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Fifty Sub Special: (Straw)berries

(alternatively titled, Maybe the Real Treasure was the Friendships we made along the way?)

"That's when my heart replies, 'Strawberries.
Love tastes like strawberries.'"

—Miriam Makeba

Luffy remembered the first time she wore his hat.

The wind had been ripping past them as The Going Merry sped away with a pack of marines in pursuit, and the laughter of the Straw Hat Pirates' hooting carefree laughter was being taken by the strong breeze. And then that strong breeze was ripping at his hat, lifting it from its rightful place atop his head, and there was that brief moment of panic—

But by the time he turned around to catch his treasure, Luffy found it already placed atop someone else's head—

Terra's head.

Luffy watched as his crewmate cradled the straw hat to the back of her head with her sun-burnt hand. No matter how long Terra spent at sea, her skin had never returned to that same pale shade it had been the day that Luffy met her. Nami kept assuring Terra that she would eventually tan, but privately Luffy thought that Terra looked more like a strawberry every day.

Terra caught his eye, and Luffy watched her mouth split into a toothy grin. With her free hand, she raised her fist to give Luffy a thumbs-up— and Luffy decided at once that he could trust Terra with his treasure until he wouldn't risk losing it to the wind again.

It wasn't until they had managed to outmaneuver their pursuers and found themselves in gentle waters that Terra approached Luffy to return his straw hat. She had tucked a bright purple flower like a bunch of blueberries along the brim, but Luffy didn't get to admire the pseudo-fruit before Terra dropped his hat atop his head and pressed it down into place.

"Huh?" Luffy looked down as he noticed something else new about his hat— from either side of it hung a thin braid of vines, tied together to form a chain. "What's this for?"

"So you don't lose it," Terra explained with a smile. With a quick hand, she reached upwards and used a finger to flick back the rim of Luffy's hat. It lifted from his head and fell gently against his back. Terra grinned with pride and Luffy felt his chest puff with the same. "Something more permanent like string would be better suited, but this will do for now."

"I like it," he immediately declared, and returned his straw hat, newly improved, to his head. "Don't try to change it, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Captain," Terra responded with a giggle. "Maybe one change, though," she said as she plucked the flower from the brim of his hat.

Luffy opened his mouth to protest— she had given him that flower, it was his now— but he was halted by the tickling brush of petals against his skin as Terra tucked the flower behind his ear. She smiled, and she said,

"I'm afraid this part is mortal, so enjoy your time with it."

"Shishishi. Sure."

x

The next time that Terra wore his hat, Luffy gave it to her.

Beneath the brim of his treasured straw hat, Terra's eyes were a bright green and her smile was wide enough to bare her teeth. Her hair was shorter now, the waves of it only just reaching the top of her shoulders where it used to fall down her back. Beneath the shade of his hat's brim, Terra's skin glowed a rosy, sun-burnt pink, speckled by freckles that he noticed kept growing like the petals squashed beneath his straw hat—

"You look like a strawberry!" he fondly declared.

Terra's lips wobbled into a semblance of a smile. "I sorta feel like that's an insult? But you're saying it like it's a good thing."

"That's because it is," Luffy agreed. "Strawberries are delicious!"

"They are," she quickly agreed. "They're my very favourite."

"Hey, you idiots!" came a shrill voice from beside the two. Luffy looked up dumbly to find a seething Nami shaking her fists at him. "Whoop his ass already so we can go!"

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "Don't worry. I've got this!"

Terra giggled along with him. "I know you do," she said. With a smile, she touched the brim of his straw hat atop her head. "And I've got this. So go defend my honour before Nami leaves us behind."

"Right!"

x

The night found Luffy sitting on the dark deck of the Going Merry with just his cook and his botanist, a large bowl of strawberries between the trio that Sanji kept slapping Luffy's fingers away from whenever he reached for a handful out of turn. Only Terra was allowed to take from the bowl freely, as she had grown the berries herself and had picked them specifically to share with the crew.

"You know," Terra had said, and both boys did their best to listen to her without stopping their snack (smack) fight. "I'm surprised that I don't see more straw hats around. I thought they were, like… popular."

"Why would they be?" asked Sanji with a snort.

"Because they look cool!" Luffy shouted, followed by a yelp as Sanji smacked the back of his hand again. "This hat has seen it all— and I'm taking it all the way to the Grand Line!"

Terra snickered as she was allowed to take a strawberry. "Maybe after you become King Pirate or whatever, it'll become a fashion trend. We'll see straw hats everywhere!"

"Spare me," groaned Sanji with a shake of his head, making Terra laugh softly.

"Everyone looks good in a straw hat, Sanji," she said. When she turned to Luffy, it was with bright, expectant eyes. "Captain, may I?"

Luffy laughed, a 'shishishi' so loud that it had both his companions shushing him with varying degrees of delicacy. "Sure," he said, and plucked the hat from his head. He held it out to her over the bowl.

"Thanks," replied Terra as she took the hat with a gentle hand. "Now, Sanji—"

"—don't you put that stupid hat on me—"

"—hey! My hat's not stupid—"

"Stop squirming away!" commanded Terra with a frustrated huff. Sanji froze at her words, the man never able to deny a woman's command. Without pause, Terra slapped Luffy's hat onto Sanji's head with a declaration of, "There!"

"Pfft."

Terra grinned and swatted a hand in Luffy's direction. "Don't laugh at him!" she said, but her voice was light with laughter of her own. "Sanji looks beautiful!"

"This is ridiculous," came Sanji's grumble as he pulled the hat from his head. "I'm not a hat person."

"Don't be silly," tittered Terra. She took the straw hat from Sanji with that same gentle hand, and the flower crown she wore crumbled to loose petals that fell over her shoulders as she placed Luffy's hat atop her head. "See? Everyone looks good in a straw hat."

"That's because you're stunning no matter what you wear, my beautiful fl—"

"Terra, you look pretty!" came Luffy's loud interruption. He leaned over his knees to grin at his crewmates.

Perpetually pink cheeks flushed a deeper red at the praise from the two boys. "Thank you for proving my point," Terra said with soft, embarrassed laughter. "I'm sure you would say the same thing to Zoro if he wore the hat."

"What would you say to Zoro?" came a low voice as Zoro came above deck, his short hair messy from sleep.

"Zoro!" cheered Terra as she shot up into a standing position. "Come here, I want you to wear this!"

Zoro paused in his approach. "What? Why?" He ran suspicious eyes over the three of them. "You doing something weird?"

"You're the weird one," Terra chastised as she began moving towards Zoro, who took a step back for every one she took forward. "Oh c'mon, it's just a hat!"

With a laugh, Luffy chimed in, "Yeah, c'mon Zoro! You'll be beautiful!"

"No thanks," was Zoro's gruff reply. He and Terra began to pick up speed around the deck until the two were running in circles shouting at one another. Sanji was quick to join, his shouts about defending Terra's honour lost to the mix.

Luffy watched them, his crew running around his ship, his chest light and his smile large enough to split the sea.

He loved this, he thought. He loved it more than anything else in the world.

And so with a smile that tasted like strawberries, Luffy joined his crew.