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She could do it, it wasn't a big deal, was it? She was just going to ask Luffy to marry her, or instigate him to do it. Anyway… that.
Wedding. Her and Luffy as wife and husband.
The King of Pirates and the Queen of Music. The Royals of the New Era, as people called them.
It wasn't like there wasn't speculation already about them potentially being an item or the classic romantic couple. With their statuses, their history since being kids and common ideals, people liked to assume and chatter. A lot.
And usually she would have been irritated by it. She never liked gossip, her being famous and idolized as a singer was just a consequence of her true purpose: spreading her music in people's hearts.
But in this case people weren't wrong, assuming over silly rumors. She did have indeed feelings for her childhood friend, a big mixture of platonic and romantic that perhaps even she didn't completely get, but that she long admitted to herself and him too.
She wasn't sure if he fully understood or felt what romantic feelings were, maybe even less than her the difference between those and platonic ones, at least for their own relationship. Surely there was a bit of both, but where the balance needle pointed at, that was unknown.
“T-That… doesn’t look nice” Uta kept her lips slightly parted as struggled to keep breathing.
Her hand was pressed against the fresh wound in the side of her belly, the blood loss starting to make everything fuzzy.
“Shut up! Save your breath!” Luffy scolded as he tried to tighten a cloth around it to slow down the bleeding. His tone was dangerously strict, she could tell that he was angry… and scared.
She really wished she didn’t have to put him in such a position, a deja vu of the moment Ace was taken away from him.
Luffy hated seeing his friends hurt, especially the ones he was closest to, and he had to go through losing some of them, so she could understand where the small waver in his voice came from. It was awful.
She really hadn’t wanted to hurt him, by hurting herself, but she had been left with no other choice.
They had found themselves in the middle of the battlefield and although she was not someone who liked to take the field to fight, but more to heal people's hearts, Uta had been committed to doing her best and helping her friends anyway she could.
As the final stage of the fight approached, the girl had begun to weaken by the second, with sleep trying to claim her.
The only way to allow Luffy to focus on the boss of the enemies and defeat him would have been to keep the other henchmen busy on the spot. Letting the enemy reinforcements arrive would be the end of all their efforts and with the rest of the crew engaged in equally demanding battles elsewhere, only she and her helpers created by her singing could buy enough time.
So she couldn't let it all go in vain, not when Luffy needed her.
Uta had been running out of options, and the only plan she could form had been stabbing her arm and letting the pain keep her up. Hopefully Chopper could make it heal just fine.
So when the enemy’s grasp had reached her shoulder and prevented from aiming her own arm, with barely any strength left, she had plunged the knife to the easiest reachable area of her body.
All in all, it worked. The adrenaline kept her awake, Luffy defeated the enemy and the battle won. They saved a lot of lives and she couldn’t be more glad about it.
Avoiding her internals seemed like good news at first, but when the adrenaline left and tiredness started growing back, blood loss became as bad as it could be.
She had fallen to the ground roughly, incapable of moving. And gave Luffy quite a scare.
Yeah, he wasn’t happy at all, he was freaking out inside, but to his credit, he was hiding it as well as he could. “That was so stupid!”
“Y-You are in n-no place to t-talk, you d-do s-stupid stuff all the time…”
“It’s different!”
“I-It’s not”
“And stop talking!”
“S-So you can… k-keep scolding m-me freely?”
“Don’t you scold me too in these cases?”
“...T-Touché…”
He finished tending her wound but didn’t let himself breathe in relief yet. Not until he could say for certain that she’d be fine. “The others will be here soon, then Chopper will help you…”
“Hmm…” She sleepily murmured, starting to lose focus.
“OI! it’s not the moment to go to sleep!” Luffy scolded, shaking her a bit, minding little about his roughness. Of course, he didn’t want to hurt her but if she fell asleep then it would be all for nothing.
“You know…” Uta tried to grab onto all the energies she had left “If I-”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare continue that.” He warned “Don’t you dare give up!”
Experiencing various tragedies, Luffy had come to understand, at least when blatantly true, when it was someone’s final moments, and he knew in his gut that this wasn’t such. So he wouldn’t let her even think of it, drag herself closer to something they could avoid.
Feeling a soothing sensation in her heart, a kind of security, Uta let herself lean more into his hold “I r-really do love you a lot, y-you dork…” She almost sing-songed with her weak voice.
The raven-haired guy blinked, as his expression blanked comedically “Eh?”
