Queen of the Pirates

Off-Screen Events: Confessions

"You have to help me, Makino," I groan as I rest my forehead on the bar counter. "I don't know what to do anymore. These feelings, I don't know what to do with them."

Makino chuckles, continuing to clean glasses as she gets ready for later. "This is about your crush on Luffy, yes?"

"Yes," I sigh.

"Oh, sweetheart, you don't do anything with those feelings. You just let them run through your body, and you don't take them for granted. You appreciate the fact that you can feel that way for another person because it's not every day that you realize that you like someone in that way. You let the feelings develop and grow. You don't do something with them. They do something to you."

"Ugh, when did you become a philosopher?" I lift my head up, staring at the woman on the other side of the counter.

"I've been around the block before," she winks at me. "You think that being in love with Shanks was just all kisses and loving? No, it was more than that. He made me see the world in a different way," she chuckles. "It sounds cliché, but it's true. We had a lot of talks because I knew he wasn't going to stay here forever. He's seen a lot more of the world than I ever will, and I appreciate everything he taught me. Even since he's left, I've been able to think more about certain things. I had to prepare for a moment like this. It's a shame I can't respond to his sporadic letters."

I shake my head, "I don't think I want to think of Shanks in any other way than being a father figure for me, so we can move sharply away from talking about him like this. I know you love him. It's one of the things that I've known for a long time, and I've always wanted to find a love like the two of you. That's why I'm coming to you for help."

"Well, you watched me fall in love with Shanks. It started with a crush on the man that kept coming to this bar," she motions at the place we're in, "and then it slipped into something more when he started to be sweet and notice the little things to show he really cared. And sure, maybe I'm delusional to still let my heart care so deeply for him, but I don't regret it. Now, I feel like I've laid it all out for you, so what's the big deal with you?"

"I can barely stand to be around Luffy!" I blurt, quickly shaking my head. "No, that's not quite right. I always want to be with him, but when I am, I find myself noticing things that I wasn't noticing a year ago. I've always thought he was cute or whatever, and I still do when he does certain things, but now I'm looking at him and thinking about how handsome he is. It's like everything he does makes me blush and lose the ability to speak properly. When I'm around him, it's like my brain doesn't know how to function anymore. All that because I have a crush on him!?"

"I was the same way, if you remember. I would blush at every little compliment that Shanks would send my way, and it was even harder to deal with because I had to keep serving him. It helped though having you and Luffy to take some of the attention off of me. Then, the jitters started to become less and less until I could actually talk and interact with him."

"See, there's part of the problem," I point at her for a second. "Ace isn't here anymore to take some of the attention away from me. He's been gone a few months and everything's falling apart around me. Now Luffy's all focused on me which makes it all that much harder. When we were kids, I just saw him as my best friend, so I was always spending time with him and it didn't affect me. Now, I don't want him to be my best friend. I mean, yes, I want him to be my best friend, but I also want him to be something more. With all the attention he's giving me because Ace is gone, my heart can't take it!" I look up at the ceiling, running my hands through my hair that I've finally let grow long again. "He's bound to notice something is wrong."