A/N: For the 20 Years at Sea event on Tumblr, Day 16: Love (cross-posted). Maybe I might get around to doing a chapter for the rest of them. Maybe.

Straw-Hat Love

For Luffy love was a soft touch in his hair and thin but strong arms carrying him out of a barroom, upstairs to a bed that was always set up for him to nap on. It was a strong punch, a loud gruff laugh and hammering that fixed the walls someone had crashed through, even though there was a door right there.

It was tales of the sea and the smell of booze, the singing and the patience with a little brat who looked up to them for their freedom. It was a loud lazy laugh, a missing arm and a straw hat left in his care with a promise to meet again.

It was the constant yelling to do the chores that had been set for him, and the bandages that were handed to them when they came back covered in blood and bruises.

It was yells that came when he got himself eaten by their prey, the sleeping in a pile on top of each other and the tears when one of them was lost to flame and sea. It was the constant sparing he couldn't win, the constant teasing that he was so weak.

Love was the snoring on deck, the willingness to jump into a fight behind him, the steady step not far behind him on adventures and the sword that came between the blade coming at him and himself. It was in the tangerines, the yelling and hitting when he did something stupid, the constant traveling in the right direction. It was the stories told loudly, some lies, some truths, and the accurate shot from a slingshot just when it was most needed. It was the kick to the head out of the kitchen, then the meat thrown after him. It was the presence sitting at the side of a bed as he healed after a particularly tough fight, and the quiet facts that none of them would have thought about given when they most needed them. It was the constant attention to the ship that was their home and the music filling the space as it was most needed.

Luffy didn't say that he loved people often, he liked it better when love was shown.