“I-I… love…” her eyelids started dropping “...you very… very…” sounds didn’t reach her ears anymore “...much…”
…
“U-Uh…?”
Those hadn’t been her last words, and she definitely wasn’t dead. As her hands caressed the light cloth of the sheet covering her body, finally her senses started to come back.
She recognised right away the Sunny’s infirmary, she had been there enough times due to straining her own vocal cords or Luffy’s recklessnesses.
However, the throbbing at her side reminded her it was the first time she’d been injured like that.
“It’s good to see you up!” Chopper’s voice greeted. She tilted her head a bit, meeting the doctor’s welcoming smile “But I wouldn’t move abruptly if I were you, that was a nasty wound”
“Thanks for the healing” Uta nodded, still too dizzy to make any big movement anyway “How long did I sleep?” She asked while the deer started to inspect her.
“Five days” He answered without losing focus from his task.
“Five!?”
Chopper nodded “Yeah, you've lost a lot of blood and strained your musical powers too much. To be honest I expected you to sleep a bit more, but I’m glad you’re recovering quickly!” He said, finishing his inspection to her wound.
He then jumped down the chair, pulling off his work shirt and walking towards the exit “Besides, at least Luffy will finally stop being so moody”
At the mention of that name, Uta’s bow-shaped pigtails pulled up “Moody?”
“Yeah, he’s been going from weirdly happy to weirdly grumpy. He probably can’t find a middle way about it. He’s been stuffing himself with food since you’ve been treated.” That was obvious for everyone, the Captain was really just trying to keep himself busy and stop worrying over his friend. Which didn’t do wonders since he kept swallowing more and more meat with the passing of each day.
Now Chopper wouldn’t need to heal his indigestion and the crew wouldn’t risk being out of food stock.
She started paying less attention already at half of his explanation, not noticing him bidding goodbye and leaving her at her own thoughts.
Even if she had been barely awake at the time, she remembered pretty well what she told Luffy. It was embarrassing, but nonetheless true, even if for long she had tried to pretend it wasn’t.
Only when she had let herself admit it to him did it become a certainty. She felt much lighter now, which was silly to say because it was plain obvious that Luffy was one of the people she treasured most, if not the one.
She wasn’t sure what she had meant actually, the specific kind of love she talked about, but it was so strong she had to let it out.
And knowing Luffy, he could act in any way possible.
“Uta!”
Speaking about the devil…
“Hey Luffy” she waved a bit, fighting the light blush on her face.
“You took your time, uh?” He grinned teasingly, while popping down on the seat next to her bed “But I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”
Uta grinned back “Yeah, that was a close one”
“I knew you wouldn’t die, you’re strong” he scoffed, pulling his legs up on the seat base and crossing them, to then lean on them with his elbows.
More than Luffy had known, he had placed all his hopes in optimism. When she had started slipping away, fear really had kicked in.
She knew, he couldn’t hide it from her “Nah you were a big scaredy cat!”
“You just threw me off guard when you started with all the mushy talks!” he excused, trying to hide his embarrassment, while she did the same at the realization that he remembered her discourse.
“But… yeah don’t ever do that again, ok?”
For a moment, she felt her heart on the verge to drop “Do what? What you call the mushy talk or…-”
“Do something so stupid to yourself again. I don’t like it” He clarified, tone firm and suddenly serious. “No member of my crew and friend is allowed to die, got it?”
She sighed “I’ll try, but you need to apply that to yourself as well” then she offered a warm smile “After all, you’re a precious friend for me too, you know?”
“Hm!” Luffy’s expression suddenly lit up, as if something came up suddenly in his brain “That reminds me, about what you said back there, before you lost consciousness…” his eyes were strangely focused as he leaned in close to her face.
They often had been that close, but Uta couldn’t help but feel very flustered at that moment. She had to fight the urge to pull back while keeping still.
Suddenly an enormous grin adorned the guy’s face, his joy sparkling as if he was the sun himself. “It made me very happy!”
“Eh?” Her heart skipped a beat.
“Yeah!” He nodded in confirmation “I love you very very much too! So it made me glad!”
She knew he probably didn’t mean it with a specific form of love in mind, after all Luffy loved plenty of things, but still hearing it sent her soul in another dimension, as if a song with constant deceptive cadences finally found its finished one and the harmony concluded in all its power.
“Oi, Uta?” Luffy started waving his hand in front of her face, confused as to why she stopped responding. “Ooooi?”
