Chapter 79

All the same

"That brunch was tasty," Nojiko recalled dreamily.

"It wasn't as good as the food at the All Blue, but it was delicious," Lily agreed.

"The selection was particularly vast," Robin said.

"Their fresh rolls were a true wonder," Nami reminded them.

"And their pancakes were so fluffy!" Vivi got enthused.

"I'll ask Sanji to make the scrambled egg muffins!" Amy decided.

The girls sighed in well-being at this thought and the steam of the hammam enveloped them again. After their brunch on the port, they had visited the opulent city center before heading to the spa that the navigator had reserved. The future bride had been introduced with her friends into a room with subdued lighting and soft colors where massage tables awaited them. They had enjoyed their treatments peacefully before relaxing in the small adjoining private hammam now.

After a few more minutes of raving about the beauty of the city and the delicacy of the food they had tasted, Vivi stretched cheerfully.

"That aroma and color treatment did me a world of good!"

"I'd never done one before," Nojiko admitted.

"I didn't think colors had an influence on us," Amy confessed in turn.

"Enjoying a colored light bath combining the benefits of chromotherapy with personalized essential oils is a rare experience," Robin noted.

"That argan oil massage left me with peachy skin," Nami noted, examining herself with a smile on her lips.

"The aromatic energetic scrub with spices gave me a strange feeling," the young waitress said. "I don't think anyone has ever scrubbed my skin so much in my entire life!"

"I preferred the Japanese bath of aromas and flowers," Nojiko agreed. "The rose petals were really elegant and relaxing."

"The purifying and detoxifying wrap with rassoul cream wasn't bad either," her sister recalled. "The hot clay was very pleasant."

"For my part, I liked the traditional relaxing oriental massage," Robin said. "The feeling of relaxation on all the muscles is very surprising."

"Do you think that a massage on the limbs that you can create thanks to your devil fruit would have the same effect on you?" Lily asked curiously.

"No idea, but given the number that I can create, I have no doubt of the unsuspected pleasure that I could get from it."

"Your talent will be useful, Robin," the navigator said with delight, "This island is full of fancy stores and we're not gonna leave empty-handed!"

"I didn't think you had any money left to spend." Vivi was surprised, "Between the hammam, the brunch and the evening, I can already imagine a crazy bill!"

"I had only planned to do very little shopping but things have changed," the redhead replied with a smirk. "Sanji-kun gave me a more than generous donation so that we can enjoy this day in peace since he couldn't be here…"

"He's a real gentleman," Robin chuckled.

Delighted, the young ladies adjusted their towels on their bodies before enjoying the soft humidity of the air a little longer while exchanging a few more impressions on the treatments they had received earlier. As the clock was ticking, they decided to take a cool shower to tone up their skin and they headed towards the space reserved for this purpose with a laugh. As she closed the door of the hammam behind them, Lily shook her head, a smile on her lips.

"I hope the boys are having as good a day as us…"

"You bastard!"

Sanji reloaded his weapon while rushing towards the straw hat boy who was running away screaming with laughter. When he jumped over the barrier of their demarcated area, the cook did not bother to slow down and he jumped in turn, startling a group of young people. He then turned abruptly to the right before aiming at his captain who was stuck in a dead end less than three feet away.

"Joke's on you, rubber face. Sayonara."

The paintball flew and Luffy was hit right in the stomach. The force of the blow sent him crashing against the crates and a large blue stain spread across his wetsuit. Sanji smiled victoriously behind his mask.

"That'll teach you to think you're the smartest."

Dazed, Luffy slowly stood up while his cook turned on his heel to return to their space.

The paintball activity had been in full swing for almost twenty minutes and the boys had split into two groups when they had arrived. At this point, Sanji was already quite annoyed at wearing the costume that Luffy had assigned him, namely an elf that the cook found really ridiculous. Of course, he could have fallen even lower when he had seen Brook's banana-shaped one but he would have preferred Liam's, a vampire, or even Zoro's, a prisoner of Impel Down. So when the blond had ended up in his captain's opposite team and the latter had tried to touch him in the crotch to create two pompoms that matched his hat, he had seen red and chased him all over the field until he got outside.

When Sanji re-entered, the space reserved for them, he noticed Usopp and Malek machine-gunning the area where Zoro, Brook, Franky and Liam had taken refuge. No one had thought that putting the crew's two shooters together would destroy the others chances and they were having a field day, leaving Chopper to cheerfully welcome the cook.

