New Flavor

Inside their new love nest, Hancock was sitting in front of a timid Luffy.

She had found some medical herbs and treated his wounds.

'I'm glad I was taught all trades of the country in order to become a worthy empress. If it wasn't for that, Luffy might've died.'

Hancock sighed in relief when she thought that.

After his wounds were treated Luffy separated himself from Hancock in a hurry, and sat in a corner by himself. He held head down most of the time, but would peek at her every now and then. It was like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to look at her, and turned away every time their eyes met.

"Cute."

That was all Hancock said while enjoying the timid Luffy's actions.

This was the first time Hancock as ever seen Luffy act like this and found it strangely refreshing.

"Luffy."

Luffy's body flinched when Hancock. He slowly lifted his head to look at her.

"Y-Yes."

'I just want to hug him!'

"A-Are you hungry? If you like, I could go get some food for us."

"N-No, you don't have to trouble you."

'He's rejecting food?! How strong is that flower?!'

Hancock was shocked that Luffy denied food since she knows that he was always eating.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes."

Hancock frantically got closer to Luffy, he constantly tried to distance himself from her until his back hit the wall.

Seeing that she was frightening Luffy, she stepped back.

'This is a problem. The current Luffy is cute, but he can't survive on this island. The flower's effects last for up to at least 3 days, so Luffy will be defenseless during that time.'

Hancock looked at Luffy, who once again sat in the corner fidgeting. Seeing him like that tingled something in Hancock's heart.

'I have no choice. I'll protect the cute Luffy from all dangers!'

What tingled was her maternal instincts. The current Luffy was the equivalent of a helpless child, which was something Hancock wasn't used to. It made her swell up with the desire to protect and hold him tight. Hancock approached Luffy with a strange vigor. Her breathing was heavy, her eyes shone a dangerous light, and her mouth was watering.

She looked like a predator preparing to sink her teeth into her prey.

"Ekk!"

Luffy who was faced with such a Hancock looked like he was searching for a means to escape.

'Ah. I'm scaring him. I got to calm down.'

Hancock realized her mistake and fixed her posture.

'This situation reminds me of a conversation I once had with Granny...'

Hancock recalled a time when she was alone with Elder Nyon in her throne room.

"Snake Princess, how would you feel if Luffy wasn't as strong-willed as he is?"

"What's with the sudden interrogation, old woman? Has life already become meaningless for you? If so, you're always welcome to play with the panther"

"Can't you go one day without threatening to feed me to the panther?!"

"Why are you suddenly probing into my love life? It can't be, are you trying to steal Luffy from me?!"

"How did a simple question result in man stealing?!"

Elder Nyon sighed and then continued.

"It's important. It could help improve your relationship with Luffy."

"I-Is that so? ....I like Luffy for many reasons. His strong will is of course one of them."

"As I expected. Snake Princess, you're the type that likes to be dominated by your lover."

"D-Dominated? I'm not an animal you know! "

"I didn't mean it like that. Strong will women are always proud and dignifying. Because of that, a lot of them tend to always get what they want. Take you for example."

"What's wrong with me getting what I want? I'm beautiful after all."

Hancock spoke proudly.

"There's nothing wrong with that. But, you have to admit getting everything you wanted was a bit boring from time to time."

".....Well, that's true."

"That's why, when you met Luffy, who was the first man to oppose you in a long time, you couldn't help but fall in love with him. That and, he showed you and your sisters kindness even though you tried to kill him."

"I-I won't deny that."

"There's a stereotype that all strong-willed women want a man who can dominate them. However, there are strong-willed women who fell for someone weaker than them because of their desire to protect."

"What are you implying, granny?"

"I'm just curious. What if Luffy wasn't as strong-willed, but showed you the same kindness he did before? Would you still have fallen for him?"

At that time, Hancock didn't answer immediately; but this time she was certain.

'A timid Luffy is also great! Either way, I would've fallen for him! We're soul mates after all.'

Hancock thought to herself as she enjoyed the new flavor of Luffy.

"I'm sorry if I scared you just now."

Hancock stood up and walked towards the cave's entrance.

"Y-You're leaving?"

"I'm just going to get something eat."