And when her blush finally spread free on the entire surface of her face Chopper had to rush back and reassure Luffy she wasn’t having an internal facial hemorrhage.
When she had admitted to loving him a lot in not exclusively romantic terms, in a situation she didn’t like to remember for the very and almost deadly circumstances, he had seemed pretty content and satisfied with it. He had even admitted to loving her back a lot too, still in not exclusive romantic terms.
But their relationship hadn't changed much since then, the before and after was pretty much the same aside their physical display of affection increasing.
Between their teasing and competing there was a lot of hugging, lying against each other, sometimes holding hands when they were alone.
The closest to kissing was some light pecks on the cheek initiated by her, until he turned it into a weapon to do mischief to each other, usually a raspberry.
But all in all, everything was pretty casual and it didn't hold a label.
Even the crew probably gave up on trying to understand what exactly their bond was, just accepting those two were just like that.
Uta was okay with it, she liked what she had with Luffy. Even if their feelings didn't have a clear definition, it was enough to know that they loved each other a whole lot. Extremely so. And everyone else around was aware of it too.
However, there was a not so small voice in the back of her head asking for… a confirmation of some sort that their something was unique.
She knew her Captain didn't view her as a sister, he was very clear about it when she asked in the past. The only people he saw as siblings were, rightfully so, Ace and Sabo.
Of course, Uta was aware that that fact didn’t make any difference in her importance to his eyes. He didn't put people he cared about in a classification based on the kind of bond he had with them, nor did she want him to. He treasured the ones his heart held close unconditionally, the same way, and she loved him for that.
Never she would dare to ask nor desire to be put on a higher level than the others. And even if she’d tried, it would be pointless.
But the ex-Red haired Pirates singer wanted something that in absence of a label could make… clear and everlasting the position they held for each other.
Marriage could be it.
That was a good idea.
What wasn't a good idea was her very much improvised plan to propose.
Knowing Luffy wasn't very interested in certain things, Uta didn't have a clue on how to ask him simply and at the same time giving out how important it was to her.
Sure, straight up telling him and then explaining was an option but he wasn't one for big discourses, it was more probable she would come off as annoying rather than passionate. Actions spoke louder than words for him, he was a direct person even when using the latter.
That was the reason she had chosen to follow her instinct.
Uta looked down to the back of her hand, resting on it was the logo Luffy designed for her years ago.
It was time to take a step towards another kind of New Era.
"Luffy!" She called, entering the cabin on the top of the main tree. Luffy loved to go there to take naps or eat, when not going to Sunny's head, aka his secluded space.
Lucky for her, because she was too anxious to just get away with it and it was an unspoken rule between the crew that the Captain's special spot was his one and only and no one should take a step on it.
"Oi, Uta!" He cheered, turning a bit towards her, while visibly busy eating some pieces of meat.
Classic Luffy, but if there was anyone understanding his passion for food, meat in particular, it was her. And he was very well aware, one of the reasons he was willing to share, sometimes, with her, and only her, his precious meals.
"Bet that I can eat ten more than you?" He shot her a grin, ignoring the fact that he was bound to lose, with his stomach stuffed with half of what the plate initially carried.
"No, because I challenge you!" She shot back, a light blush growing in her cheeks, but trying to grab onto all the determination she usually carried.
The intention wasn't to make him do something unwanted, but if there was any chance he'd be willing to do it the young woman had to do it right.
"Hm? Sure, bring it on!"
And Uta knew the best way to make it captivating.
"I challenge you to marry me!"
Perhaps her singer voice spoke too loudly, proven by part of the crew down in the deck hearing very clearly the phrase out of nowhere.
But of this she wasn't aware, nor could she see their shocked faces.
Both Luffy and Uta didn't speak for a while, a strange silence settling between them. Rare were the moments where they wouldn't be loud with each other. Be it for Luffy's general personality and Uta’s singing, be it for their competitions and bantering.
Quiet moments existed but those weren't as the one they were living right now.
Which made her friend's silence even more strange. Luffy was anything but quiet, even when sleeping.
She could read his face and for a moment she found confusion mixed with surprise, he was clearly puzzled, as if she just told him she didn’t like meat anymore.
That however, didn’t take long. Being honest, what she expected next, for how much she knew him, was indifference. Instead, his face morphed into a very controlled yet intrigued expression. “Ok”
Her already deepening blush invaded her face.
That wasn’t what she expected. Effectively, she was ready to hear him turn the idea down.
