Embrace

Hancock and Luffy continued their date without knowing that they were being followed by their family. 

"Am I clinging on you too much, Luffy?" 

Hancock asked while holding on to Luffy's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. 

"Nah, I don't mind." 

Luffy brought his face down to her head. 

"I like the smell of your hair, Hancock." 

Hancock sprung up and looked at him with a red face. 

"Could you not smell me, please?" 

"Why not?" 

Luffy brought his face close to hers. 

"I love how you smell." 

Her eyes started spinning in her head. 

"T-Thank you." 

Hancock tried to compose herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and Luffy's were merely a few inches away. His face was right in front of her. Hancock didn't say anything, the sound of her racing heartbeat did all the talking. 

"Luffy..." 

She softly called his name and closed her eyes. 

"Brrr! Brrr! Brrr!" 

She opened her eyes after hearing a ring. The ringing came from the inside of Luffy's shirt. 

"Sorry, Hancock." 

Luffy dug into his shirt and took out a small Transponder Snail. He answered. 

"My name is Monkey D Luffy and I'll be King of Pirates!" 

"I know it's you, Luffy. I gave you the snail remember?" 

"Oh, Nami. What's up?" 

(Nami? You mean his navigator?) 

A slight frown appeared on Hancock's face. 

"Where are you? It's time to return to the ship to prepare for the race." 

"It's time for the race already?!" 

Luffy's eyes were sparkling. 

"Yeah, the others are back already. Even Zoro, although Chopper looked like he almost died trying to bring him back. Anyway, you're the only one left, so come back." 

"I'm on my way!" 

"Hurry up and don't get yourself in trouble." 

The call cut off and Luffy placed the Transponder Snail in his shirt. 

"Luffy, are you leaving?" 

Hancock asked with a soft tone. 

"Yup. It's time for the race. I gotta make sure I beat Jaggy and others to the treasure." 

"I see..." 

Hancock's face became downcast for a moment before she smiled. 

"Have fun." 

Luffy looked at her for a bit and got closer to her face. He lifted his right hand to her forehead. 

"Huh?" 

He flicked her forehead with his finger. 

"Ow!" 

She looked at Luffy with confused eyes. Luffy said nothing and just stared at her. After a while, she looked down at the ground. 

"I don't want you to go." 

She mumbled. 

"Why?" 

"Because I don't want to be apart from you....However, you must go." 

"Why? You just said you didn't want me to go." 

"....If I stopped you I would hate myself for denying you something that makes you happy." 

She looked up at him. 

"I don't want you to go, but I want you to be happy more....Because I love you." 

"I see. That's pretty complicated." 

"Love is complicated." 

"I guess you're right." 

Luffy grinned. He leaned forward and locked his lips with hers. 

"?!" 

Hancock's body froze. 

(Eh? What?....Eh?) 

Her brain was unable to comprehend what was happening. It took her some time to recognize the soft sensation on her lips. 

(Luffy is kissing me! I'm not the one who kissed him, he's kissing me!) 

Her heart started racing and her palms became sweaty. She slowly lifted her hands and wrapped her arms around Luffy's back. She pulled him in closer and started kissing him back. 

*Bam* *Bam* 

Explosions erupted behind them as fireballs flew into the air and exploded forming flowers and hearts in the sky. 

"Huh? Fireworks?" 

Luffy looked away at the sky. 

"Did the race start alread—?!" 

Hancock turned his face back to her and locked lips with him again. She slowly moved her head back and looked at Luffy with a seductive allure and a passionate gaze. 

"I don't care about that right now." 

She leaned into him and locked lips again. Meanwhile— 

"Sabo, calm down!" 

Koala was holding onto Sabo's leg and trying to get him to sit back down. 

"Hahaha! Way to go, Luffy!" 

Sabo was laughing while firing fireballs into the air. 

"Wow, Sister really is aggressive." 

Sonia mumbled while watching her sister kiss Luffy. 

"More like she's thirsty as hell." 

Gloriosa mumbled. 

"Granny, will we need to step in again like the last time?" 

Marie whispered in Gloriosa's ear. 

"....Nah, Luffy looks like he has things under control this time." 

She stood up. 

"Alright, now that we confirmed the date was a success, let's go." 

She smiled. 

"It would be in bad taste to spy on them in such an intimate moment." 

She started walking away and the sisters followed behind her. 

"Come on, Sabo." 

Koala started dragging Sabo away who was still laughing joyfully. 

"Hahaha! Do you see this, Ace? The little crybaby became a man." 

He took one last look at Luffy and whispered— 

"I wish you all the happiness in the world, Luffy." 

Luffy and Hancock continued to kiss on the bench. Their hands ran up and down each other's backs. Their tongues battle for supremacy in their mouths. The breaths harmonized as their bodies pressed into each other as if trying to become one. The two lay all their feelings bare without saying a word. They communicated not as man and woman, but as soulmates who desired everything from each other. In that moment, the two hearts truly became one. 

After nearly 10 minutes of continuous kissing and embracing, the two's bodies finally parted. 

"......." 

"......" 

They looked at each other in silence with rigid breaths and flushed faces. They smiled and rested their foreheads together and looked into each other's eyes. 

"I gotta go." 

Luffy broke the silence first. 

"I know. Have fun." 

Hancock spoke with a smile. Luffy nodded. 

"I will." 

They moved their heads back and stood up. 

"Will you cheer for me?" 

"Like my life depends on it." 

Luffy grinned. 

"Then, I'm off." 

Hancock nodded. 

"See you later." 

Luffy took one last look at her before he started running. 

"I better hurry before Nami gets mad!" 

He quickly disappeared from Hancock's sight who was waving. 

"So, I take it the date was a success." 

Gloriosa appeared at her side moments. Hancock didn't look at her and only nodded. Gloriosa smiled. 

"I'm glad." 

Hancock looked at her and saw her slowly reverting to her real appearance. 

"I'm glad your love came true. You deserve it." 

"........" 

Hancock silently looked at her and placed her hand on top of her head. 

"Hey, what are you doing? I'm trying to be serious here." 

"Granny." 

"Hm?" 

Hancock smiled at Elder Nyon. 

"Tell me about the man you love and all the memories you made together." 

Elder Nyon's eyes widened. She looked at Hancock for a bit before smiling. 

"It's a long story." 

"Don't worry, I'm in a good mood. I'll listen to the end." 

"...Alright." 

The two walked as Elder Nyon spoke of her youth. They soon regrouped with Hancock's sisters and the rest of the Kuja Pirates. Together they all watched the Treasure Hunt and cheered on Luffy and his crew. 

Shortly after, the main event of the festival, Douglas Bullet, had made his move.