The sunlight was the devil. I scrunched my face and rolled over, hoping I could avoid it just a little longer. My head hurt and my mouth was as dry as the Sahara desert. I groaned and rubbed my forehead.
"Look who's back amongst the living." Luffy said. I could hear the smile behind his voice. I threw a pillow at him, making him laugh.
"Shhh." I hushed. My head was pounding.
I felt his arms wrap around me as he placed a kiss on the back of my neck.
"Sorry, sorry." He said in a hushed tone, giving me a little squeeze. "You really outdid yourself, M'."
"I don't even wanna know." I groaned. I remembered way more than I wanted to as it was. "Why did I do that."
"Cause you haven't in a while." He said, snickering. "You definitely can't hold your booze as well as you used to."
"No, I haven't been drinking much." I sighed.
"You were a riot though." He said, making me wince.
"I'm sure I was."
"Are you hungry?" He asked. I groaned, making him laugh. "Guess I'm on my own this morning. I'll bring you back some water."
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Luffy wandered out into the kitchen and poked his head in the fridge. In it were some left overs from the night before. He grinned when he saw some burgers, all cooked and ready to be eaten. Luffy wasn't much of a cook. He tended to undercook or overcook things, but he didn't mind eating it anyways. But some J burgers were definitely better than him trying to cook something for himself. He snagged one and immediately started stuffing his face with it. No need to try and warm it up.
"Looking for anything specific?"
Luffy jumped, bashing his head on a shelf in the fridge and quickly swallowed his food before looking out.
"Oh, hey Mama J." He said, rubbing his head.
"We have plates and a table to eat at you know." She laughed.
"I know, I'm sorry." He said, clapping his hands together and bowing his head a little." I just was super hungry."
"Well how about I make some eggs and heat up another burger for you?" She said.
"Yes please." He answered with a grin.
Misaki's mom felt herself glancing at the man sitting in her dining room, jauntily tapping a beat out on the edge of the table. This guy was uncouth, a little messy, and definitely lacked manners in the food department — but man, he was charming. She could definitely see how her daughter would be drawn to such a man. Lou's eyes drew to meet hers for a moment and he smiled at her. Wow, what a smile. With a smile like that, how could anybody hate this guy? She smiled and brought over a plate of food.
"Nice and hot. I put some fried eggs on the burger. Trust me." She said with a smile. "Not really a breakfast food, but you were eating it cold out of the fridge, so this will be much better."
He took a bite and his face lit up. She sat down with an omelet and ate alongside him. She didn't bother trying to talk to him. After all, he was eating like a wild animal, and she didn't really think he could answer her anyways. That being said, he finished his burger before she even got half way through her omelet.
"So, what exactly is your relationship to my daughter?" She asked. Luffy choked on his water for a second and coughed.
"Man, you don't like beating around the bush, huh? I like that." He grinned. Her green eyes held steadfast, waiting for a response. Luffy looked at her, his face becoming serious. "I love her." He said plainly. It's not like it was a secret. He didn't care to beat around the bush either.
"Looks like you like to cut to the chase too." Jean said with a grin. "You think you can make her happy?"
"Nobody can make her happy." He said. Her mom couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
"Well you weren't here and she was miserable. Suddenly you appear and now she seems happier than ever." She said.
"Look, we get along great. Misaki is great. She can be happy while she's with me but I can't make her do or feel anything. We are there for each other. You know, support each other's dreams." He said. He started eyeing the half eaten omelet on her plate. It sure did look good...
"And what exactly are these dreams?" She asked, taking another bite of her omelet. A grin broke out over Luffy's face.
"Uh uh." He said, still grinning. "You and Misaki need to talk about dreams. Not me."
"Misaki, huh? Did you know that's not her actual name."
"It is to her." Luffy responded, making Jean wince.
"She won't tell me anything." Her eyes narrowed. "But you..." She pinched his hand as he went to snag a forkful of her omelet. "You seem like you might have some answers for me."
Shit. Not only did she catch him trying to steal, but now she caught him in another way. Luffy held her gaze, still reaching for that omelet, still getting pinched, just frozen in time. This is why Misaki wanted him to stay away from her. She was a force of nature. A hunter. And she was sly as a fox and sharp as a hound. This was not good.
"Don't be greedy. I just want a bite." He muttered, trying to save face. Don't stretch my skin. He didn't flinch away, afraid it would reveal what Misaki didn't want people knowing - that he was a rubber man. Jean laughed and unpinched his hand, gesturing toward her plate to give him permission to snag a bite.
"I'm greedy? It's not even your food!" She laughed. He proceeded to snatch the piece he was aiming for with his fork and stuff his mouth, hoping she wouldn't return to the subject at hand.
"So, uhh, I told Misaki I would bring her some water, so I'd better do that." He said, puckering his lips and avoiding eye contact as his eyebrows raised. Jean gave him an amused look.
"How is our little liquor queen?"
"Hating life." He said, making her laugh. "Say, is there anything here she would eat, even if she felt sick? Some chicken soup maybe?"
"Oh wow, you know her, huh?"
"Soup's the only thing she will eat when she feels sick." He said, looking at her blankly.
"I'll heat some up and bring it over. Give her some of these too." She said, handing him some advil.
"Cool, cool. Let me go do that."
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"Dude, your mom is SCARY!" Luffy whispered as he came back in, balancing a water, some Advil, and a bowl of soup in his hands. He set the soup down on the bedside table next to me, making me whine. "Don't make that sound. You have to eat something M'."
"I'm sorry, why is my momma scary?" I asked, burying my nose in the blanket to avoid the smell.
"She just is.." He said, holding the Advil and water out to me. I gladly took it, chucking the water and pills right down.
"What did you say to her?" I said, plainly. I figured she probably pulled some information out of him.
"What did I say?!?!" Luffy jumped up, a little offended.
"Sorry." I said, grabbing my head. Man, he is loud.
"She is just smart that's all. And she shoots as straight as Usopp. And she is fast too, like physically fast. She caught me stealing food off her plate." He said, worried and a little dejected.
"That's my mother's version of observation haki." I said, giggling a little. "That's funny she caught you. You should know better by now."
I could tell Luffy was leaving out crucial details, but at this point it was hard to care. It was already midday and I was so hung over I didn't want to get out of bed. But I knew I needed to eat and go about my day. I only had a few more days with my family and my horse, and I needed to not waste it.
"You need a shower." I said, yawning.
"So do you." He said before grinning. "Wanna take one together?"