"B-But I said I'm not hungry...."

"I know, I'm getting something for myself. So, don't worry I'll be back soon."

Hancock somewhat figured out how Luffy's current personality works. If she's too pushy, he'll distance himself from her. So, she needs to make him open up at his own pace.

"If I see anything you might like, I'll bring it back for you."

Saying that she left the cave.

Of course, Hancock wasn't going to gather food for herself. It was for Luffy. The current Luffy has a reserved personality, so he'll decline if she outright told him she's going to get food for him. So, she used the guise of getting food for herself to gather food for him.

A few minutes later, Hancock returned with a huge of food that could barely fit in the cave.

She was sweating, which was a sign that she had hurried to gather them. Hancock casually sat beside Luffy with the huge sack of food beside her.

She took up fruit and started eating it, without saying anything to Luffy.

"Mhm~"

Hancock looked happy every time she took a bite.

She could tell that Luffy was looking at her with his mouth-watering. When Hancock looked at him, he quickly looked away. Hancock thought his behavior was adorable. She felt like she wanted to tease him.

Hancock didn't realize it, but there was a switch in their relationship. Hancock became the aggressive one, and Luffy became the timid one. It was a complete change from their usual roles.

"Luffy, are you sure you don't want any? It will help your wounds heal, you know."

Hancock spoke with a teasing tone.

"N-No, I don't want to bother you."

"I see."

Hancock finished eating and stood up.

"Then I'm throwing away the rest."

"Eh?"

"I'm full, and you said you don't need any. So, of course I'm going to throw it away."

"W-Wait, it's not like it's spoiled or anything."

"That's true. It's a waste to just threw it away."

"R-Right, right. "

Luffy had a desperate look on his face, which made Hancock smile teasingly.

"I know. I'll feed it to the beasts."

"Eh?!"

Hancock took up the sack of food and turn her back, and tried to exit the cave.

"Wait!"

But, Luffy blocked Hancock's path by stretching his arms wide apart.

"I'll eat it! I'll eat it! There's no way I'm letting you waste so much food on those monsters!"

All of his timidness disappeared in an instant, and his true nature had temporarily surfaced.

"If you insist that much, then okay. But only on one condition."

"Condition?"

"H-How is it , Luffy? Comfortable, right?"

"Yeah."

Hancock was sitting in one corner of the cave, and Luffy was eating fruits while his head was resting in Hancock's lap.

It was a lap pillow.

The condition that Hancock propose, was that Luffy rested his head on her lap while he eat. Her intention was to tease him, but Luffy immediately accepted her offer. Thus resulting in the current situation.

'T-This is bad! I didn't expect him to agree to it with his current personality! Oh no, my heart is beating too fast!'

She had unintentionally cornered herself.

She looked down at Luffy, but he didn't seem to mind the Lap pillow. He was too engrossed in eating.

'I overdid it! I teased him too much because he was so cute! Now, I'm the one who's embarrassed! I knew I shouldn't have done something I'm not used to!'

Hancock was panicking in her head about the situation she herself created. She was panicking, but she didn't regret it. Hancock felt like got closer to Luffy. Even though he was under the effects of a flower, she still enjoyed being with him. And it looked like Luffy felt the same way.

Well, at the moment at least.

Thinking that, Hancock began to miss the original Luffy. She liked teasing him, but deep down she prefers to be the timid one. She loves Luffy the most when he's assertive and strong-willed. That's the reason why in her fantasies she always to submits to an assertive Luffy.

'Looks like Granny was right.'

Deep down Hancock wanted to be dominated by Luffy. She wanted to become his, and only his. She wanted him to force his will on her, but Luffy wouldn't do that that's why she fell in love with him.

Kind and Strong-willed. That's the Luffy she fell in love with.

"Hm?"

While Hancock was thinking that, she realized Luffy had fallen asleep.

"He must be tired. After everything that happened today."

Hancock took a glance outside and realized the sun had already set. Hancock herself didn't feel sleepy yet, in fact, her heart was still beating fast with Luffy's head in her lap. However, she decided to let him remind the way he was.

Hancock spent her third night with Luffy, watching him sleep until she fell asleep herself. To her that alone was bliss.