Chapter 12: Until Then

Disclaimer: One Piece is still not mine.

Song of the Day: Cancer by MCR

*Many thanks to Ghost of the Moonlight for suggesting a better title!*

It was the morning after Hadley had launched her attack on the Thousand Sunny. The dark, hopeless aura that the ship had given off finally lifted when their captain had rose from his coma. However, being the man he was, he had overexerted himself and fainted once again, falling back against his swordsman. His crew was ecstatic, for lack of a better word. Their captain may be a loud-mouthed, thickheaded idiot but… that was what made him so great. As soon as their captain's eyes had opened and Kooper was sent flying, the Straw Hats had taken their first step to returning to their old selves.

The smell of fresh herbs and spices rose from the kitchen as Sanji prepared a monstrous feast for his captain. The man hadn't eaten in two weeks, and the blonde chef knew that after meal, not a single crumb would remain. Usopp was preparing an exciting tale to tell him when he was back on his feet. The tale would detail the great Captain Usopp's brave leadership of the crew in Luffy's absence, of course! Nami was tending to her mikans. As soon as Luffy was well again, she owed him a punch for making her worry so much. Robin was still quiet. Not much had changed in that aspect. But for the first time in two weeks, the crew had seen her smile sincerely again. Franky was repairing the Kooper-shaped whole in the wall. In Luffy's absence, there had been significantly less damage to the ship. Strangely enough, the huge cyborg had never been happier to repair his destroyed ship. Brook had exchanged his sorrowful songs for cheerful, celebration music. He even got a few chuckles out of the crew with his skull jokes.

Then there was Chopper and Zoro. The two had taken the brunt of the accident. Now, they were waiting loyally in the infirmary. Chopper was doing last minute examinations, but at this point, he was hardly worried. The soft snores of the captain ensured that he was in a peaceful sleep. Another set of snores mingled with the raven-haired captain's. Zoro leaned back in his chair, catching up on much-needed rest. The green-haired man looked at ease for the first time in two weeks… It was a shame that it wasn't meant to last.

"Gah! I'm starving," The Straw Hat captain had woken up and was now looking around wildly. "Hat… Hat… Where's my hat?"

At the sudden exclamation, Chopper and Zoro had practically jumped out of their skins. The swordsman rubbed his eyes wearily and frowned. When he realized that the reason he woke up was due to Luffy, the frown gave way to a slight smile. Chopper dropped what he was doing and hurriedly hopped up onto the bed to give his captain a long-overdue hug. Luffy cocked his head in confusion.

"You're so noisy when you wake up," Zoro grumbled, his voice dripping with exhaustion. He reached over for his captain's hat and tossed it over to him. Luffy nestled it onto his head and smiled.

"Ahh! Thank you, Zoro," he chirped happily.

He was about to say something else when a familiar, robotic face peeked through the door.

"Luffy-bro! You're awake!"

"Luffy's awake?"

Several excited murmurs rose from the deck and soon, all of the Straw Hats had poured into the infirmary. A huge grin was plastered over Luffy's face as he steadied himself into a more comfortable position. Nami pushed through her fellow crew mates and a subtle tension crackled in the air as they waited to see what she would do. Ignoring Chopper's warnings, the orange-haired navigator drew her fist back and landed a punch to her captain's head.

"Uwahh. What did I do?" Luffy pouted, rubbing the slowly forming bump.

"Do you know how hard these past two weeks have been for us, you idiot?" she growled. However, the spreading smile on her lips betrayed her emotions and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a warm embrace.

"Wha? Two weeks? That's…" He stopped to count. "I missed 70 meals! SANJI!"

"Already on it, Captain," the blonde laughed, taking a long drag on his cigarette. He retreated to the kitchen once more. His captain was a genius when it came to calculating lost meals. But when it came to other things… not so much.

"Can you worry about something other than your stomach for once?" Nami scowled, releasing her hug to put her hands on her hips. She gave him a disgruntled growl.

"Ahh, did anything happen while I was sleeping?" Luffy asked.

"You should know! You sent that guy that was trying to kill you flying!"

