There was the loud sound of Clover's purrs as she rubbed her head against your cheek. Her paws kneaded at your chest as she tried to wake you up.

It was a habit she'd gotten into when you lived with Killer. When she wanted out, she'd bother you until you chucked her outside.

"Jus' a minute baby...." You yawned.

She purred louder, happy to have you awake. You scratched at her chin absentmindedly, eyes still closed as you began to wake up.

The couch was surprisingly easy to fall asleep on, especially since it was positioned for you to easily see the closed door. If anyone had decided to pop in at any time, you would've been up and alert fast. But the crew had a good grasp on your need for privacy and alone time.

And that reminded you that the alone time wasn't supposed to drag on today, you'd agreed to starting yourself in on the Strawhat's usual work today. With a discontent groan, you sat up and opened your eyes. The blankets fell back and Clover jumped down to the floor to pace in front of the door, watching you expectantly.

"Clothes..." You murmured.

Your bag was at the foot of the couch and you dragged it over to begin going through your options. If it was a work day, you assumed it'd be safe to wear something you didn't mind getting dirty. If there was one thing the crew was good at, it was making any kind of job dirtier than what it actually needed to be but you had to hand it to them, they were good about putting their noses to the grindstone and getting their stuff done. You'd seen it in the past.

It didn't take you long to settle on your one pair of jeans and a purple shirt that would've fit Franky better than you. It hung off a shoulder and fell to your thighs but you were at least covered and if it was ruined beyond repair, you didn't care. After quickly dressing in case someone did decide to pop in, you put on the boots Zoro got you and headed to the door. They'd become your most comfortable footwear very fast and you were beginning to feel like they'd be your new favorites.

As soon as you opened the door seperating you from the rest of the crew, Clover darted out and you were greeted with the sight of Nami yelling obscenities at Luffy as she chased him down the hall, wearing nothing but a towel with her still damp hair up in a makeshift bun. Luffy looked like he was fearing for his life as he pushed past you into the library in a desperate attempt to escape her fury.

"Morning (Y/n)!" He greeted you in a moment of glee before once again gaining a look of concern as Nami tossed a sandal at his head.

"I swear I'll kill you for that Luffy!" As she passed you, she smiled brightly like nothing was wrong. "Sanji should have breakfast in the kitchen, help yourself."

And then she was back to shouting death threats to her boss as she snatched up her sandal to throw at him again.

You were too shocked by the scene to reply and instead closed the door, leaving them in the library to figure out their problems while you headed for the kitchen. Clover followed along, meowing noisily since you had yet to give in to her request. She'd probably only get more insistent until you let her out. She wasn't always so vocal but then again, she had easy access to the outside at your old place.

When you entered the kitchen, it was much more calm. Usopp and Chopper were sitting at the island, spinning side to side in their stools as they talked quietly. Sanji was cooking something up at the stove, humming to himself while he gnawed at the end of an unlit cigarette. Clover announced your presence with her constant meowing and everyone turned to greet you.

"Hey Doll!" Sanji was as cheery as he always was when a woman was involved. "Food isn't quite done but I can get you some tea or coffee."

"I could go for coffee but you look busy, I can take care of it myself."

"Sure, the pot's right over there and the mugs are in the cabinet above."

He wasn't surprised by you brushing off his offer to make you a cup. Robin and Nami didn't mind him catering to them but you never were fond of the same treatment. The only person you ever let do things like that for you was Killer and even then it took some getting used to.

Sanji went back to cooking while Usopp and Chopper went back to their conversation, though now half occupied with the cat weaving through your feet. You busied yourself at the coffee pot, pouring a cup of the dark liquid and topping it off with a bit of sugar. You took a tentative taste and though it was very bitter, it had good flavor.

"Alright Clover." You hummed. "I'll take you out."

The cat began to purr loudly as she led the way to the front door, her half tail raised as high in the air as it could go. She was smarter than she looked. You followed after at a leisurely pace, giving Robin and Brook a polite nod as they passed by on their way to the kitchen, telling you good morning.

It was strange to you how relaxed they all were but it made since after you'd agreed to give them time to convince you to stay. They weren't worried about you walking out on them.

Once you were at the front door, you peeked down at your cat and grinned at she nosed it gently. You swung it open and watched her dart outside to explore the new area. She'd be back by the time it got dark, you weren't worried. No other cat knew how to keep themself safe in the city like she did.

But you couldn't help but frown as she stopped at someone's feet and took a moment to rub up against their leg before continuing on her journey. It was awfully friendly, even for her and when you looked up, you figured out why.

"So it's true, you are back (Y/n)-ya." Law was walking up to the door confidently. Too confidently in your opinion.

"Nope." You immediately closed the door and took a casual sip of your coffee as you locked it.

Robin must have been close enough to hear your voice and her head popped out from around the corner. "Is someone here (Y/n)?"

Law knocked at the door aggressively. "You can't just lock me out (Y/n)-ya! Strawhat-ya and I still have an alliance you know!"

