COAST - Luffy x Reader

57. Rescue Mission... Start!

Hihi

I've started a new writing schedule, which I'm hoping will lead to more frequent updates. I try to write once or twice a day for at least an hour, and typically manage to get 5+ pages written each time (not counting if I have a free weekend, where I usually get a lot more done)... And if I don't write 5 pages, even just one is better than nothing.

Editing though? That's in the hands of the Writing Gods LMAO

Anyways... My schedule is only getting more hectic unfortunately, (holidays, which my family hosts extra parties on top of) so this is the best I've got that's actually working for me, at least in the sense that I don't get overworked and burnt out. We do what we gotta do.

Hope ur all doing well!! Happy (late) thanksgiving to those who celebrate <333 Thankful for each and every one of you!

Happy reading! Enjoy the chap <333

—

Drip... Drip... Drip...

There's a leak somewhere.

The sound is pebble-like as it echoes across the grand emptiness of the old shipwright's hideout. Barely furnished save for a table and some bean-bag chairs, the wooden floors have started to rot in the salt-ridden, muggy air. Gray, brick-laid walls are aged with dampened stains that have permanently altered their appearance – darkened, eroded faces and dripping crevices. There's a walkway hanging across the very left wall, useless now... Tattered, shattered metal scraps halfway across ensure it remains hazardous to tread upon. Even the windows that frame the only entrance to this massive room are shattered, cloudy as seaglass.

And still, after years of nonuse, the working area was finally able to see some action.

Loaded with a worn down ship that had lasted far past its expiration date, held together by a single soul who'd continued to repair her without a moment's rest – Usopp inhaled the dank, stale air in large gulps, whittling away at his strength as the nails bent against the butt of his hammer.

A fruitless effort. Franky knew that very well.

That ship was too damaged, and the guy was far too delusional. Initially, the blue-haired man believed that Long-nose would need to see for himself that the vessel was a lost cause in order to change his mind... So, The Cyborg showed him. Even went so far as to physically dismantle the ship alongside the evidence. Still, Long-nose kept at it, soaked overalls drenching the panels beneath his feet. The list had been checked – Long-nose got a full view of the keel in its dire state of disrepair – and Franky had nothing more to add.

A Klaubautermann though? That was impressive enough to earn The Cyborg's respect, if nothing else... No wonder this guy was so hellbent over a lost cause.

Didn't make the situation any different, though.

The hammer slips from Long-nose's fingers, cacophonous and out of place in the stillness. Usopp seemed to feel like that more and more as the hours turned into days.

Kneeling on the ground, gaping at The Going Merry with wide, glossy eyes, he doesn't notice when Ivory comes to sit before him; Not until the animal mew's up at his current caretaker, as if it were concerned for the boy's wellbeing. Likely, for who the kitten's real owner was.

Usopp jolts, recognizing the sound, and reaches down to pat Ivory's head, just between his pink-cupped ears.

Franky's a little miffed over this fact, bottom lip jutted childishly as his jaw tightens. This little creature was just about the cutest thing he'd ever seen – the man had even cried over it – dashing his hopes, all he'd gotten in return was a hiss, a fiery swing of its tiny claws, and a spitting yowl. All he'd wanted was to give it some love!