"That jerk I punched was trying to kill me?" he exclaimed in utter shock. The Straw Hats facepalmed; except for Robin, who simply chuckled at her captain's naivety. A half hour of laughter and story-telling passed and the initial excitement of Luffy's awakening finally began to calm down. The Straw Hats dispersed over the deck to tend to their duties. A new sense of relief had washed over them and gave them a renewed sense of motivation.

Luffy, however, was still cooped up in the infirmary. His stomach and leg were bandaged heavily. If it were up to him, he would be up out of the stuffy room and on the figurehead. Doctor's orders demanded bed rest however. He had tried to make a break for it several times, but found walking to be somewhat difficult. The muscles in his leg were still healing from the sea king incident. Being immobile for two weeks didn't help his cause either. On top of all that, he was starving and dinner wasn't ready yet. The Straw Hat captain pouted with all his might.

He found himself missing his brothers already. As he tried to reflect back on the two days he had spent with his brothers, the memories appeared foggy and blurred. The subtle ache in his chest grew along with his frustrations. He felt oddly alone without his brothers to watch over him.

Luffy's thoughts were disrupted by an approaching figure. He looked up to see Zoro holding out his hand. The captain grabbed on and was heaved up to his feet. Luffy leaned against the swordsman awkwardly to support himself. He hobbled out onto the deck with a grin on his face. The scent of warm food drew him in. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough to stand on his own and he slowly made his way over to the door of the dining hall. When he pushed through, he saw his crew happily gathered around the table. As his eyes took in the relieved, fun-loving smiles of his nakama, all of the negative feelings that had condensed in his chest evaporated.

He didn't have his brothers to watch over him anymore. But he realized that it was his turn to watch over someone now. He had made a promise to each member of his crew at the beginning of their voyage. As their captain, it was his job to make sure that all of their dreams were to come true.

Zoro will be the world's greatest swordsman. Nami will draw a map of the world. Usopp will become a great warrior of the sea. Sanji will find All Blue. Chopper will find a cure for the incurable. Robin will uncover the true history. Franky and the Thousand Sunny will sail the whole world. Brooke would reunite with Laboon.

And Luffy…?

He will become the Pirate King, return his infamous straw hat to his idol and then he would go back and tell his brothers all about it.

But until then… he had a vast sea of adventure just begging to be conquered.

The end...!

This chapter was so frustrating. *headdesk*

I couldn't think of how to end it. And I'm not sure how I feel towards this ending. It's short, but like I said before, this chapter's purpose was to simply wrap things up. So don't be surprised if I rewrite this someday when I get better at writing. X3

ANYWAYS… Now that this story is over, I'm going to work on a new one! I've been working on a story idea with Ace, Luffy and Zoro. It would be an AU story. It could be fun! But nothing is set in stone yet! So if there's anything you'd like to see me write about, please tell me about it! I'll take all the suggestions I can get.

Thank you guys for following along my first multi-chapter fanfic with me! You have no idea how awesome all of your reviews made me feel. c':

BrokenBridges: hehe yep! I may be mean, but I'm not mean enough to kill Luffy off after all that he went through! X3

CheekySorceror: OH YEAHH. /fistbump/ c:

TheSilverCircle: Thanks so much! :)

Saskie: Thanks! :D That's the mix of emotions I was aiming for so I'm glad to hear that I pulled it off well!

SilverRainFalls: I've had that punch planned for a while now! I just couldn't imagine Luffy having a boring awakening. He had to punch someone~!

Ntkit: Ahh, I'm so glad you've enjoyed my story! Seeing as this was my first multi-chapter, it means a lot! C:

Vivichu: That's a relief hehe! xD And ahh, I'm one of someone's favorite authors. That made my day! Thank you. c':

Ghost of the Moonlight: Thanks again for helping with the title! This one fits so much better.

BaconRainbow: hehe thank you! :D

Sess18: I don't want to say I'm glad that I brought tears to your eyes but I'm excited that I got the emotion I wanted through. Hehe. Did that make any sense? xD