"We win, Sanji!"

"Perfect. I'll wait for Luffy and as soon as he comes back, I'll make him swallow my stock of paint."

"You didn't catch up with him?" The little reindeer asked, taking shelter behind a crate to avoid the clumsy counter-fire from the opposing team.

"I did, and I hit him right in the gut but it didn't calm me down. This ridiculous costume is itching under this fucking wetsuit!"

Chopper smiled sympathetically. He had been allowed to take off his unicorn costume to play, but during the last few hours when they had wandered around the city for Luffy to take on the challenges his crew had given him, he had had to put up with the uncomfortable costume that had been assigned to him as well.

"I think we'll be cooler during the Time Tripper, we won't have a wetsuit," he pointed out.

"Do we really have to keep these damn things on all day?" His friend sighed.

"I don't know, but Luffy seems to love his own costume so…"

At this thought, the cook rolled his eyes. "He's the only one who really enjoys wearing a giant rabbit costume."

With a sigh, the blond headed to the side of the opposing team towards the back of the room to get his pack of cigarettes that he had left in his jacket. He made a wide detour to avoid the shots and removed his protective mask when he saw the bench where his things were, impatient. There were almost thirty minutes of play left and he would never last without lighting at least one. Spotting Franky, Liam, Brook and Zoro busy fighting hard, he put his weapon against the wall and grabbed his jacket when the cyborg raised his hands to demand a break.

Malek and Usopp stopped their shots and the four men a few steps away from him sighed in relief.

"It's like the game is rigged," Liam noted as he pushed back his vampire cape as best he could after removing his own mask.

"Our two friends are particularly talented," Brook agreed as he looked at his blue-stained wetsuit.

"Where's Luffy? You really shot him or what?" Franky asked the blond while he looked at his own, much too small wetsuit.

"He can't be far, he-"

A loud noise was suddenly heard from the other side of the field and the captain reappeared, more cheerful than ever. "Gum-Gum Revenge Gatling!"

The straw hat boy aimed at his cook and zeroed in on the area with his shots in all directions. Under the assault, the mirrors placed around the room to blur the players' perception tinkle violently behind the blond and Sanji instinctively ducked to escape the shots, dropping his cigarette. Completely defenseless, he quickly found himself riddled with paintballs and one of them hit his ankle, unbalancing him for a second.

"Luffy, he doesn't wear his mask!" He heard Chopper's worried voice.

Wincing in pain, the cook glared at his captain and he was about to reach out for his own weapon to retaliate when a loud rustle echoed through the room. Everyone turned their heads in his direction and the blond saw his friends' stunned gaze fixed on him. He then turned around and saw that the mirrors were collapsing under the repeated impact of the paintballs.

Usopp's eyes widened in fear. "Sanji!"

The cook had the reflex to turn around to escape the thousands of pieces of glass that were going to fall straight on him but without his mask, he could only try to protect his head with his hands. A second later, the characteristic sound of glass breaking fell on him and Sanji heard his friends cry out. A metallic noise suddenly resounded in front of him but he could not identify it, the rain of debris preventing him from raising his head.

Finally, silence returned and Sanji allowed himself to cautiously open his eyes. He felt them widen as he noticed that Zoro's blade was just inches from his hair. The blond then saw the thick glass block that had not crumbled and that was now resting on his left. He understood that the noise he had heard must be the metal of the swordsman's sword against this mass. Stunned, Sanji sought his companion's gaze but Zoro was already putting his blade away.

"Dammit, Luffy, you're crazy!" The sniper was indignant and he jumped forward to disarm him.

"I didn't think those paintballs had such strength," Brook noted with astonishment.

"The manager told us they were real bombs." Franky sighed as they approached the straw hat boy who was being lectured by their doctor. "If it wasn't for Zoro, you could have seriously injured Sanji!" Chopper reproached him.

"That was a close one," Malek agreed with relief.

"Sorry, I didn't think the mirror wouldn't hold!" The straw hat boy apologized sheepishly.

"Sanji, are you alright?!" Liam threw his mask to the ground and knelt down in front of the cook whose hair was covered in glass dust. "I… I'm fine."

Panicked, the scientist examined him carefully while the blond shook his head to clear the shards that had landed on him.

"Let me help you." Liam used his cape to dust off the blond's wetsuit before checking that no pieces of glass had stuck into his flesh. He then scanned his face with concern and noticed that light spots of blood had appeared. He ran his hand over the cook's right cheekbone to observe it further but Sanji's hand closed gently on his wrist. "Liam, I'm fine. They're just scratches."