So him just agreeing like if that was… no big deal, was both extremely like him, but also odd.
“...O-Ok?”
Luffy nodded in confirmation, giving another bite to his meat “Yeah, I take your challenge!”
“So, we do it?”
“Yup”
“Ok…” Uta nodded, but her mind wasn’t into it.
Did all of that just happen?
She had supposed in a moment like this, with such an outcome, she would feel relieved and happy.
Yet she only felt her gut turning and squeezing uncomfortably.
…
Everything was going as she hoped, but it felt like it was the opposite.
It’s not that she didn’t want to marry Luffy anymore or that she regretted asking him. What she really was feeling unsettled about was the way she got him to say yes.
Doubts already invaded her mind right after getting his answer, but admittedly, the crew’s reaction didn’t either.
“Luffy? You? Marrying?!”
They couldn’t hide their shock. Not much for who he was going to marry, but the mere idea of their Captain doing it at all. Luffy thinking about marriage seemed too odd.
He did only what he was interested in, and he never seemed into that stuff. He was all for freedom, no bounds… and this could be interpreted as such.
And as much as they tried to put their concern and confusion aside, all for the love of their Captain and crewmate, in favor of showing their extreme and genuine happiness, Uta couldn’t cancel from her heart the gripping fear of her actions hurting Luffy on the long way.
He was there, standing between his friends while scratching the back of his head as his male crewmates poked him, and seemed genuinely fine, but she was so scared still.
He cared a lot about her. What if her attempt to make her proposal more intriguing ended up tricking and manipulating him into a life he wouldn’t want or fit in?
Those feelings didn’t leave her one bit, only grew as hours passed, day turned into night and everyone went their own way to sleep. They didn’t let her find rest, not even with the soft sound of the sea waves lullying the ship.
If this was a challenge and winning would mean hurting Luffy, she wanted nothing more than losing.
And with her mind made up, she tiredly walked towards his cabin the following morning. Escaping Chopper’s attentive glance directed at her pale face and dark eyebags, scurrying away from Nami and Robin’s worried and suspicious glances and avoiding the chit-chat of the other cheery crewmates.
“Oi Uta, you didn’t come down for breakfast today!” Luffy greeted her, but his naive and sunny grin turned right away into a frown. “Uh, you’re looking strange, are you getting sick or something?”
Her response waited to come, only driving him to go on blabbering. “If you’re not feeling well you shouldn’t be walking around”
His hand reached forward, touching her forehead to test how warm it felt. When the two skins met Uta took a step back hastily, preventing him from finishing his task, but pushing aside her bangs enough to give a full few of her tired eyes.
Not even Luffy would be unable to catch it.
“Yeah, you don’t look good at all. HEY CHOPPER, UTA ISNHMPPH-” he started shouting, trying to call for the ship’s doctor, but he found a palm covering his mouth and stopping him quite harshly.
“I just didn’t sleep well, don’t make such a fuss!” She scolded half-heartedly. She appreciated his worry, but it was hard enough to do what she was about to do, it wasn’t needed to make a scene in front of everyone else.
Luffy crossed his arms, unamused. “Well then, go rest!”
“I will, I need to speak to you first.” She answered quickly, with urgency in her tone, even if she tried to sound as casual as possible. At his raised eyebrow she added “About yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
She sighed “About the challenge”
His eyes finally widened in recognition “Ohhhhh! That! Okay, what is it?” the black-haired guy tilted his head curiously.
“I-I…” The girl met his eyes as she forced out her next words “I back down from it.” And then her eyes changed target, trying to focus on everything but the shifting of his expression.
“...You what?” His tone sounded so innocently confused.
“Forget about it, I forfeit.”
Even if she spared Luffy a look, she would not be able to read what was going through his mind. For a long while his expression was blank, busy trying to understand her words and the sense of it.
He stuck a finger in his ear, trying to unplug whatever might be confusing his hearing, because he couldn't really have heard what he had just heard. "Whuuuut?"
She repeated, rather impatiently "I don't want to get married, forget about it! Take it as a joke..."
Nah, Uta wasn't like that. She was proud and she hated losing as much as he did. "Huh? But that would mean you lost!"
He expected to see something flash in her eyes, like when he’d taunt her before facing each other. However he saw none of it and the next words he heard didn't fail in shocking him "Never mind. You win and I lose" accompanied by shrugs.
Now shock left space for irritation and maybe disappointment too. Of course he was also worried about his dear friend, because she was acting nothing like herself.
