Autumn in Mary Geoise was similar to autumn in Germa Kingdom. The mornings were too crisp for Reiju's liking while the evenings were more tolerable. Thankfully the distance between her hotel and the palace was short so she only had to endure the chill for a few minutes. The hotel had once been a part of the palace but had been renovated to accommodate the more prestigious guests who required extra accommodations for staff.

The medicines that Reiju had taken to calm her headache and recover from soreness…. A certain area between her legs so to speak. Had started taking effect as she arrived in the palace assembly hall. Ushers and servants were at the ready for all the incoming guests. The Mary Geoise palace liaison was busy fussing over some detail of insignificant importance to Reiju as she took her seat at the head of the table.

She was early despite her late start.

Half an hour passed and the room filled with people. Luffy took the seat next to her and when the room was at quorum, Luffy began the typical introductions. Those that came from further locations slowly trickled in by harried looking staff as the first day formalities went underway

Reiju attempted to pay close attention to the ongoings of whatever was concerning the northern Mary Geoise peasants but her focus was truly on Luffy and the minute details that drew her attention when he shifted in his seat after a particular statement or comment. The bastard was so distractedly handsome. Sure, at first she found bulging muscles very attractive. Someone like Zoro or Kidd would have fit that build perfectly. But Luffy was perfectly built in his own way. Strong lean body that can fight the entire world if needed, hands capable of destroying mountains but still soft to the touch. But what she loved the most about him, is the adorable carefree smile he has on his face. Gives her a sense of hope and comfort that no matter what everything is going to be okay.

Plus it didn't hurt that he had a face, that she would sit on all day during the meeting if she could.

The morning and the afternoon went by so slowly that Reiju was convinced someone had taken them back in time to relive their most boring moments. Of course, she contributed where Germa Kingdom input was necessary and required. It was just so difficult to focus when a pompous East Blue businessman began their monologue. She was thoroughly distracted as Luffy began massaging her thigh in the most deliciously sinful manner under the table, his hand becoming bolder as the East Blue businessman continued his grievances, tracing up and down along her tattoo. Even to use his devil fruit powers to wrap around her inner thigh.

She could not wait for the final toast so she could teach him a proper lesson.

Finally, Reiju heard the resounding timbre of a gong signifying that it was time to make way to the banquet hall.

The low rumbles of conversations carried through the vast corridors and into a cavernous hall illuminated with the green crystals. Each member took their seat at one of the four rows of banquet tables in the hall with a fifth table set perpendicular to the other tables in the place of honor. Despite the purpose of promoting unity within the four sea, old habits were difficult to set aside. The lower ranking members were near the edge, well away from the inner chamber while the more distinguished guests attempted to sit as close to the head table where Reiju and Luffy were seated along with Monkey D Dragon's proxy and King's advisor.

Servants filed into the hall in a precise choreography as they set down their plates. One of the perks of attending an international conference for Reiju meant that she was able to sample all of the exquisite dishes from each represented state. Several dishes from all over the world were brought before her and she tried to hide her enthusiasm as she dug into a bowl of sea prune stew. The texture of the prunes reminded her of very chewy mochi and the salty, sourness with a tinge of sweetness was complemented beautifully with the liberal dose of chile flakes she sprinkled on top.

Despite it being a traditional Southern East Blue dish, and a peasant one at that, in a single spoonful she was able to capture a type of comfort that was lacking in all the other foreign dishes presented that day.

"Ah, Princess Reiju, Straw Hat Luffy… allow me to wish you the warmest of blessings on your new union on behalf of all the priests. It is the most advantageous, if not unexpected of unions for the Germa Kingdom. Your mother, Vinsmoke Sora would be so pleased. I am honored that you had chosen me to perform the most sacred ceremony that could occur between two people..." an old priest walked up to the table, interrupting as Reiju was about to call for seconds.

Wait… what, WHAT?!

She had forgotten about that minor detail of her alleged marriage to Luffy and by the looks on Luffy's adorable face he had as well, a hunk of meat hung off of his lips as he stopped chewing, the distance between his mouth and big chunk meat forgotten as the priest's words sank in.

If the priest had been the one to perform the ceremony then it would be near impossible to easily dissolve any union between her and Luffy by Germa Kingdom law and tradition. With the exception of her parent's marriage, Reiju wasn't sure that she had ever heard of any marriage ceremonies performed by priests ending.

"Your Most Awesome-ness, w-what exactly do you mean by most sacred ceremony?" Luffy asked. Reiju could not contain the eye roll that threatened to leave her blind from the sheer idiocy of Luffy's nicknames. The man was a brilliant fighter and wonders like mind yet he always managed to come up with the stupidest of nicknames.

