COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER THREE

Rise and grind, gals and pals.

It's time for some wholesome material. Crewmates, soulmates, all the goods.

It's 12 AM lol. RIP me, but enjoy.

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It was chilly this morning.

Shivering, looking out on the horizon, I tried my best to scan the waves that bled into the dark skies, keeping an eye out for any of the darkened shapes that might've resembled a ship; or better yet, an island.

The past day had been... uneventful. We had been out at sea ever since my arrival, about a day now, and so far Luffy had been relatively distant. Well, distant wasn't the right word, more like busy. He was always doing something. Always running, playing, eating... and when he slept, he slept like a rock. He never let himself get bored for too long, when he was, he always managed to find something to do... but that something never had anything to do with me.

Was it all in my head? Maybe he was paying attention to me, and I was just overthinking it. The briefly shared spaces passing each other on deck that seemed to sprout goosebumps on my skin, the soft glances ending with his bright smile that had me blushing bright red and looking away, hearing his laugh across the boat and feeling my heart stutter in my chest; those weren't frequent, but they were there. But, the questions remained. Was he feeling the same things that I was? Was he responding to the soulmate ties in the same ways that I was? Or was this all one-sided?

These questions kept me awake for hours. Well, that and the unfamiliar environment; the city and the ocean were vastly different places, it seemed. Having problems with sleeping in the past wasn't great for new places in general, but I guess I had just been used to the business of the city with its constant noise in comparison to the quietness of the waves against the hull.

Regardless, my tired eyes still scanned the horizon, searching for anything to distract myself with.

The cold numbed my fingers, picking at the peeling wood on the railings that framed the edges of the boat, standing at the bow and squinting at the sun as it finally graced my cool skin with some warmth. And, the longer I stared, the more I could make out the faint shapes that rose above the waterline.

"Oh, cool." I spoke to myself as the island became more and more apparent as the sun rose higher, before I heard a sneeze from behind me. Turning to glance at the red-head that had been on night watch, I saw her opening her groggy eyes then suddenly blinking widely at the sight before us. She looked at me, clutching the blanket that I had gifted her during the early morning, since I had come out and seen her clutching herself for warmth. I smiled lightly, watching her walk to stand next to me.

"Morning." I murmured as she stood beside me, looking down at me with her own smile. I was shorter than almost everyone on the ship besides Chopper.

"Good morning," She replied, before skimming over my face quickly, "You look like you've been up a while, though."

"Not long," I lied, looking away from her out of some guilt, though I wasn't sure what for. Lying, I suppose?

"Just enough to keep you from catching a cold, I think." I distracted from the topic, the teasing tone in my voice had Nami rolling her eyes, grinning. She shoved the blanket at me after unfurling it from her body, before calling out over her shoulder that there was an island for the crew to wake up for.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks." She responded to my quip about giving her my blanket, before walking towards the ladder to shout at them again; giving her a quick 'your welcome,' I could hear Zoro and Sanji begin to butt heads even at this early hour.