But that was also the main reason he was feeling so disturbed by her attitude. She wasn't herself one bit.
It didn’t make sense!
And because it didn’t, but his brain was rolling and twisting trying to find the answer, he only noticed too late that Uta left. Not even stretching his rubbery arms he could catch her if he had no clue on where she went.
Putting his hands harshly in the pockets of his shorts, Luffy walked away, directed where his stomach led.
…
One more drink and she could officially call herself drunk. But honestly, Uta didn’t give a crap about it.
She was disappointed, for the situation but mostly towards herself. Not only did she almost do something potentially hurtful towards Luffy, but she also had to take everything back by putting up a sassy facade to hide her cowardness.
She deserved to drown in the alcohol and fall in the waves, to be then led back on a desert island where all she could eat was meatless bones, with an audience of snails and crabs to sing to and itchy leaves as clothes.
“You might want to stop there if you don’t want a tremendous hang over tomorrow” a feminine voice warned, followed by two figures sitting each at her side.
“Probably” Uta sighed, but yet not leaving her hold on the big cup of glass.
Robin took it away from her hands gently, pushing it aside enough for the girl to not try getting it back.
Uta wasn’t a big drinker, she knew what being drunk did to people. Seeing more often than not the members of the Red Haired Pirates sleeping scattered on the ground after getting heavily drunk, predisposed her to a low tolerance for alcohol.
This her friends knew, so it didn’t take long for Nami and Robin to jump in when they found her after hearing rumors about her and Luffy.
“Did something happen between you and Luffy? You don’t seem in the mood of a soon to be bride” the ginger-haired woman asked, trying to sound as gentle as possible.
A low mumble left her mouth, loud enough to be heard “I’ll be no bride…”
“WHAT!?” Nami exclaimed, her face coming down to realization with those words.
When Uta didn’t specify in the next seconds given to explain, Nami rose on her feet, seemingly ready to punch something or someone, but trying to hold it in, her teeth and fist trembling “I’m going to tie him in a pool and leave him there for a week! How dare he dumps you after saying yes!?”
“Nami,” Robin called for her, with calm and patient tone “I think that’s not quite it.” she then turned her gaze to Uta, looking at her softly “Is it?”
As Nami turned in the same direction, waiting for a confirmation, the white and red-haired girl nodded “ I dumped him”
“You did…?” Nami sat down “But why? I mean, yeah not everyone would want to marry Luffy for obvious reasons, but you didn’t care in the first place for what it looks like”
Uta pushed herself up a bit, playing a bit with her hands, a soft but pained smile on her lips “I proposed to him by challenging him…” Nami seemed on the point of opening her mouth, but then stopped, seeing that her friend was going to continue “We always do that, so I thought that Luffy could be more interested in it if I put it like something he’d enjoy.”
She turned her eyes on the logo onto her glove, as she did before proposing. Maybe she should have thought about the negative implications earlier.
“But then I thought… Luffy tends to throw himself in crazy situations he might not like the outcome of, as long as he is provoked a little. What if this was the case too? He never seemed interested in family life, never mentioned or talked about it. Even if I don’t think much will change between us, I don’t want him to find himself trapped in a life he doesn’t want or understand… does it make sense?”
Robin and Nami both nodded, listening carefully.
“You’re afraid of taking advantage of his tendency and tying him down.”
Uta confirmed, silently giving a tired nod. A few more seconds passed and no one spoke, until she found the voice to add “But it doesn’t matter now, I told him it was just a silly joke”
Nami and Robin exchanged a slight smile, with the latter taking a small glass and filling it for herself. She gave it a little shake, rotating the liquid inside, and then sipping a small bit.
“You know,” she started as she put it back down “Some time ago there were rumors about the captain of the Kuja being in love with Luffy.”
“What??” Uta’s eyes widened “There was?”
Both the girls giggled at her surprised expression “No one is aware of how things exactly went, but the Captain once let it slip that Boa Hancock wanted to marry him or something, and when Usopp asked him about it-”
“He said he wasn’t interested!” Nami concluded for her, trying to hold in her laugh, shaking her head. “Like it was the most natural thing in the world!”
“Uh…? He did? but then…”
“Do you get what this implies?” Robin asked.