The calm voice of the cook brought the scientist out of his anxious examination and he became aware of his gesture. Filled with remorse, he quickly removed his hand from Sanji's cheek and cast an embarrassed glance around him. "S-Sorry, I… When that mirror fell on you, I got really scared."

"Don't worry. Zoro spared me the worst of it." The dark-haired man flinched when he heard the name of the swordsman behind them and he straightened up quickly to turn towards him. The man was watching them without a word. "Thanks, Zoro. Y-You got great reflexes…"

The swordsman didn't answer and Liam walked away towards the other group whose members were grimacing as they looked at the damage. The time wasn't up but the game was clearly compromised given the state of their playing area and Usopp shook his head when thinking about the money they now owed the manager for destroying part of his facilities.

Across the room, Sanji got back on his feet before taking a step towards Zoro. "Mosshead, what was that-"

"What the hell is this?! What did you do?!"

Attracted by the noise, the owner stared at them furiously and Usopp sighed as he dug into his pockets for his berries. "Guys, I think we can forget about this rustic hotel on the coast, we won't be able to afford it…"

Nami leaned over to the waiter and slipped a bill into his mini shorts with a wink. "I really like it when you're pole dancing," she said, her eyes fluttering.

"Your wish is my command, miss."

The suave voice of the young man with the shiny chest made the navigator and her friends shudder and he handed them their drinks with a smoldering look before walking away towards the bar, leaving the young women impatient to contemplate him on the stage.

The strip club Nami had chosen had an all-female audience and seated around a small modern table in soft armchairs, the girls faced a stage on which stripteasers regularly followed one another. For her part, the bride-to-be had benefited from an individualized performance during which she had been able to observe at leisure the dancer's prominent muscles moving right under her nose. Not embarrassed in the least, the navigator had even touched his rear when her tempter had suggested it and her friends had giggled at her sassy gesture.

"If Sanji knew what you're using his money for, he'd never survive!" Lily pointed out, laughing.

"You are a handful!" Vivi snickered.

"This is an opportunity I might not have again; I'd rather not deprive myself," the redhead replied.

"Might?" Robin pointed out, raising an eyebrow, and her friend shrugged. "I'm sure Luffy wouldn't mind, but you don't come across this kind of club on every island."

"Sounds like an accommodating future husband!" Nojiko exclaimed, "You've really found the real gem!"

The navigator nodded with a smile before digging into her blouse to retrieve what was left of the wad of cash the cook had given her. The countless bags all around the table were testament to their busy afternoon and there would soon be nothing left. "I feel like snacking!"

She motioned to another waiter and a few minutes later, the girls shared a huge plate of chips with guacamole and melted cheese while Nami's dancer took the stage. The light focused on him and a lascivious beat of music was heard, monopolizing the attention of the entire room.

His act began and after a few suggestive movements around the pole dance bar placed in the center, the strip teaser's mini shorts landed at the navigator's feet, revealing a thong leaving very little to the imagination. Vivi hid her eyes behind her hand, blushing hard.

"Oh, my God!"

Nojiko elbowed her sister playfully while on their side, Robin and Lily stifled a laugh. A little behind, Amy widened her eyes.

"Is everything okay?" The fisherwoman asked when seeing her embarrassed look.

"Y-Yes. I think so…"

"You're almost seventeen, so enjoy the show," the redhead told her as she settled comfortably into her chair, "It's not every day that you get to see that…" The bride-to-be then grabbed some chips that she quietly crunched while looking at the dancer who was writhing on his pole dance bar.

"What a remarkable athlete," Lily noted, impressed.

"This activity requires muscles of steel as well as great flexibility," Robin approved as she saw him lift himself up with one arm to stay parallel to the floor.

"It's safe to say that he's got plenty," Vivi acknowledged as she lowered her hand to better examine him in turn.

Nami raised an eyebrow at the princess who was now attentively following the dancer's movements, her cheeks still a little pink. "Don't tell your new Minister of the Environment doesn't have as much muscle as him. He seemed like a hell of an athlete," she pointed out.

Vivi stared at her. "K-Koza? I-I don't know! He's a childhood friend!"

The navigator rolled her eyes. "A childhood friend that you blush for when you imagine his muscles wiggling on that pole dance bar? Come on," she snickered, "I don't blush when I think of Zoro, Liam, Usopp or anyone else, personally."

