It was just past 3AM when the Thousand Sunny slept soundly beneath the stars. But you didn’t.

You jolted awake again—chest tight, breath shallow, the echo of that nightmare still crawling through your skin. Same one. Three weeks now. Like clockwork.

You sat up, hands trembling slightly, and made your way to the kitchen. A cold glass of water. That’s all you needed.

But the moment the glass touched your lips, your body betrayed you.

The water shook in your hand. Your breath hitched. Your heart slammed against your ribs like it was trying to break out. Vision blurred. The air felt too thick to breathe. You couldn’t speak—even inside your own head, your thoughts were chaos.

You gripped the counter like it was the only thing keeping you upright.

And then—

Creaaaak.

Luffy stepped into the kitchen, yawning, his straw hat slightly tilted and hair messy from sleep.

He blinked. “You’re up? What’re you doing? Oh—do we have meat?”

You didn’t answer.

Luffy tilted his head, stepping closer… then paused.

Your shoulders were tense. Your chest was heaving. Sweat glistened on your forehead. Your hand was trembling so hard the glass clinked against the counter.

He didn’t understand exactly what was happening, but his carefree expression dropped. Something was wrong.

“Hey,” he said, quieter now. “Are you… okay?”

You still couldn’t speak, still fighting to get air into your lungs.

Luffy stepped right up to you now, close but gentle. “Your heart’s goin’ crazy…”

He reached out, hesitating for once in his life, then touched your wrist, grounding you. “You’re here. With me. Not wherever your head’s tryna drag you.”

You swallowed hard, throat dry, the world slowly settling back into place.

“I dunno what that was,” he said, brows furrowed, “but you don’t gotta face it alone.”

He stayed like that—just standing beside you.

No judgment. No pressure.

Just Luffy. Solid, steady, warm.

And somehow, that was enough to make your breath finally come back.