Seeing Uta’s confusion, Nami went on “Luffy may be a bit dumb, a lot, and maybe he has difficulties about thinking romantically about things, but he knows very well what a wedding is and what it concerns. He knows a lot of stuff, he’s just not interested in part of it so it doesn’t show”
“B-But, then-”
“Luffy does have many interesting habits, but he can read people very well and eventually himself too. So he probably knows that you were genuine about that request and just as genuine was his response” Robin explained, giving the younger girl at her side a light rub on the back.
“Robin is right” right away the ginger-haired pirate agreed “I know Luffy better than anyone in this crew, I’ve been traveling with him since the very start and I can assure you that he won’t accept to do something he absolutely doesn’t want to do. If it doesn’t interest him he won’t do it and will refuse to your face.”
That was a known fact for everyone who was close enough to him and even to those who weren’t. Uta may have had less experience with it because their interests aligned and they knew each other since childhood, it wasn’t a secret that Luffy treated her a bit differently than he treated the rest of his friends.
But he was exactly like that; a person full of qualities but also flaws. He gave terrible examples in caring mostly only about his own interest. He wouldn’t hesitate to just spit out that something wasn’t his concern and others had to deal with it themselves. There were exceptions, but it depended on how important it was to his friends and how genuine their desire.
“But that doesn’t change that he probably accepted just for the bet and if he isn’t interested in marriage, and we know he probably isn’t, then…” Uta tried to frantically counter, but putting the puzzle pieces together she only found herself at a dead-end.
The black-haired woman shook her head negatively, keeping her comforting rub “He must have his reasons to why he decided to accept something long term like that”
“But that for sure we can’t know. As simple as he tends to think, Luffy can be a mystery. I’m myself curious about his reasoning too in this case, there must be a reason why he made an exception” Nami shrugged, admitting that no one could effectively understand what went on in the Captain’s head.
It surely meant that Uta and her proposal had something that interested him.
“Luffy never acts without putting all of himself into things he does.” As Robin stood up, she offered a hand to Uta “And any concern can still be cleared up with him, once you’re well and rested”
Upon Uta’s hesitation, the older woman raised an eyebrow “You trust Luffy, don’t you”
Without hesitation, the singer nodded “More than anyone else in the world”
Finally a sincere smile returned to the young woman's lips, reciprocated by that of her friends.
"Luffy is definitely soooo mad at you right now," Nami added, chuckling mischievously.
Robin gave her a small look of disapproval, but she couldn't lie. "Possibly" Surely "But even that can wait. If you have to face Luffy you have to do it in your best conditions, right?”
Yes, Uta had no problem confronting her friend when he was in a bad mood, but definitely, she would have done better sober.
"Right"
…
Coherent to Nami’s words, Luffy was pretty pissed. So pissed that even there, in the kitchen surrounded by meat, and very hungry, he couldn’t find it to himself to start eating.
The situation was so odd that all the male members of the crew were called to help. But none of Usopp’s attempts or Sanji’s freshly made recipes could make their friend snap out of his state. Even consulting Chopper led to no results, because he could be a phenomenal doctor, but he could do so much for something that was mostly emotional.
They could sympathize with the shock and the frustration of the guy. As surprising as it was in the first place that Uta had proposed, it was even stranger she took it back.
“Women are strange Luffy, it’s about time you start experiencing it too” Zoro murmured from a far corner, not very interested in the matter if not for his friends’ wellbeing. Jinbe was sitting not far from him.
Well, Luffy had had the opportunity to experience the crooked moons that women can be subjected to, but here they were talking about a completely different circumstance “Are you so disappointed that Miss Uta retracted?” Brook asked carefully.
“Of course I am!” Luffy grumbled “She challenged me and then she just backs down?”
His friends were quite unsure on how to proceed.
“Then you really were looking forward to marrying her? You know what saying yes would lead to?” Again Usopp asked, on behalf of the entire group.
Luffy scoffed, looking at them as if each grew a second head “Of course I know what a marriage is!”
“And its meaning?”
“That too!”
Usopp tilted his head slightly, unamused and confused “But you never seemed into romance, finding a wife seemed the least of your concerns!”
“Hmmmmm…” Luffy crossed his hands, thinking for a moment “Yeah, not really”
“Then why were you going to marry Uta? It’s not something you just do, even someone like you shouldn’t. If you know what it means than you can’t be really taking this so lightly”
The Captain didn't seem really bothered by his words, as he strongly believed in his approach on the matter. What irritated him was that they didn't understand such a simple matter! “I know that you don’t just marry anyone, you choose the right person!” Before any could counter he continued “And Uta is not anyone. She is the right person for a lot of things, so it’s okay”
His concept of “right” was quite simple.
