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Luffy yawned and stretched as he woke up, rubbing a hand through his hair, before he went and looked for his hat - the straw hat he had gotten from Shanks - which was, as always, to be found tied to one of the bed posts.
Stretching once more before actually getting out of bed, the hat on his head, he blinked, seeing that the men’s sleeping quarters were empty.
Frowning, he sniffed the air, not smelling anything meant that Sanji hadn’t started breakfast yet. Was his cook ill, or was breakfast already over.
Having a minor breakdown over the fact that he might just have missed a meal, he found his fingers tangled in something. Blinking, he pulled down his hat, and found a long piece of twine knotted into the ribbon of his hat, a note tucked into the ribbon read;
Come find us, captain.
Grinning, Luffy couldn’t help but jump up from where he had gone through his knees at his breakdown at thinking he had missed a meal. Which should be impossible as he had a habit of waking at the first smell of bacon cooking, and after setting out, he had managed to eat in his sleep - just so he didn’t miss any more meals.
Untying the red string around the ribbon of his hat, he grinned as he put the hat back on and started to roll up the twine that he had been asked to follow, he loved a good mystery, so if his crew wanted to indulge him, he would be more than happy to do so.
The twine soon led him off of the ship, and onto the island they had landed on late last night, while not a large island, it was one just in Shanks’ territory, known for having great parties on, as there was no real village on it - only some hits which were used by the Red haired pirates, Whitebeard Pirates, Revolutionaries or the Straw Hat pirates when they stopped on this particular island.
As such, Luffy was thinking he would be led straight there, but that wasn’t the case.
Blinking, he looked at the blond waiting for him just inside the tree line, a huge grin showing onto his face as he took a leap towards the other man.
“Sabo!”
His older brother laughed as they hugged, “hi Lu, you sure took your sweet time getting up.”
Luffy pouted, “I didn’t know they were planning this mystery hunt! I didn’t wake up because Sanji isn’t cooking, so… not my fault.”
Smiling softly at the pout on his younger brother’s face, Sabo ruffled the other’s hair, “It’s alright, Lu, I would wait a lot longer, if needed to be. Care to finish this hunt your crew had going on for you?”
Luffy nodded his head, jumping up, and off Sabo who was still laying on the ground, pulling the older and taller man to his feet to follow the string some more.
They kept walking for just over 10 minutes, following the string as it wound all through the trees. Until both of them stopped and smiled at seeing who was waiting for them next, dark hair and freckles framed the face that was waiting for them. Even if the man was asleep, most likely getting hit by a narcolepsy attack while waiting.
Luffy laughed, making Ace wake up, a groan leaving their eldest brother’s mouth and he stretched, getting his arms down fast enough to catch Luffy as the youngest rocketed towards him and wrapped him (literally) in a hug.
A laugh escaped the Whitebeard commander, as he spun on his feet, before putting Luffy down and accepting a hug from Sabo. Grinning at his brothers as they continued their quest.
Luffy looked at the both of them, “how did they manage this?”
Ace and Sabo looked at each other, before shrugging, “Nami made the calls to Oyaji and Dragon, neither seemed to mind coming here, or dropping Sabo off in Dragon’s case. I have no idea who else is waiting here, but I am intrigued to find out what they have been planning.
We just know that we had to wait for you in the forest, but for not holding a village, this island is still large, and has several different ecosystems. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”
All three of them used this time together to catch up, after Wano they had all gone their separate paths, Ace to go and restore the Whitebeard Pirates, under himself and Marco - after they had all desperced after the payback war.
Sabo had joined the revolution, in the open this time, with Dragon taking the fight to the Celestial Dragons once more, all those people deserved to be treated no different than normal people. Their biggest ally in the end, ended up being Garp and Coby, both who hated the way these stuck nobles had the power to decide life or death for the people they despited.
Luffy, as both his older brothers had suspected, had gone out to Mayhem, enjoyed his adventures, and made it to Laugh Tale in the end, making him the new Pirate King. An event which happened about 6 months ago.
The next person waiting for them was Law, who was holding drinks for all four of them. Rolling his eyes as Luffy hugged him around the waist.