The young heiress felt her cheeks turn pink again. "That's true… I don't know," she admitted. "We became quite close again with the end of the war but he's not at the palace much now…"

"Maybe when he comes back," the redhead agreed.

"Maybe…"

"Do you think Luffy could pole dance?" Lily asked the navigator, trying to imagine the straw hat boy in the dancer's place, curious.

"I don't think so." Nami sighed, grabbing her cocktail. "In the best-case scenario, he'd twist around it with his elastic body without any hint of sensuality…"

"I don't imagine Franky discovering a talent for it either," Robin said.

"Yeah, being half robot, I don't see how he could do it," Nojiko said.

"Fortunately, he has other talents." The archaeologist smiled.

"Robin, we don't wanna know," the future bride protested at her side.

The dark-haired woman's smile only grew wider at these words. "I was only talking about his dancing skills, that goes without saying."

"Of course…" Nami took another sip of cocktail before pouting, her gaze still fixed on the incredibly enhanced body of the dancer hanging on the pole dance bar. "These cocktails are really far from being as good as Malek's," she lamented.

"By a huge margin," Lily agreed.

"I think I could see him knowing how to use the pole dance bar," Nojiko said.

The girls immediately turned to her keenly and the navigator's sister looked at them questioningly in return before shaking her head. "I'm talking about his figure in general," she explained. "He's muscular but not too much so I guess he could do the job better than the others. On the other hand, I don't know if he's really flexible. Not as much as Sanji anyway."

"Uh-huh." Nojiko rolled her eyes in front of her sister's inquisitive gaze. "Trust me, Nami, I'm not interested in him. Why would I hide it if I were?"

"You're not wrong," the redhead admitted. "I've never seen you afraid to ask a boy out… Too bad."

Nojiko shrugged and Vivi was suddenly surprised by Amy's blush at her side. "Are you okay?" She asked, slightly worried.

"I'm okay," the girl assured her despite her obvious embarrassment.

"You sure? It's true that you're still young for this kind of show; I can accompany you outside if you want."

"N-No, I'll be fine. It's just… a little strange," she admitted.

"It's special," Lily agreed.

"Especially if you imagine the body of a certain chef in place of the dancer's," Robin added with amusement.

The girls turned abruptly towards the archaeologist this time, except for Amy who shrank into her seat, red as a tomato. Nami thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. "Amy, please, don't tell me you've fallen for Sanji-kun?!"

"What? No!" The young girl grimaced, "Sanji's like… like my big brother!"

"Phew, that's a relief," the navigator admitted. "I mean I know he helped you a lot but he doesn't know how to behave normally towards women and besides, he's gay so…"

"He's gay?!" Vivi exclaimed, frankly surprised.

"Obviously, you've seen his behavior towards women?" Her friend pointed out to her.

"Well, I admit that I hadn't thought of it that way… Are you sure though?" She wondered again.

"Am I sure? Sanji-kun and Zoro had sex in every corner of the Sunny and they even shared a room for a while so yeah, I know he's gay!"

"What? With Zoro-san?" Her friend exclaimed, her eyes wide. "But… they could never stand each other!"

"Don't remind me, those two are a real mystery," the redhead grumbled.

"He might be attracted to both men and women," Nojiko chimed in.

"No, Sanji-kun is gay; he just doesn't wanna admit it," her sister insisted. "And anyway, even if he isn't, he has no chance with a woman so he might as well focus on men!"

"I'm not sure Amy feels better knowing these details," Lily noted when she saw the young waitress's confused look.

"Don't think I don't love Sanji-kun," the navigator explained, turning to her bridesmaid. "Like you, I love him like a brother and I'd trust him with my life blindly, but we have to be realistic: Sanji-kun is gay."

"I don't care if he is or not," the young girl replied, embarrassed.

"We agree then."

The music ended a few seconds later and the dancer slid down the pole dance bar before gently extracting himself. Loud applause was heard throughout the club and the young man left the stage while the lights came back on. Nojiko took the opportunity to look questioningly at Amy again.

"If you don't have a thing for Sanji, then who is it?" She wanted to know.

Brought back to reality, the young waitress blushed even more. "It's- I don't have a thing for him, it's just… I find him… kind," she admitted.

"Being attracted to someone's kindness is so adorable!" Vivi rejoiced, "You're right, Amy, he has to be kind and caring; that's the most important thing!"