For him she was the right person to be the Queen of Music, to reach people’s hearts with her songs.
She was the right person to help create a New Era.
She was the right person to have fun with, right to offer him a real challenge.
She was the right person to share his meat with, but even so right that she would often refuse, let him his treat and just eat her own plate. Be it for courtesy or her own hunger.
She was the right person to prank bad guys with, the ones who were unfair to others, and then kick their butts.
So why wouldn’t she be right as a wife? It was simple.
And his reasoning left everyone speechless.
“I know Uta and I love her a lot, like I love Shanks, Sabo, Ace, or all of you-”
“But you don’t love someone you marry like you love your siblings, parents or all friends!” Reminded Sanji, on the verge of exasperation. “Would you marry any of us if we asked?”
“Nahhhh, of course not!” Luffy shot back sticking out his tongue “But Uta is fine”
“Then you love her differently!”
The raven haired Captain shrugged. “I guess? It is what it is”
His view was pretty… singular, but the rest of the crew had no real energy left to wonder how his brain worked, much less how it connected to his heart.
“So…” Chopper tried, tiredly leaning on the counter “What’s in for you?” At that Luffy’s eyebrows went up “You’re not interested in marriage, so why are you doing it?”
“I want to win that challenge” The answer arrived easy and quick. He really wanted to win, he loves winning.
“That’s it? You’re doing it because Uta challenged you to do it?” Questioned Franky.
“Hmm, yeah.” Everyone’s shoulders fell, but then pulled back up as Luffy added “Winning makes me happy so I want to win that challenge. And Uta doesn’t do things for nothing, so if she wants to do it and it’s going to make her happy then we both are winners. Got it?” he ended with a grin.
That apparently was appreciated by his friends. While he was still doing things because of his oddly little satisfaction, he was doing it for her.
He didn’t care about the wedding, if it was up to him, he probably would have never asked for it. It didn’t really change anything major about how he viewed Uta.
He loved her now and he would love her the same after it, making a big fuss out of it wasn’t really his intention.
He was interested in winning, and he was interested in her happiness.
And precisely for that, he was beyond triggered that she backed down.
“BUT THEN WHY DID SHE TAKE IT BACK!?” Once again, out of nowhere, his frustration was let out, his fists shot in the air.
Why was she giving up? Winning like this didn't make any sense! Challenging Uta was fun because she allowed him to not hold back, because he knew that she wouldn't give up as much as he wouldn't.
Spending time together and winning was something that both enjoyed. He had thought the reason she threw the challenge in the first place was because it meant she wanted it, he was sure of it! Why wanting to be a loser when both could be winners?
Sanji cleared his voice, breaking the confused murmurs of the crew and Luffy’s constant growling “If I may, I think I know the reason”
“What do our casanova have to say about it?” Zoro questioned, lightly poking at him. He wasn’t the best example of a love expert.
Sanji fought the urge to fight back, focusing on the task at hand “Maybe Uta thought you weren’t sure about it”
“Uh? Me?”
Brook snapped his bony fingers, realization hitting him “Oh that must be it! Surely she thought the same of us, that you’re not the wedding type, so she worried that you wouldn’t be willing to be unhappy just to win a challenge.”
Chopper nodded, supporting the view and helping explaining to Luffy, who was listening silently “You jump into things without thinking many times, she cares enough to not want you to do something that you will regret, even if she has to give up on it”
“Uta pretends to be strong and sassy around you most of the time but only a blind wouldn’t see that she treasures you.” Even Jinbe offered, receiving a unanimous nod of approval.
Luffy kept quiet, his eyes looking somewhere with no focus. It was a sign that he was meditating.
Usopp put a hand on his shoulder, driving his best friend to look up at him “Just do as always: go for it. Follow your instinct!”
Sanji chuckled, nodding, "If it upsets you so much that she backed out, fix it yourself."
It didn’t take long for the guy to nod with determination, a bright smile back on his face “Yosh! Thank you guys, now I can eat in peace!”
He only let them sweatdrop, before slamming his hands on the counter decisively “But first I need to finish what’s left open! Get it done, and then back to my meat!”
Jumping down his seat and rushing out of the exit, the crew members could only gape and smile in front of his resolution. Yeah, he had his priorities set straight and food was probably at one of his highest spots.
But he never left things hanging, he’d just throw himself right away into what he could deal with face to face.
That was just who their Captain was.