"Well, uh…Straw Hat, you and the princess insisted that I perform a traditional Germa Kingdom ceremony last night-"

"And you agreed? Surely you must have noticed that the Captain of the Straw Hat's and I were in no state to make such a decision? There must be something that can be done to annul our marriage?" Reiju pressed, the sea prunes settling uncomfortably in her stomach with each second.

The priest looked terrified, "W-well Princess Reiju… you had Straw Hat Luffy dangle me off of the fourth floor balcony if I didn't comply with your wishes. Y-you also threatened the hotel staff and witnesses that if they tried to do anything to prevent the wedding that you would poison them to no return with your poison arrows-and... that Straw Hat would crush them with his devil fruit power… I believe that you even poisoned the courier for taking too long to mail out the marriage registration documents to each of your respective nations. "

""Respective nations?" You mean that our marriage is also valid by East Blue laws?" Luffy asked weakly. He shoved the plate of food away from him, his bronze skin paling, "Makino is going to kill me…"

The priest was clearly desperate to correct his mistake, "I'm afraid so… Although, I think an crown might be possible so long as the union hasn't been consum-"

A deranged laughter interrupted the priest and it took a moment for Reiju to recognize that she was the source of the demented mirth. She quickly regained her composure.

"I apologize… I just can't believe that this is happening…," Reiju said, burying her face in her hands.

God help her...

Germa Kingdom marriages were meant to be serious, almost business-like transactions that were rarely conducted without both families taking excruciating care that the negotiations were adequately advantageous. Eloping was something that no self respecting Germa Kingdom noble would ever entertain, especially the Germa Kingdom only princess. And certainly no other marriage involved a priest inquiring on whether or not the marriage had been consummated...

"If a crown is not possible, I can look into divorce options. As soon as I return to the Germa Kingdom, I can begin the paperwork but I'm afraid it may be a longer process than a crown…"

"How long are we talking?" Luffy asked.

"Anywhere from six months to two years, maybe more since this is an international marriage… I realize this may not be the answer you are looking for but believe me that I want nothing more than to correct my grave mistake that has caused our nation's princess distress... " He responded.

Reiju rolled her eyes again at the fake flattery from the old priest. Where was that concern last night when she was drunk out of her mind? Even under threat of poison or being dangled from the fourth floor, he should have never allowed Luffy and Reiju to do such a stupid thing.

"I expect this matter to be resolved sooner rather than later… I also expect absolute discretion on the matter as well, which should go without saying." Reiju threatened. She stood up, her appetite completely ruined, "What is done is done and there is no point in wallowing but I will not accept failure from you. Do whatever you must to fix this mess and do it quickly. Stay out of my sight until then…"

She left Luffy and the priest at the table and hurried through the banquet hall. It didn't matter that she left the dinner before the final toast, she needed to figure out how she was going to get out of this mess and who else she needed to threaten to be silent.

Reiju had not even made it out of the palace after barking orders to the servants outside of the banquet hall to call for her palanquin to take her back to her hotel when the King Chap of Deul Kingdomstopped her.

"Princess! A moment of your time please…" The small, stern-looking man called out in exaggerated reverence.

Why were there always men at these events?

"Yes of course, King Chap." She replied in her most diplomatic tone. Despite the chaos running through her mind, Reiju still had the sense to remember why she was in Mary Geoise. The shit I put up with in order to help my nation rebuild its alliances…

"I haven't had a chance to respond to your brother's most recent correspondence in regards to the construction of a Germa Kingdom embassy, of which I had considered rejecting… my family has suffered great personal losses throughout the Hundred Year war you see, and I believed that the Germa Kingdom was incapable of changing..." Reiju attempted to display her most sympathetic facade, stifling the annoyance that crept up within her, "However, after witnessing such a beautiful display of devotion between yourself and Captain Straw Hat Luffy last night, I am optimistic that Deul Kingdom and the Germa Kingdom can begin to make amends. I look forward to inviting the King Sanji's emblem to the new embassy in the near future."

Reiju's jaw nearly dropped but she maintained her fake, diplomatic smile secured in place. The whiplash from the day was just becoming too much for her to handle sober.

"Y-yes... And of course, King Sanji looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Deul Kingdom."

"I never thought that I would be witness to a Germa Kingdom or East Blue wedding ceremony let alone a combined ceremony! It was spectacular despite how eccentric it all was…I know I have been the most vocal against the Germa Kingdom amongst the Mary Geoise King Chaps, so I want to apologize personally to you, Princess Reiju. Clearly, I am in the wrong. If even the Conqueror of Deul Kingdom, the most prodigious mercenary the world has ever seen, could break with Germa Kingdom tradition and marry a non royal pirate and the war hero who helped bring an end to the War, then why shouldn't I take part in rebuilding a new world, hand-in-hand with the rest of the nations? And Lao Beifong speaks of nothing but Straw Hat Luffy's philosophy of freedom. If Straw Hat has found a partner in you, then I truly wish the two of you success in your marriage."

