Chapter 72
Hancock has been wandering around this godforsaken beach for the past hour trying to find Luffy. He knew that Luffy’s Grand Fleet was big but he didn’t realize just how big until he saw the sheer amount of ships docked on the horizon. It was like a floating city. A cacophony of laughter, clanging swords and the smell of grilling meat filled the air.
As he made his way through the throngs of people he stumbled across Zoro, Robin, and Nami sitting in the sand near a campfire, chuckling over something. Hancock approached them, his heart racing as he tried to play it cool. “Excuse me, have you seen Luffy?” He asked, trying not to let his desperation show.
In unison the three stopped their conversation and looked up at him before looking at each other, smirks playing on their faces. “Yeah, but she’s a bit… busy right now.” Nami said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
Hancock felt his heart sink. “Busy?” He questioned, feeling a hint of jealousy creep in. “What do you mean?”
Zoro looked at him with a knowing smile. “Luffy’s on the Thousand Sunny, having a little romantic moment with her boy toy, Bartolomeo. He’s singing some old country love song to her and dancing with her, as Brook’s playing the guitar for them.”
Hancock’s eyes widened in shock. “Wh-what?” He stuttered, his mind racing with images of Luffy with someone else. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Nami, seeing his reaction, couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, it’s pretty sweet, actually. They’re so in love with each other, it’s like watching a romance movie.”
Sanji, who was walking by, overheard the conversation and added with a sly wink, “You know, Luffy’s always had a soft spot for the dramatic, edgy-Punk ones. And he just turns into a puddle in her hands when she’s feeling romantic. It’s like watching a kitten with a piece of string, really.”
Robin chuckled, shaking her head as she looked up from her book. “It’s quite the sight. I’ve never seen Luffy so... gentle, really. It’s like a whole new side of her we haven’t witnessed before.”
“Gentle? Bartolomeo is the only person Luffy is gentle with, I mean you have to remember Dressrosa, Robin, they were practically swooning over each other the whole time.” Usopp joined the conversation, practically materializing out of thin air from wherever he came from.
The revelation hit Hancock like a ton of bricks. Luffy with Bartolomeo? His mind reeled with confusion and jealousy. He had never seen Luffy show any romantic interest in anyone, let alone another pirate, especially one as flamboyant and over-the-top as Bartolomeo, who is literally a gangster? His heart felt like it was being squeezed by the tight coils of Salome.
“You… you’re telling me, Luffy’s, dating a gangster?” Hancock’s voice was a mix of incredulity and anger. He couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of their mouths.
Zoro shrugged, “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound a bit odd. But, hey, love is love, right?” He took a swig from his bottle of sake, passing it to Robin who took a sip and smacked her lips together. “But, yes, she’s dating a gangster.”
Hancock’s handsome features twisted into a snarl, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “And just what kind of pirate is he, to make our Luffy swoon like that?” He spat out, his grip tightening on the bottle of sake in his hand.
Nami huffed out a laugh, “he’s her type, a dorky, dramatic, over-the-top, edgy metal head with a heart of gold, but who’s also not afraid to get into a full on brawl with someone not shoot someone in the face if they mess with his crew, you know the kind.” She said the last part with a smirk. “And she’s totally into it, obviously. They’re adorable together.”
Hancock’s jaw clenched at the thought of Luffy with someone else, especially someone like Bartolomeo. His mind raced with images of the two of them together, laughing and holding each other close, sharing intimate moments that he had hoped to have with her. The idea of Luffy with anyone else was unbearable. He had to see it for himself, to understand what he was feeling.
Without another word, Hancock stormed off towards the Thousand Sunny, his long legs carrying him swiftly through the crowd. Salome slithered along behind him, sensing his agitation. As he approached the ship, the music grew louder, and he could see the soft glow of candlelight from the cabin windows. His heart hammered in his chest as he climbed aboard, the wooden planks creaking under his weight.
There she was, in the middle of the deck, in a world of her own with Bartolomeo. The tall, muscular man had his arms around Luffy, spinning her around with surprising grace.
