"Happy birthday, Luffy!"
Hancock handed Luffy her gift for his 21st birthday.
"You're finally an adult," she said.
"You're no longer my baby." She smiled at him.
"You've grown up so much since we first met." She paused for a moment, remembering how different things were back then. "You used to be so shy and timid, but you've become so confident now." She chuckled as she remembered how he would beg her for food when they first met. "You don't need me to feed you anymore, you have your own friends who can take care of you." She laughed softly.
"And you've gained quite a bit of weight too!"
And lastly, he’s not the little boy who will proudly announce that he’ll marry her when he grows up.
Luffy accepted the gift with the familiar wide smile she had missed for years. One thing had never changed, his signature adorable smile that captivated her.
"Thank you, Hancock!"
He can even clearly pronounce her name perfectly now.
He looked dashing in his formal suit, and it was a rare sight for her to see him like that since she remembered that Luffy always liked to wear simple clothes, even at formal events.
"Luffy! Where are you?"
They heard a high-pitched voice of a girl calling out for Luffy from the crowd.
"Nami! I'm here!" Luffy waved at the orange-haired girl, and when she finally spotted them, she immediately went to where they were.
Her eyes caught how Luffy's arm slid into the girl's waist, the action was obviously screaming for possession.
She felt a pang in her chest, she wasn't naive enough not to recognize the meaning of those gestures.
"Hancock! I want you to meet my girlfriend, Nami. Nami, this is Hancock, my sworn older sister!" Luffy introduced the two girls cheerfully.
It hurts Hancock to even let out a smile. She's the one who insisted before that she wanted to be just the boys' elder sister, just like his two older brothers. Now that Luffy finally acknowledged it, she should have felt happy. But she just couldn't.
The girl named Nami extended her hand. She looked beautiful. She had a slim hourglass figure and fair skin. She recognized her, she was always in the pictures together with Luffy on his social media.
"Hello, Hancock-neesan, I'm Nami. It's nice to finally meet you in person! Luffy's been telling us a lot about you!"
She tried her best to smile and accepted her hand for a handshake.
"Boa Hancock. Nice to meet you too, Nami. Please take care of Luffy."
She excused herself to leave the party early. Her friends, including Luffy, wanted her to stay longer, but she insisted. She needed to get home while the pain she was feeling was still bearable.