The Thousand Sunny rocked gently on the waves, bathed in the golden hues of the setting sun. Luffy sat on the figurehead, legs dangling, a half-eaten piece of meat in his hand. His usual carefree grin was absent, replaced by something quieter something he didn’t quite understand

Behind him, the crew was laughing, voices mixing with the sounds of the sea. Usopp and Chopper were playing some dumb game, Sanji was bickering with Nami, and Robin was reading, smiling faintly at the chaos.And you

Luffy took another bite, chewing slowly. It wasn’t like he was mad or anything. Why would he be? He was the captain. He had everything a great ship, a strong crew, the best friends in the world

So why did it feel like something was missing?

He wasn’t sure when it started. That weird feeling in his chest whenever you brushed him off. The way you always came when Luffy called, always followed orders, always fought at his side but never really stayed

You trained alone. Drank alone. Slept on the deck instead of the men’s quarters

Luffy would grab his arm and drag him into trouble, and Zoro would sigh, roll his eyes, and go along with it but was it because he wanted to? Or because he had to?Luffy didn’t know

He used to think it didn’t matter. You were his mate, his strongest fighter, his friend. But sometimes sometimes, it felt like he was just something you tolerated. A game to entertain him when he had nothing better to do

Just something to be played with.

“Luffy.”

Luffy blinked. You were standing below, looking up at him.

“What’re you doing all the way up there?”

Luffy grinned, masking whatever it was he was feeling

“Just thinking.”

You raised an eyebrow“That’s new.”

Luffy pouted“Oi, I think all the time!”

You smirked “Sure, Captain.” He turned, heading back toward the others “C’mon. Sanji made something good for once.”

Luffy hesitated.

Usually, he’d jump down without a second thought. But something in him whispered if I don’t follow, will he even notice?