Work Text:
Monkey D Luffy
Resting in my personal perch upon the figurehead of the Thousand Sunny,
a small smile graces my lips as I listen to the joyful sound of my crew on deck behind me. A competitive game of tag threatening pandemonium, Usopp and Franky tinkering with their explosives off in the background. Robin’s amused gaze watching over them all.
It wasn’t always this way.
In the beginning there was no one.
I was a nuisance to Gramps and a burden to Dadan;
even my beloved brothers, Ace and Sabo, hated me.
I learned to smile anyway.
As brothers we ran and laughed and learned to survive.
Hunting for treasure like magpies.
Our only goal was to leave for the open sea, search for freedom,
and through it all my smile became real.
Acrid smoke rising from the junk heap filling the air and burning my lungs,
blurring my already shocked vision.
Panicked screams of my neighbors ringing in my ears and searing my brain.
My world being devoured by ravenous flames and hate.
Nobles viewing the hell they created from within their safe walls
with an amused satisfaction.
Why did I help them?
I stopped smiling.
He’s gone.
They killed him.
I will be king.
I will learn to smile again.
Slowly, ever so slowly I am building a family for myself again.
People who push me forward and force me to be better.
People who are broken like me.
Loving them makes my smile grow strong.
Tilting my head towards the clear sky above, I felt my smile soften as it only does around my crew, my family. Their good-natured arguments, competitions, and games settling something warm within my chest, bringing peace to my mind.
It wasn’t always this way, but see if I don’t fight to make it last.