"He really is!" The girl said, her eyes suddenly shining. "He always asks me what I prefer and if what he prepared suits me! And during the services, he always makes sure not to give me too many dishes at once so that my tray doesn't get too heavy!"

"Oh, he works at the All Blue then!" Nami immediately deduced. "Um… It can't be Sam, he only has eyes for Lily and Elio doesn't seem like the patient type, he attacks head-on," she listed, remembering his attitude the day they met.

"There aren't many choices left," Robin laughed. "The old cook who raised our dear Sanji or…"

"Malek?!" Nami turned straight to Amy who instantly lowered her eyes and the navigator looked up at the archaeologist, stunned. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," her friend replied with a smile.

"Well, he's rather nice indeed," Nojiko pointed out.

"Very helpful," Vivi agreed.

"And a very good chef," Lily added.

"It's true that he's not the worst choice," Nami agreed. "He's some kind of a less dramatic Sanji-kun."

"I don't think he noticed me much," Amy murmured, her gaze still fixed on the floor.

At these words, Nami let out a deep sigh before turning to her bridesmaid conspiratorially. "Amy, I'm gonna tell you something about men that will serve you throughout your life, so keep that in mind."

The young girl straightened up immediately, interested, and her friends also leaned towards the navigator with curiosity. The redhead fixed her gaze on that of the young waitress. "You must know that men are always a thousand miles from realizing their feelings. Whether it's ours or theirs. So if you want Malek to be interested in you one day, don't expect anything from him and take things in hand."

"Is that how you did it with Luffy?" Amy asked, impressed.

Nami nodded, her glass still in her hand. "Although he told me about what he felt first, he never managed to really identify it as love; he likens it to a wild beast lurking in his belly. So I'm the one who did all the work to explain it to him and who still continues today. I must say that it makes you think when it comes to a commitment for life but now that I have feelings for him, I'm screwed anyway…"

As Amy, Vivi, Lily and Nojiko widened their eyes, Robin chuckled.

"That's… special," Lily finally said.

"Surprisingly, I think that describes Luffy-san perfectly," Vivi noted.

"He's perfect for you, Nami," her sister assured her, amused.

"Men are so strange!" Amy wondered.

"And that's why the gods invented alcohol," the navigator sighed, staring at her cocktail. "To help us put up with them." Robin solemnly raised her glass and the other girls did the same in silence.

"To our immeasurable strength that allows us to understand them and to our incomparable resilience that allows us to love them," Nojiko affirmed.

"To us," Lily agreed.

"To women!"

Sanji shivered violently and from across the table, Zoro looked at him curiously. "You cold, cook? It's hotter than hell here," he pointed out.

"No, it's weird… I had the same delicious feeling I get in my dreams when beautiful young women gather together to discuss how they'll make the men who stand in their way pay…"

The swordsman stared at the cook's drink in his hands. "Is there alcohol in that?"

"Shut up, mosshead." The blond emptied his glass in one go and put it back on the table among the others before letting his gaze wander out the window.

After being kicked out of the paintball area, the boys had gone to eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet that Luffy had completely raided given the amount of food he had devoured. Then they had headed to the mall where the Time Tripper was located and the next three hours had been filled with angry screams or excited exclamations depending on the riddles they needed to solve. In the end, they hadn't done too badly and Luffy had proudly shown off his diploma as a great investigator at the end of the day.

As he had suspected though, the hotel in which Usopp thought they could spend the night had been canceled due to the cost demanded by the owner of the paintball and with all the remaining berries, the boys had found a large games room on the edge of town where they had decided to spend the evening.

After devouring fries and merguez in astronomical quantities, Luffy had dragged his friends towards the bowling alley before demanding to play a game of bubble soccer. The captain had just given them permission to take off their costume so the blond had declined and Zoro had burst his own bubble because he had refused to remove his swords. This is why the two crewmates were seated at the table strewn with the remains of their meal while waiting for their friends to return.

"I wonder what Nami-san and all her lovely guests are doing right now," Sanji muttered dreamily after several minutes of silence.

"Girl stuff," the swordsman replied, swallowing a handful of peanuts. "They probably exchange the latest gossip while enjoying overpriced petits fours and ogling every guy within reach."

"Women are not like that at all!" Sanji exclaimed indignantly, turning abruptly toward him.

"Nami's like that," the swordsman insisted.

