╔══ஓ⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ ꒰ ᧔♱᧓ ꒱⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔⏔ஓ══╗
♱) ̊⋆+ᛝ⨍ꫀׁׅܻ ꩇׁׅ݊ɑׁׅ֮ᥣׁׅ֪ꫀׁׅܻ ℘ᨵׁׅ᥎꫶ׁׅᛝ+⋆ ̊)♱

♱)⋆ᛝ ᥣׁׅ֪ꪱׁׅꪀׁׅƙׁׅ֑꯱ׁׅ֒ ᛝ⋆)♱

. ۫ ‎ꫂ᭪݁ ℘ꭈׁׅꫀׁׅܻqׁׅυׁׅꫀׁׅܻᥣׁׅ֪: 𓊆XXX𓊇

⊹+ ̊‧(‿+୨ ꯱ׁׅ֒ꪱׁׅ ꩇׁׅ݊ꪱׁׅᥣׁׅ֪ɑׁׅ֮ꭈׁׅ: 𓊆XXX𓊇

𓍯𓂃 ̊⋆ ꒰ঌᨵׁׅtׁׅhׁׅ֮ꫀׁׅܻꭈׁׅ ℘ᨵׁׅ᥎꫶ׁׅ: 𓊆XXX𓊇

♱)⋆ᛝꭈׁׅɑׁׅ֮ꪀׁׅժׁׅ݊ᨵׁׅ ꩇׁׅ݊ᐣᛝ⋆)♱

Monkey D. Luffy ♱

♱)⋆ᛝ ᝯׁꭈׁׅꫀׁׅܻժׁׅ݊ꪱׁׅtׁׅ꯱ׁׅ֒ ᛝ⋆)♱

✦ by @PrettyLittleVampire

ᛝ))♱))♱))♱))♱))ᛝ

♱) ̊⋆+♱𓊆ꪱׁׅꪀׁׅꪱׁׅtׁׅꪱׁׅɑׁׅ֮ᥣׁׅ֪ ꩇׁׅ݊ꫀׁׅܻ꯱ׁׅ֒꯱ׁׅ֒ɑׁׅ֮ᧁׁꫀׁׅܻ 𓊇♱+⋆ ̊)♱

ᛝ))♱))♱))♱))♱))ᛝ

Evening arrived softly, like honey poured over the city.

The sky was a low, bruised lavender when you returned from work, keys heavy in your palm, shoulders carrying the quiet fatigue of hours spent being someone dependable. The apartment complex breathed its usual rhythms distant traffic sighing, someone’s television murmuring through thin walls, the hum of fluorescent lights flickering awake for the night. It was all so ordinary that you almost missed him.

Almost.

He was crouched near the stairwell, long limbs folded with careless grace, as if gravity itself had learned to compromise around him. Dark hair, tousled and sun-wild despite the concrete world, brushed his eyes as he leaned forward, wholly absorbed. He wore a loose red hoodie worn soft, sleeves pushed to his forearms paired with faded blue jeans and scuffed sneakers that looked like they had known many roads. A straw hat, unmistakable even here, hung from a cord at his back like a relic misplaced in time.

Monkey D. Luffy had arrived in the modern world dressed as if comfort mattered more than impression, as if joy itself were his only fashion.

You slowed without meaning to.

He hadn’t noticed you yet. His attention was fixed on something small, alive, cradled gently between his hands. His posture was reverent in a way that startled you this tall, broad shouldered stranger bent low, smiling like a child entrusted with a secret.

You reached your door, keys chiming softly.

That was when he looked up.

His eyes were bright dark, round, open in a way that felt disarming, almost dangerous. Not sharp or appraising, but curious, welcoming, as though the world had just handed him a new friend and he was delighted by the possibility.

“Oh!” he said, rising to his full height in one easy motion. “Hey!”

His voice carried warmth, unguarded and sincere, like sunlight through an open window.

You hesitated, then gestured toward him, toward whatever he was holding. “Sorry.... um. I didn’t mean to stare. I just... what are you doing?”

He grinned, wide and brilliant, as if you’d asked him the best question he’d heard all day.

“Check this out!”

He stepped closer, closing the distance without any sense of intrusion, and opened his hands.

A beetle rested there large, glossy, its shell catching the hallway light like polished obsidian streaked with amber. It shifted slightly, antennae twitching, alive and patient.

Your breath caught.

“I found it by the vending machines,” he continued proudly. “Can you believe that? In a place like this! It’s awesome, right?”

There was no irony in his voice. No self-consciousness. Just pure wonder.

You laughed before you could stop yourself soft, surprised. “You were... just holding it?”

“Yeah!” He nodded. “I think it was stuck. But it’s okay now. See? It’s strong.”

He let the beetle crawl from one hand to the other, careful, gentle, as if his own strength bent instinctively around fragile things. Watching him, you felt something inside you loosen, melt, soften like the slow, syrupy warmth of a song that sinks beneath the skin before you realize it’s playing.

“I’m Luffy,” he added suddenly, as if remembering manners were a delightful afterthought. “I just moved in. Over there.” He pointed vaguely down the hall. “Top floor. The stairs are fun.”

You gave him your name, still watching the beetle, still absorbing the strange calm he carried with him. Up close, you noticed the faint scars one beneath his eye, another hinted beneath his hoodie where the fabric dipped. They spoke of battles, of survival, but his smile spoke louder.

“That’s a cool job smell,” he said thoughtfully, tilting his head. “Like coffee and paper and... tired.”

You blinked. Then laughed again, fuller this time.

He beamed, clearly pleased.

For a moment, neither of you moved. The hallway seemed to hush around you, as if granting the scene its privacy. The beetle crawled back onto the wall, disappearing into shadow, its purpose fulfilled.

Luffy watched it go with a satisfied nod.

“See?” he said quietly. “Even cities have little adventures.”

Something about that settled into your chest slow, sweet, inevitable. Like warmth spreading from the center outward. Like a song humming low and intimate, all softness and glow, the kind that makes even exhaustion feel gentle.

You unlocked your door at last, but before stepping inside, you looked back at him.

“Well,” you said, “welcome to the building.”

He smiled not loud this time, but easy, content. “Thanks. I think I’m gonna like it here.”

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