Their First Date

"Come, Hancock. Let's show everyone on this island your beauty."

Luffy and Hancock were walking through the forest and entering open space.

"...Um, Luffy."

Hancock was confused because of the sudden turn of events.

"What is it, my goddess?"

That wasn't the only reason. The whole time they've been walking, Luffy locked their arms together and was leading the way.

'What's going on?! Am I dreaming? Luffy called me beautiful and is treating me like I'm his woman! No, this is definitely because of the flower. This isn't real! Don't be fooled by a fake!'

Hancock's mind was in conflict. Half of her wanted to enjoy the situation, while the other half was telling her not to be caught up in a fantasy.

"What's wrong? Are you tired?"

"Ah, no. Eh? Wait!"

Without a second thought, Luffy lift Hancock off her feet and held her in his arms.

Caught off guard, Hancock started panicking until Luffy looked her in the eyes.

"Shh. Don't say anything. If you're tired I'll gladly carry you, even to the end of the Grandline."

Luffy looked at Hancock with gentle eyes and showed her a bright smile.

'I give up!'

"T-Thank you. I'll gladly go anywhere with you."

"It makes me so happy to hear that."

In the end, Hancock gave in and decided to savor the moment.

Luffy walked through the open area while holding Hancock like a princess.

"Being carried like this is more embarrassing than I thought."

Hancock said shyly.

"Nonsense. You're a queen and should be treated like one. So, tell me what do you wish to see? There is a lot of amazing stuff here."

"I-If you insist. Could you take me to a place that's filled with flowers? I know it's currently winter on the island, but I heard that the plant life here isn't affected by the weather. Also, that cave had some beautiful ones I'd never seen before. I'll like to see more."

"As you wish. "

As he finished saying that, Luffy started to run towards the river. When he saw that he was on the riverbanks, he jumped on top of a huge boulder while still holding Hancock.

He made a quick scan of the area and found the path that leads to where he wanted to go. Luffy quickly headed towards that path.

"......"

Hancock quickly looked at Luffy's face while he carried her.

'As I thought, I feel guilty for taking advantage of the situation. Luffy clearly isn't acting like himself, and here I am being pampered by him.'

Hancock grimaced when she reflected on her actions, however-

"There's no need to feel bad."

"Huh?"

Luffy suddenly spoke as if he was reading her mind.

Hancock looked up at Luffy and saw that he had a smile on his face.

"I don't why, but when I woke up this morning I felt different. So, I know I'm acting weird. It feels like I'm copying Sanji."

He said while laughing.

"I don't know what's going on, but I do know that I promised to hang out with you today. And whether I'm acting like Sanji, Zoro, or even chopper it still doesn't change the fact that I want to be around you."

Luffy smiled at Hancock. It was the same innocent and pure smile she fell in love with. It was then Hancock knew even if he was acting differently, he was still the same Luffy she fell in love with.

"So don't feel bad, let's have fun together."

"....Yes."

Hancock stop grimacing and displayed a radiant smile in response to Luffy's suggestion.

It didn't take long before they arrived at a flower field.

"Wow. They're all so beautiful."

Luffy put Hancock down and she marveled at the white sea of flowers.

Even though snow covered the land, the flowers didn't wither or lose their beautiful colors.

It was as if they were sending a message. A message saying "Our beauty isn't something so weak, that it will die at the hands of a little snow".

"The white snow enhances their beauty. It's like I'm in a fairy tale."

"You really do like flowers."

Luffy chipped in from the side.

"Yes. I used to grow a whole bunch of them when I was a child. I had a little garden with my sisters. It was really fun to grow them."

Hancock didn't know it, but she looked like a child boasting about her new dolls, which looked really cute.

"Flowers, huh? I've never really cared about them."

Luffy stooped down and looked at the flowers. He picked one, and that's when he sense something approaching them. Hancock was too engrossed in the winter flowers to notice. Luffy looked in the direction they were coming from, and there he saw them-

"Winter Bees!"

A swarm of giant bumble bees. But these bees were different. Instead of the normal yellow and black, they were white and black. Not only that, they had a white stinger.

The Winter Bees charged toward Hancock who was too late to detect them.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

But before they did, Luffy entered gear second and began punching them away.

The Winter Bees, seeing that Luffy was quickly killing them off, changed their tactic and used their stingers.

"Get lost, you're interrupting my important time with Hancock!"

Luffy had enough and used Conqueror's Haki on the bees to knock them out. The ones who weren't taken out were instantly killed by a punch from Luffy. When he saw that the nuisance had been gotten rid of, he ran over to Hancock.

"Hancock, are you ok?! Did you get hurt anywhere?!"

"N-No. I was just caught half guard that's all. Sorry I couldn't help."

Seeing that Hancock was unharmed, Luffy sighed and smiled at her.

"Nah, you took care of all the beasts the other day. So, I guess it was my turn. "

Hancock embarrassingly looked away, when she remember how she acted when she first arrived here. Seeing her like that, Luffy stretched his hand out towards her. He was suggesting that she's to hold his hand.

"Eh?"

Hancock was surprised at first, and then got nervous, and then finally resolved herself and took the hand. When she did, Luffy smiled at her and they started walking. However, after a few steps Hancock felt that Luffy had released his hand.

"Luffy?"

She called out to Luffy, but he didn't answer.

"Luf-"

"Shut up."

"Eh?"

Hancock was shocked, and wondered if she heard him correctly.

"U-Um, Luffy?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

Luffy said in a cold voice. Hearing him speak like that, made Hancock's body tremble. Luffy ignored her trembling and looked at her like he was looking at a nuisance.

"Luffy, Luffy, Luffy. I know my name so stop calling it so much. It's annoying."

His eyes were blue. Hancock immediately knew that it was the effect of the flower. However-

"Lu-"

"Shut up, ugly!"

Luffy's words were destructive to her heart. Luffy looked at her with a disgusted expression.

"I can't believe I wasted my time with such a boring woman. What's so fun about flowers anyway?"

Luffy started to walk away from Hancock.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Huh? Since when can you ask me any questions?

"I-I-I"

"Sigh. I'm going to find something to beat up. I'm pissed because a wasted my time on you, instead of focusing on my training."

Without waiting for Hancock to respond, Luffy left leaving Hancock alone.

"......?"

Hancock lost all the strength in her legs and fell to her knees.

"Huh? Why am I crying?"

Streams of tears ran down her face and her body trembled uncontrollably.

A day that was supposed to be the best day of her life, had taken a sudden turn for the worst. And she didn't know how to handle it.