"You're completely wrong, Algae! Women are delicate and sensitive; they don't have these kinds of low and disgusting thoughts like you!" The cook let out a heartbreaking sigh then, "They must be busy regretting that I didn't accompany them to enjoy my services and feel perfectly safe… I hope that the money I gave them will allow them to take shelter in a safe place until I can come and save them…"

Zoro took another handful of peanuts, definitely jaded. "Yeah, they probably do that. Too bad you can't be sure."

The cook let out another overwhelmed sigh when hearing the painful truth. At the same time, Usopp took a seat next to them on the bench despite his gear as he was coming back from the field. "I got bruises everywhere," he whined.

"I thought the point of the bubbles was so you could hit each other without hurting yourself?" The blond pointed out.

"Yeah, but with the strength of this rubber idiot, we're thrown against the barriers and it hurts, with or without a bubble," his friend grumbled.

"He doesn't get tired," Zoro noticed when he saw his captain dancing in his bubble.

The sniper shook his head. "He wants revenge for us winning the paintball so he's going after Malek and me. Chopper tries to be the referee but it doesn't really work and he never misses an opportunity to cause a crash," he grumbled again.

"You taking a break?" Sanji asked when he saw the rest of their friends come back in turn.

"Yeah, it's halftime and most of us were tired. We're suffocating in these bubbles…"

"Either way, Luffy's tactic is working," the blond noted again as he checked the score.

"Brook and Franky are on his team and they're doing well," Usopp admitted. The sniper contorted himself to completely get out of his gear and then collapsed again, clearly exhausted. "Luckily it's only one day; this pace is hellish," he sighed. "Luffy's a live wire…"

"That was to be expected," the cook said, taking a cigarette out of his pack. The rest of their friends joined them at that moment and everyone squeezed onto the small bench before grabbing their glasses to catch their breath.

"This game is awesome!" Luffy immediately declared, slurping down the contents of his drink.

"It's an original way to have fun," Brook agreed.

"It's much more fun than paintball!" Franky added.

"Of course, you used your physical strength!" Usopp reproached him.

"I've never done so much sport in my entire life," Liam noted, "I'll feel so stiff tomorrow…"

"I don't think I'll be able to move either." Malek winced, rubbing his back sore from the captain's multiple impacts.

"Some used the rules of Bubble Soccer to their advantage," Chopper confirmed, saddened. "It wasn't very fair to the others…"

"I'm hungry!" Luffy said abruptly, his tongue hanging out.

"I'll go get something," Franky suggested as he stood up.

Three minutes later, the cyborg put down a nice plate of fries for the straw hat boy as well as new drinks for his other companions and as each one grabbed theirs, Sanji turned his attention to the captain.

"So, Luffy, are you ready for your wedding?"

The elastic boy fixed his gaze on him while stuffing more fries into his mouth. "Well, yeah!"

"All right. In that case, know that I will hold it against you for the rest of your days for having married Nami-san," the blond explained calmly while taking a sip of his beer. "Becoming the Pirate King and marrying such a goddess should not be allowed for one man."

"Yohohohoho! Our friend is right!" Brook got enthused.

"Do you have a speech planned for the day of the ceremony?" Franky asked the rubber boy. "Wedding vows?"

In front of the wide eyes of the captain, Usopp shook his head. "We'll do it as simply as possible. He'll just have to repeat what Vivi says," he told them.

"Nami plans to adapt, she won't do it either," Chopper added.

"She doesn't wanna make him uncomfortable," Malek said.

"She told me that she didn't want Luffy to make a big speech that day because she knew it wouldn't be like him," Liam confirmed. "I found it really nice."

"What a fucking lucky guy," the cook grumbled into his glass.

"Let's just toast the Captain's future marriage then!" Franky decided, grabbing his drink while all his companions did the same.

"May this union bring you the joy and enchantment you've always dreamed of!" Brook rejoiced.

"Not to mention the chance to escape your enemies!" Usopp added.

"A little sweetness in the middle of the Grand Line," Liam agreed.

"Lots of happiness!" The little reindeer wished them.

"And berries," Zoro snickered.

"Love, serenity and strength," Malek continued.

"Understanding, patience and sex!" The cyborg completed with a laugh.

"You better behave and watch your back," Sanji muttered.

Visibly delighted, Luffy jumped on the bench to brandish his glass even higher. "This wedding is gonna be great, I can't wait!"

Around him, his friends' glasses clinked loudly, approving him strongly.

This chapter was not easy, it was different from what I usually write and it's also longer. I hope it made you smile and I hope you're eager to read more!