Scandalous (A One Piece Fanfic)

2 - The Suitors

A/N:
I made Hancock be Law's cousin in this AU, and the daughter of Doflamingo (who's actually not too bad in this AU. Shocking, I know). Also, don't ask me if this would make Hancock gay or not, because I have absolutely no idea (I don't wanna bother thinking that hard).

The first few suitors that showed up were hesitant, unsure as they spent an hour each with Luffy. However, as it became known that the princess of Goa Kingdom was actually looking for a chance at marriage, the suitors became a steady stream, prince (and even the occasional princess) after prince showed up at the palace to meet Luffy.

On his fourth day of accepting suitors, Luffy was already exhausted. He was currently sitting in the tea room, listening to an odd green-haired prince named Bartolomeo ramble about how honored he was to get the opportunity to meet Luffy. Luffy just smiled, nodded, and did his best to refrain from calling the prince Crescent-head whenever he forgot his name.

He was tired of this, being stuck in the tearoom for several hours a day with hardly a break as he was forced to listen to all of these men and women talk about things he didn't bother wanting to understand. It was so dumb, anyway. Why did he have to get married? If you asked him, Nami seemed like a much better option, as she was always talking about how much she would love to find and marry a wealthy man and leave this wretched place (her words, not his. But she'd spoken them in a particularly bad mood, so Luffy didn't think she was entirely serious). But, when he presented the idea to Shanks over dinner, his adopted father had spat out his drink and burst into laughter before explaining to Luffy that a maid's marriage was the last thing that would have any chance of saving their kingdom.

"Luffy-senpai?" Bartolomeo's voice jolted Luffy, who had started daydreaming about meat, back to reality.

"Huh?" Luffy tried to pretend like he had been listening, but that was kind of hard when he kept seeing a plate of meat every time he looked at the table.

"I said, we're almost out of time. I was wondering if... there could be any chance that you would consider letting me court you?"

Luffy chewed on his bottom lip, and he swore he could almost taste the meat. "Um..." distracted, he looked back at Bartolomeo. "What?"

Before Bartolomeo could repeat himself, Robin, who had been standing by the door to act as a chaperone, stepped forward. "It's time for you to leave, Bartolomeo-sama. Thank you for meeting Luffy-sama. Goa Kingdom appreciates you very much, and I hope you'll come back another time." She smiled, bowing her head while Bartolomeo stood, bowing and bidding farewell to Luffy. When he was gone, Luffy flopped back onto the couch with a groan.

"I'm so hungry," he whined. "Robin, can't I have a break?"

Robin smiled softly. "I'll send for a snack, Luffy-sama. What would you like?"

"Meat!" Luffy cheered. "Can you make sure that Sanji cooks it? He does it best!"

"Of course, Luffy-sama." Robin said with an amused smile, giving a small curtsy before she left.

When Robin returned, carrying a platter heavy with meat, Luffy had fallen asleep, his mouth slack and gentle snoring emitting from his mouth. Robin smiled, carefully placing the platter on the table in front of Luffy and shaking him awake with a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh?" Luffy's eyes fluttered open, his long, papery eyelashes brushing his cheeks as he did so. "Oh, Robin!" He sat up, rubbing the sleepy tears from his eyes. His gaze landed on the meat and he made a delighted sound as he leaned forward, wolfing down the chunks of roasted sea king meat so quickly he would've been in danger of choking if he didn't eat like this all the time.

When Luffy had wiped the plate clean, Robin took the empty platter. "I'll tell the next suitor that you're ready," Robin said kindly. "She's the princess of Dressrosa. Her name is Boa Hancock. Under the request of the current king of Dressrosa, Doflamingo, she'll be accompanied by her older cousin, Trafalgar Law, who will also be acting as a chaperone."