…
Uta backed down? Well, he would challenge her back then.
"Utaaaa!" He called loudly, searching around on the ship.
He didn't even stop thinking where she could be, just scanning every inch of the Sunny.
That however eventually grew him even more impatient. Rushing outside and grabbing the main tree top with his hands he let his elastic body be dragged up.
Once there he squeezed his eyes, scanning the ship's surface.
“Where will it end up, this song that I’ve been a vessel for?”
And much to his luck there she was! On the deck, staring at the ocean and from the look of it humming a song.
“I look within knowing I’ll find the answer, even on my own...”
That song.
“Let’s row out to the open sea, far as we can go…”
Perfect timing and place, he just knew where they could talk!
Luffy gave himself a push, dangling back and forward and he let go and jumped in the void, landing with his feet perfectly on Sunny's head.
“...To the unknown…”
"Uta!!"
The sound of the impact and the sudden call must have taken her by surprise, as she yelped and turned her head in its direction.
"Luffy!? What the hell!?"
"We need to talk!" He announced.
The girl's face screamed wariness. She was still visibly tired, so much that she was unable to sleep, but she also seemed less tense.
"Right now?"
"Right now!" He confirmed, shooting forward his arms and wrapping them around her body in a tight hold.
The prey squealed as her feet left the ground and she was brought up. "Luffy!?" She squirmed a bit.
Usually she would feel safe in his hold, he wouldn't drop her for anything in the world. But the way she was dangling in the air above him made her feel like a flying salami and Sunny's head wasn’t exactly a safe place for a devil-fruit user who had to worry about not falling into the sea, destined to only sink.
When her body met the "ground" she exhaled in relief "What were you thinking?"
"I told you, we are here to talk!"
"What if I don't want to?" She countered, without really putting her heart into it. Uta was sure about how the conversation would go, but she knew it was bound to happen. She actually wanted to clear things up.
Besides, even if she didn't want to she surely wouldn't have been able to get down from there. She was too tired to use her fruit powers. And Luffy was too stubborn to let her go.
"I challenge you!"
Uta's expression grew confused. "What?"
"I challenge you to marry me!"
Again, what?
"You're… but…?" There was no mistaking, she heard well, and there was no element in him expressing wavering.
She may be confused, but she couldn't miss the conviction. Luffy was very aware of what he was doing.
"It's not fair! First you throw down the gauntlet and then you take it all back? That's not how it works!" He accused, pointing his finger at her "It's not allowed, you don't just run away because I would surely win too and surpass your score!"
Uta scoffed, trying to hide a smile "You aren't very good at keeping count, so I shall remind you are nowhere near my score" she humored him "But you didn't lose at the end, you won"
"I don't want an easy win! I want the real thing!"
"You really do…" she whispered softly.
The singer kept staring at her Captain's pout, it appeared so childish but she really could tell he was serious.
He wasn't one for many words, but his actions always spoke pretty well.
And that was when it hit her, finally, just by paying better attention to what he was doing rather than what he was just saying.
He was asking her a very important question in a place that was as special.
They weren't standing anywhere, they were on Sunny's head, his spot.
The place no one from the crew dared to step onto, the Captain's personal space.
And he didn’t only let her be part of it, he literally dragged her there himself.
It spoke volumes about how much he meant his words. Allowing her in his honor seat, sharing it together, challenging her to pursue what she really wanted…
Nothing could shake her from how clear all of it was, the undoubtable reality that he was really one hundred percent into it. Since she cared he cared too and this was the ultimate act of faith the guy could do.
She believed in Luffy, so as always she had to believe in his feelings too, whatever they were.
“So?” his voice brought her back “Are you going to accept or are you a sore loser?!” He leaned on a bit, hands at the sides of his face mimicking a grabbing sign.
He stole her signature mocking.
And it was working.
Uta sighed, and then a loud laugh escaped her mouth. Luffy stared at her in confusion as she held her stomach “Well, I did give the initial idea so it would be pretty lame of me to turn it down, uh?”
The smile she pulled out when her head got back up and laughing subsided was perhaps one of the brightest Luffy had ever seen on her face.
He wasn’t wrong after all, both were going to win and he couldn't be more satisfied with his decision. Once again, his instinct didn’t betray him.
“I accept the challenge” She sent him a grin, holding up a fist.
He grinned back, raising his own to meet hers “I expected nothing less”
Just a second passed.
“You do really look awful though! Go sleep!”
“...”