While the first meetings with Ace and Sabo had been bordering on cold, especially after his and Luffy’s relationship turned from platonic to romantic, they had talked it over in Wano, and had become friends - it helped that Ace’s partner and lover, Marco, was great friends with Law. So the eldest couldn’t keep being cold to the surgeon, not with him and Marco getting along so well.
Sabo had needed to be convinced longer, as he had missed 10 years in his brothers’ life, he was just a tad overprotective over the both of them. He had changed his tune when Koala, his own lover, had gotten hurt in Wano, and Law had been the one to both find her and treat her. the fact that he also got along great with Marco, who Sabo did respect a lot, and the way he treated Luffy was all he needed in the end.
Plus, part of his was very happy both his danger-prone brothers had a doctor as a lover.
Law just greeted them after Luffy finally let go and sat down leaning into the taller man’s side. Sabo and Ace took the pint handed to them.
“So, how did you get roped into this?”
Law sighed, “Chopper called and asked.”
Luffy grinned, “I’m excited to see what’s at the end of this mystery quest, it can only be great if my crew went through all this trouble to get it done.”
The other three men couldn’t help but nod, the dedication put into this was something else. Not that their own crew or groups were bad at it, it just was that the Straw Hats were something else entirely. The dedication all of them had to their Captain was magnificent to see.
Enjoying the drink, they managed to stall Luffy for a while, even though they had known beforehand that it wouldn’t take long before the Captain wanted to get going again, looking forward to seeing what was at the end of the piece of string.
Sabo had been smart enough to direct Luffy’s attention to a different part of the cliff they had been walking past when Law and Ace noticed Zoro up ahead, Luffy’s first mate trying to get away. Most likely having been lost in trying to get everything ready - Ace and Law made sure the man was collected by Sanji before allowing Luffy to continue.
Happy for once that Luffy was easily distracted in times like this.
The next person they found waiting for them was a Red Haired man, and his green haired wife, a toddler in her arms.
At the sight of the woman all three of the ASL-brothers wrapped her up in their arms, careful of the child in her arms. Law on the other hand, while knowing who the woman was, hadn’t been introduced, so went and talked to Shanks, the other Captain grinning as the boys and Makino hugged, and she introduced them to Nawaki, their son.
Law hummed, “I think the Straw Hats went the extra mile for their Captain, then.”
Shanks nodded, “yeah, last time I checked everything was being prepared, until their swordsmen got lost - that happens often I believe.”
Law snorted, “we had to distract Luffy until Sanji, that’s the blond cook, could come and collect his boyfriend. It’s funny most of the times, and Zoro has the uncanny ability to pop up when there’s a fight going on or just about to start.”
Shanks just grinned, accepting a hug from all three of his pseudo-nephews when they finally let go of his wife. Grinning as they talked about what he had missed after Luffy’s coronation, or the last time he ran into Ace or Sabo.
Luffy was quick to introduce Law to Makino once he noticed his boyfriend standing there awkwardly, not sure what to say to the woman who had essentially raised his lover, but had never been introduced to.
The green haired woman just smiled and nodded, not saying anything, but a part of Law told him that it wasn’t Shanks, Ace or Sabo he needed to be afraid of in the event that he would hurt Luffy (not that he intended to do that).
Caught up, they followed Luffy as the Straw Hat Captain followed the red string once more, knowing and hearing the sounds up ahead. which indicated the end was near, which was also seen on Luffy’s face, as his smile got wider with every step he took.
When a shape came out of the trees, the people around took a step back as Usopp held his hands over his captain’s eyes and lead him the last few steps - making sure the younger man (even if it way only by a month) couldn’t peek.
When the mystery was revealed to the young captain, it was to show a bugged style feast set out - Sanji, Lucky Roo, Pinguin and Thatch in the back of the clearing still cooking (and knowing the four of them were turning it into a competition).
The stars in Luffy’s eyes only grew as he started to recognize all the people waiting for him there, which consisted of every member of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, their allies (including the Red Haired Pirates, the new-Whitebeard Pirates, the Revolutionary Army, the Kuja Pirates and the new-Marines).
He started running around, talking to everyone at once, and greeting those he hadn’t seen in a long time.
All in all, it had been a great mystery quest, which ended with Luffy finding the party they had started in his honor for his coronation to Pirate King, and for his 21st Birthday.