Death Do Us Part

XIV

Throwing a shift over her head, Lovely steps out from behind the privacy screen to see Luffy resting on the bed. She sighs. Isn't that funny? she thought. I found him again just to let him go the next day. How crueler can fate be? She lays on the bed with her hands resting atop her belly.

Sensing her presence, Luffy slowly opens his eyes and stretches.

"I thought you said vampires don't need to sleep," Lovely says, sitting beside him.

"We don't," Luffy says, sitting up from where he lay. "But we can rest if we want to."

Lovely nods. "Noted."

"How was dinner?"

"It was delicious as always. Sanji cooks very well for a middle-class man. He might as well be a chef for the King."

"I wish I were human so I could have dinner with everyone again."

Lovely giggles. "We wouldn't have seconds if that happened. You had a big appetite. It was so large that nothing was left for anyone to have seconds."

"I didn't starve you, did I?" he exclaims.

"No, your wife made more food for us."

Luffy fidgets with his hands, face burning with blush. "Speaking of my wife...what was she like before she left?"

Lovely turns her body to face him with a small smile. He could hardly settle his frantically beating heart with that smile. The anticipation of learning about his wife and his "close friend's" loveliness was almost too much for him to handle. To calm his emotions, he lies beside Lovely, his head sinking into the soft pillows. Lovely settles her legs on the bed and leans against the headboard.

"Your wife was like you, in a way," she explains. "You were both dreamers who thought of big things for the future, and you stood up for those wronged by others. But with every similarity, there are differences. Unlike you, your wife was a reserved and shy woman. We didn't think it would be possible for an outgoing person like you to be compatible with someone as scholarly as her. You could say it was God that brought you two together. He said: 'This woman needs someone to take her places.' He sure knew what he was doing."

Luffy chuckles fondly at the unknown memory. "What did she look like?"

"She looks similar to me. Lots of people mistake us for sisters. Twins, even."

"Did she wear glasses, too?"

"Only when she sewed."

Luffy looks around the room. "Sewed? You mean..."

"Yes. This was her shop. She handed it to me before she left town. I was one of her only friends that knew about tailoring, sewing, and designing."

"She couldn't have chosen a better person." Luffy looks at her and smiles. "The clothes you make are pretty."

Lovely smiles, looking at the door to hide the blush growing across her face. "Thank you."

"What kind of clothes did she make?"

"She mostly made women's clothing. I helped her with men's clothing. She wanted to make some herself but didn't know how, so I taught her everything she needed to know."

Luffy nods. "Tell me more about her appearance."

Lovely sighs. "She had soft, olive skin, brown hair that waved with the wind and sea, eyes as blue as sapphires, and lips as red as a cherry. Her figure was nice and curvy. She was modest about her natural beauty and never cared what others thought. That was until she met you. No matter how much effort she puts into her appearance to court you, she was always your perfect woman."