“Girl, you know I've known you forever. How many nights we hung out together. Same little crowd, little bar, little town. 'Round this old dance floor. My boys are laughing and tap me on the shoulder. Making a motion like, "Could y'all get any closer?" They wanna know what's up why I'm still holding ya. Even when the song is over.” Bartolomeo's deep, gruff voice crooned the words of the love song, his eyes never leaving Luffy's as they moved in a slow, intimate dance. “There's a rumor going 'round about me and you. Stirring up our little town the last week or two. So tell me why we even trying to deny this feeling. I feel it, don't you feel it too? There's a rumor going 'round, and 'round, and 'round. What d'you say we make it true? We make it true. Oh, we make it true, yeah.”
Luffy's cheeks flushed a darker shade of red, and she giggled, leaning into the embrace, feeling the warmth of Bartolomeo's body against hers. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she felt alive in a type of way she had never felt before. The music, the candlelight, the gentle sway of the ship—it all combined into a perfect moment of romance and passion.
Brook, his skeletal fingers plucking away at the guitar strings, watched the two with a knowing smile. He had seen this type of love blossom before, and he was happy for his captain.
“Well, I can shut 'em down, tell 'em all they're crazy. I can do whatever you want me to do, baby. Or you could lay one on me right now. We could really give 'em something to talk about.” Bartolomeo sang, leaning closer to Luffy, the warmth of his breath tickling her ear. “There's a rumor going 'round about me and you. Stirring up our little town the last week or two. So tell me why we even trying to deny this feeling. I feel it, don't you feel it too? There's a rumor going 'round, and 'round, and 'round. What d'you say we make it true, baby?”
Luffy couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. The idea of her, the future Pirate King, dancing romantically with a gangster like him. But as she looked into his eyes, she saw a sincerity that melted away her doubt. “Yeah, let's give 'em something to talk about, Bar-Bar!”
Bartolomeo grinned, his teeth shining in the dim light. He lifted Luffy off of the ground, and into his arms, his arms wrapping tightly around her, one under her butt and the other one across her waist as he walked-stumbled backwards until his back hit the railing of the opposite side of the thousand sunny, giving everyone that was on the beach a clear view of the two of them as they kissed deeply. And the kiss… it wasn’t just a kiss for shits and giggles, it was a kiss, A kiss filled with a lot of emotions that would make people want to burst into tears, sobs even as their hearts race like a freight train off the rails with how much love is put into the one gesture.
Their kiss was a kiss that would make you want to cry to sod with how much emotion is in it, with how tender the kiss is, with how much love is in that one simple gesture. It’s a kiss that makes you feel like you're watching some goodbye scene where the couple has to go to war or something and you know one of them isn’t coming back, but they don’t, and it’s beautiful. It’s like watching a scene from a romance novel play out in real life, it’s a kiss the two main characters in a book, a movie, a comic book, were the two people that are utterly and completely in love kiss each other because they know the world is going to end and they’re going to die in the end, but they’re happy that at least they had that one perfect moment together.
It’s a kiss that’s so soft, so gentle, so so so so gentle, so so so tender, it’s like watching a leaf flutter down to the ground on a calm autumn day. It’s like watching two people who have found their soulmate and they’re just taking in every second of their existence together. It’s like watching two people who have been together for a hundred years and they still find something new to love about each other every single day. It’s like watching a Romance movie where the two love interests have been reincarnated over and over and over and over and over and 100 times over again with all their past life memories intact and they finally found the love of their life that they haven’t seen since their first life and they finally get to kiss again, and it’s everything they’ve ever dreamed of.
It was the type of kiss somebody would share with the love of their life if the world—no the entire universe was ending right here and right now, and they both knew that they were going to die in each other's arms, but they were okay with it.
The sound of the waves crashing onto the beach below was the only background music needed as they kissed, the stars above twinkling as if in approval of their union. Luffy's heart pounded in her chest like a drum, her knees feeling like jelly, but she was held up by the steel grip of Bartolomeo's arms, his muscles flexing against her body. The scent of saltwater, sweat, and something uniquely him filled her nose as she melted into his embrace. His lips were firm yet yielding, moving against hers in a silent conversation of passion and longing.