, not missing a beat. "I'd like to have dinner with all of you and get to know you all a bit better, is there a place where we can get good food, talk in private and just have a good time?"
Luffy looked at Nami, who smiled back at him. "Well, you still need to see the venue where you'll be presenting our new phone, right?" she questioned.
Vivi nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay," Luffy said, taking out his phone. "Let me see if I can get us a VIP arrangement for tonight." He then stepped out with a frown as he stared at the notification that appeared on the screen of his phone.
"I'm sorry. Can we talk? -Ace."
The balcony floor of 'The Bloom Room''s main room was accessible by two sets of stairs each on opposite sides of the dancefloor. During big concerts that second floor was usually reserved for guests who'd booked a VIP treatment, but tonight this floor was empty, making it the perfect spot to have a quiet conversation.
Rosy Life Crew, a local rock band, was playing tonight and they brought their popular funky reggae rock song "Born Again", accompanied by the smooth lyrical tenor of their frontman Duval.
Luffy leaned on the railing with his underarms, nodding his head to the plucking sounds of the main guitar. He spotted Nami and Vivi dancing to the beat on the dancefloor underneath, laughing and having a good time. Vivi's bodyguards were standing by at one side of the floor, surveilling their protegé closely.
"About earlier, in my office-"
"Yeah, what the fuck was that?" Luffy questioned, not bothering if he sounded bitchy. He then turned to look at Ace.
Ace raised an eyebrow at that before licking his lips and looking away again, sitting himself down in a nearby chair as he realized that Luffy was upset. "That guy who was in there with me, is an old friend."
"I don't care if he was in there to suck your dick or give you an invite to your highschool reunion," Luffy snapped. "I've been working my ass off all week on this Vivi project and you ordered me around and let's not forget to mention; dismissed me like I was your lapdog!"
Ace looked up at that and stood again. "I'm sorry," he began. "Only when you left did I realize how crude I had been towards you; I made it look like I didn't appreciate all the work you've done for us in this short week. I really didn't mean to hurt you. I was stressed out and tired. Believe me when I say that I know how valuable you are to us, Luffy."
Luffy scowled and looked away. "Damn right I am," he muttered, more out of anger than pride.
Ace smirked at that and then tilted his head to the side in silent wonder. "Why did you act like you didn't know I had company? You must've been standing there for a whole minute before you decided to enter."
Luffy blinked at that, shifting his eyes to the floor, hiding the blush of embarrassement that spread over his face. "I was just being polite..."
"No, you were spying on me and my friend," Ace corrected, smile growing wider. "What did you think you saw?"
"Why does it matter?" Luffy said, shrugging and blushing even harder. "It's none of my bussiness."
"Damn right, so why are you so upset about it?"
"I'm not," Luffy stated, trying hard to keep his voice calm. "The reason I'm upset has to do with the work-related crap you pulled on me."
"So you say," Ace replied, still smiling and now approaching him. "I suppose it would've been okay then if I had let Law get on his knees for me?"
"He certainly looked friendly enough," Luffy retorted, turning away from him. "And why wouldn't it have been okay?"
Ace shrugged, "I was under the impression that it wouldn't have been a good idea. I still have that impression."
Luffy huffed and rolled his eyes, stubbornly looking away. "I guess you missed out on a bj, then. You had your shirt off and everything..." he said sarcastically.
"What if we went to my place and you took off my shirt for me this time?" Ace asked throatily, placing his hands on Luffy's hips from behind.
"I have a better idea," Luffy whispered back, wrapping his arms around Ace's neck with a deceptive smile. "Why don't you go to that restaurant and find that waitress you liked so much? Maybe she'll be interested in a threesome with that tattoo guy." He then let go of him with a dismissive expression and was about to turn back around again when Ace grabbed him, pulled him to him and kissed him.
Luffy stilled and glared at him when he broke the kiss.
"It's you that I want," Ace softly murmured, eyes staring into his intently "I want to be with you. This past week... That night on Wednesday... I haven't been able to get you off my mind."
Luffy's lips pressed together in a firm line and he wriggled himself out of the older man's hold. "Yeah right. Well, you can't have me," he whispered back uneasily, voice trembling.
"Why not?" Ace wondered, the confusion clear in his eyes. "I can tell you like me, your actions make it perfectly clear."
"Because, no," Luffy replied, shrugging and starting to walk away, heart starting to beat frantically in his chest as he panicked. "All of this... this was a bad idea," he then murmured before turning around and breaking into a run. "Shit."
Truth was that Luffy was now scared shitless at the idea of liking someone in any sort of a romantic way. He didn't want to have someone liking him in return. He couldn't possibly deserve someone to.
He couldn't fall in love now.
He shouldn't.
And yet...
As Luffy descended the stairs leading to the dancefloor and dissappeared in the crowd, he never saw Ace stumbling backwards and into the chair again, clutching his chest in pain and panting out a curseword.
To be continued...
In: 6. The Two of Cups - The Sun
-BDP-