Well fuck…

"Thank you, I appreciate your kind words and will relay them to my bro-..." Reiju was interrupted as Luffy appeared, his face lined with worry.

"Reiju! There you are… I'm so glad I caught up with you! We need to ta-..."

Her laughter cut him off, "Oh, my dear husband! I'm so sorry to worry you back there, I was just feeling a bit faint and needed some air…"

His onyx eyes widened as he tilted his head to the side slightly, in confusion. Reiju wrapped her arm around his elbow, the awkward display of affection went unnoticed by the King Chap. She pinched the inside of his arm sharp enough to make her message clear: Stay quiet and do not intervene.

"Luffy dear, the King Chap just finished telling me how lovely our wedding ceremonies were. We're just honored that you were able to grace us with your presence."

"It is so wonderful to see young love overcome all odds…" he sighed deeply, his eyes were dreamily glazed over, "The two of you will definitely be a force to reckon with! Anyway, I have taken too much of the newlywed's time as I was a young man once so I will leave the two of you…"

The small man gave them a cheeky wink and shuffled down the hall, back into the banquet hall.

"My dear husband?! What was all that about? " Luffy asked. Reiju let go of his arm, the warm touch of his skin against hers left behind a ghostly imprint.

What was that about? As the King Chap praised Reiju and Luffy's relationship, she felt a strange surge of pride swell up within her, as if she had just accomplished a difficult set of mercenary missions. Reiju tried not to pick at that thread, afraid of what other chaos it would unravel if she were to dwell on that feeling.

"That man has rejected every single attempt at cooperation with the Germa Kingdom, the Harmony Restoration and the United Nations since I've come along as Sanji's advisor. This is the first time he has spoken more than a few words to me."

"Okay… but you didn't need to lie to the man and let him believe we're happy newlyweds…"

Reiju shrugged, ignoring the pang that twisted her stomach, "I did no such thing. Technically, we are married and will remain so until that foolish priest finds a way to divorce us. He is the one who is painting this fairy tale about us…What is so wrong with taking advantage of a bad situation?"

Luffy ran his hands over his face in exasperation, "Reiju, you can't form the alliances that Germa needs with the other nations if it's based on deceit and trickery..."

" I see that you're just as noble as you are cute…" She sneered, "It is not trickery! We are married and honestly, I'm surprised you aren't more keen on the idea of exploiting the political leverage you now have by being my husband. Surely being the Germa King's brother-in-law will help convince the Germa Kingdom generals to lend the United Forces a few more troops and defensive ships?"

She watched Luffy's handsome face take into consideration this new variable, "I suppose it would be kind of cool to be able to see Sanji often now and spend time with you and him… But even so! When we divorce, what happens then? That could fray the relationship between the United Republic, the Germa Kingdom and the East Blues."

"It doesn't have to. We've managed to work together well enough over the last few years despite our differences. Let's look at this as a mutually beneficial business deal. Once our contract ends we'll carry on as we did before this mess."

"You really are just pure calculations and strategies, aren't you? Where I come from, marriage actually means something other than a business arrangement…"

His words cut her sharply. After all the times they'd spent together as friends, on the council and at these events, surely he had seen through her hard exterior?

The years that followed the end of the war had been incredibly difficult for her as she recovered from her mental collapse. Sure, Sanji and Cosette had been there for her but one of her earliest memories from that foggy time had been observing Luffy and his humorous approach to difficult situations. Where Reiju would put up a tough exterior, Luffy resorted to playfulness to hide his inner turmoil. How many times had she observed Luffy's shallow smile that did not quite reach his eyes fade away and reveal the troubles he buried when he thought no one was watching? It hurt Reiju to think that perhaps Luffy had never bothered to look past her facade like she had his. Unless…

"Well, aren't you quite the romantic?" Reiju scoffed, "Did our drunken elopement wreck your bachelor plans? Surely a flirt like you could still find a woman willing to be a mistress to the Germa Kingdom princess's husband, maybe that little navigator of your's or perhaps that elegant architect…"

He looked at her in confusion and it made her livid, "What the hell are you talking about, Reiju? Why would yo-..."

"Look, I am tired… It has been an unbelievably long day and all I want is to rest. I… I need some time to think about everything that has happened since we arrived in Mary Geoise." Reiju said curtly, walking away from where Luffy stood, towards where her palanquin would be waiting to take her to her hotel.

She had overreacted, she knew that. Her insecurities had taken control and derailed what could have been another night of not being alone. It was strange to think that it had only been that very same morning where she had been admiring Luffy's chest in her hungover state.

The palanquin carriers helped her into her seat. She closed the curtain as she was carried the short distance between the palace and her hotel. The light jostling movements of the palanquin did little to comfort Reiju the way she knew someone else could.