Operation Love Boat!

After retrieving his strawhat and saying his goodbyes, Luffy left the island with the Kuja Pirates.

"Man, I can't wait to get to Sabody and meet up with everybody."

He was sitting on top of one of the snakes pulling the ship.

"I wonder how much everyone changed. Maybe Zoro learned 6 sword style, Nami learned how to fly with her staff thingy, Sanji can summon food out of thin air, or Chopper can turn into a human. Wait, what if Franky can turn into a giant robot?!"

His eyes were sparkling.

"Man, I can't wait!"

"Ah, Luffy~."

Hancock was on the deck goggling at him with heart eyes.

"He looks so dreamy up there."

It's been a while, so let's show what Hancock was seeing compared to everyone else.

"Ah~."

Handsome Luffy sat gracefully on the head of one of the snakes. He let out a sigh as he looked out at the open sea.

"My friends, I long for the day we cross paths once again."

The other snake, who for some reason was looking majestic, brought its head up to Luffy and rubbed its face against his. Luffy chuckled and pet the snake.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure they're alright and can't wait to see me."

He looked out at the ocean with the two snakes with an air of mystery.

"Don't worry guys, your captain is coming and he's bringing his wife with him."

"Wife~."

Hancock pressed her hands on her flushed cheeks as her body wiggled. In reality-

"Hey, Snake. You guys must be strong to pull this ship. What do you say, you want to spar?"

Luffy wrapped his arm around one of the snakes and was clearly harassing it to the dismay of the girls. The girls were able to convince Luffy to leave the snakes alone and returned to the deck.

"Snake Princess, could you keep Luffy company so he won't cause any trouble?"

Elder Nyon asked with an exhausted expression.

"You want me to spend time alone with Luffy?"

"Yes, since you've done so many times before there shouldn't be a problem."

"But..."

Hancock bashfully looked away.

"That's so sudden. I need to prepare myself mental—"

"Hey, Luffy!"

Elder Nyon cut Hancock off. Luffy looked at her with a confused expression.

"What's up, Granny?"

"Hancock says she wants to give you a tour of the ship and show you some cool places."

Luffy's face brightened up.

"Really?!"

Luffy ran up to Hancock and held her hand.

"Ekk!"

He ignored her screeching and pulled her along.

"Let's go!"

Elder Nyon and the girls watched as Luffy dragged the statue formerly known as Boa Hancock away. They could hear it scrapping the wooden as he pulled it.

"Haa~. For a woman who talks about marriage and kids all the time, she sure freezes up when it comes to action."

She looked at Sonia and Marie.

"Alright, from this moment forward we're commencing Operation: Love Boat. You girls are to try and get those two alone as much as possible. Don't ignore Luffy too much to make him feel isolated but try to make him rely on the Snake Princess as much as possible. Also, if you see her being too passive try to find ways to force them to be together. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

The Kuja Pirates saluted Elder Nyon before scattering.

"Alright, Snake Princess. The stage is all yours."

Luffy dragged Hancock to the rear of the ship. That's when she revived and realized her situation.

"So what are you going to show me?"

Luffy was up in her face looking at her with sparkling eyes.

(Keep calm, Hancock. You can't keep dying and coming back alive so frequently.)

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

(You're a captain and you're on your ship. You need to have dignity.)

She slowly opened up them and looked at Luffy's face. His eyes sparkled like black diamonds, his hair gracefully danced in the sea breeze, and his face put most gods to shame.

(... Dignity was overrated anyway.)

Hancock thought as her eyes turned into hearts.

"Hancock?"

"Yes, My Husband."

"What are you going to show me?"

"Ah, yes. S-Sorry about that."

She finally regained her senses.

"Luffy, did you know this ship is almost a hundred years old?"

"Really? That's older than Brook, I think."

Hancock nodded.

"This ship has been used by the previous generations of Kuja Pirates and Empresses. For the Kuja, it's like a symbol of our power as well as a second home."

"Then it's your version of the Sunny."

"Your ship? I guess so."

Hancock's eyes light up.

"Do you think I can ride on your ship one day?"

"Sure, I don't see why not? I'm sure my friends would love you."

"Ha! Then does that mean I'll have their approval to be your wife?"

"I don't know about all that but I'm sure they'll like you."

"Yes!"

Hancock aggressively clenched her fists.

"I'm a step closer. All I need now is to meet your family and get their approval."

She entered deep thought.

"I can probably meet Vice-Admiral Garp using my Warlord status, but meeting Dragon will be tricky....What if I joined the Revolutionary Army?"

If Elder Nyon had heard her she would've unsubscribed from life right then and there.

"Oh, Luffy. What about your mother?"

"Mother? I don't have one. I mean, I didn't know I had a dad."

"Really?"

"...No, that's wrong."

Luffy showed Hancock a huge smile.

"She's not my mom but I have someone who was like that. Her name is Dadan, she raised me and Ace until we set out to sea."

"Do you miss her?"

"Yeah."

Luffy leaned on the railing.

"But I'll go see her and everyone at Foosha Village after I finished adventuring."

He looked at her.

"You wanna come?"

Hancock's eyes widened. She pointed at herself with a trembling finger.

"Can I come?"

"Sure, why not? When I'm Pirate King I'm gonna meet up with everyone I met along the way. We're gonna party and laugh together. I intend to come visit you as well."

"You're gonna visit me?...Is it because you're gonna miss me?"

"Of course, I mean I missed you a lot when you left the island. I thought about our time together every day."

By this time, Hancock was redder than Luffy's shirt. Her eyes were spinning in her head and her face was hot.

"I-I missed you a lot too."

She mumbled without any confidence.

"I see. Then it's great we're together now right?"

Hancock shyly nodded. After much hesitation, she walked up to him and stood next to him.

"C-Can I meet this Dadan person if we go back to your hometown together?"

"Dadan? That's fine. I'm sure she'll be surprised though. Then again, she's pretty funny when surprised."

Luffy laughed but Hancock hung her head down. Her heart was starting to hurt from beating so fast.

"You should meet Makino too. Oh, and the Mayor. You should meet everyone, they're all like family to me."

"...I will."

She lifted her head and looked at him with a determined expression.

"I will meet them all, everyone who's important to you. I want to meet them and thank them for raising you so we could eventually meet."

Her face was a hot red but her expression didn't falter. Luffy nodded with a grin.

"I can't wait."

Her face relaxed and she smiled back.

"Me neither."

The two started laughing.

"......"

Not too far away from them, Elder Nyon was looking at them with her eyes popping out of her head and her jaw hitting the floor.

(I came to check on them because I was worried...)

She watched as Hancock spoke to Luffy with a relaxed smile.

(What the hell is going on here?! They're totally hitting off?!)

Elder Nyon was so confused she forgot to be happy her plan was succeeding.