"No one important." You told Robin sweetly, ignoring Law.

She raised an eyebrow at you, trying and failing to hide an amused smirk. "Really? That sounds like Law out there."

"Yeah, I never agreed to getting grilled by him."

"Who says that's what he's here for?"

"Oh so he comes over for breakfast on the regular then?"

She let out a sigh.

"(Y/n)-ya!" Law was still insistent on the other side of the door. At least he wasn't trying to break it down.

"Go eat something, Sanji has omelettes made." She walked up to the door and gave you a quick pat on the shoulder. "I'll talk with him."

"Thanks." You brushed past, escaping to the kitchen that was about to become your refuge.

You had nothing against Law, he was always civil with you at the very least and even friendly on more than one occasion. But you just knew he came to make sure whoever already told him of your arrival wasn't pulling his leg and was planning on figuring out how things changed so much. You weren't in the mood to discuss the past with him or anyone else and you weren't about to argue with him over that.

"Who's at the door?" Chopper asked around a bite of food the second you entered the kitchen.

He and Usopp were kicking their feet contently as they ate. Franky had joined them while the rest seemed to be in the dining room. Sanji smiled at you as he put a plate down beside the blue haired man for you.

"Law." You clambered up into one of the last empty stools and put your mug down so that you could dig in.

"Was he here to see you?" Franky asked.

"Yep."

"Not interested in seeing him?"

"Nope."

Usopp squinted at you uncertainly. "Are you in a mood?'

"Nah, just don't want to deal with him this morning."

Franky chuckled. "No worries. You just got here and are still settling in, he can give you time for that."

"I'm glad someone understands." You hummed.

Breakfast was to die for and you were taking your time, enjoying every bite as the conversation shifted to what needed to be done for the day. Sanji sat down on the other side of you but kept to himself so you didn't fuss over his closeness. He mentioned needing to go shopping but you weren't keen on going into town for that. Usopp seemed fine with doing his work on his own and though he mentioned what he needed to do, it was obvious he wasn't looking for help. Chopper suggested you helping him with making some remedies as he had some herbs and medicines ready to prepare. You were seriously debating doing so as you felt more relaxed around the little reindeer than most of the crew, probably because he was the least threatening in more than one way, but Franky quickly interjected before you could agree to anything.

"Actually Doll, I thought it'd be super of you helped me out with some things on the Sunny."

"The hideout? I'm not exactly a handy person Franky." You glanced to the doorway leading to the front door when you noticed the steady rise and fall of hushed voices arguing- Robin and Law.

"Last I checked, you've never tried to be. Maybe you could learn something new." He tore your attention away from the uninvited houseguest with the suggestion. "Some of the systems downstairs have been a little off lately and I could use a second set of hands anyway."

"So you want me for repairs. Didn't anyone tell you terrorizing was my forte?"

"Just because it was all you did before doesn't mean it's all you're good at. Come on," He pat your back in a friendly manner that managed to jerk you forward with the force. He was as strong as he looked. "we'll make a good mechanic of you yet. Maybe even carpenter in the future."

You didn't want to, but you scarfed down the rest of your food quickly so that you could join Franky into the belly of the hideout. You still brought your coffee along with you to sip on as you worked. It'd probably be a big help for getting you through the day. On your way through the aquarium room, you caught sight of Law and Robin, still in the hall. Law looked very miffed that you weren't taking the time to deal with him and glared at the back of your head as you followed Franky around the aquarium to the two sets of stairs hidden behind it. One led up and the other went down.

He obviously went downstairs, as he'd stated you'd be going before, and you felt nothing but relief as you slipped out of Law's line of sight. Dealing with all these people you thought you'd left in the past was continuously stressing you out. But you decided that was something you could deal with later. Robin would chase him away and you'd possibly reach out to him when you damn well felt like it.

For now, you focused on taking in the basement of the Sunny. You'd actually never gone up or downstairs yet, all the important parts of the building were on the first floor as far as you were concerned. But the basement was interesting to say the least.

You weren't sure what Franky meant by the "systems" but you had a feeling it had something to do with the many machines that lined the walls and filled the center space. You couldn't tell what a single one did and the only identifiable thing in sight was a table full of tools in the back. Even with that you couldn't name the vast majority of what covered the table, you just knew they were tools.

"It may not look it but I have everything pretty organized." Franky said proudly as he pointed to everything on your left. "Everything on this side is for day to day living. We've got the water heater, gas, electric panel, and a few other things."

"Are we working on any of that stuff?"

"Nope." He hooked his thumb over to the other side. "Here we have the special stuff. This is all our battle systems."

"I'm sorry, battle systems?"

He grinned widely. "We've never shown you before huh? Yeah, the Sunny is tougher than it looks! It's equipped with some super cannons, among other things."

"....Cannons, the building has cannons."

He laughed heartily as he stopped at one particular machine, pulling the metal panel off its front to reveal the mess of wires and parts inside.

"Aren't cannons a little outdated?"

"Usually I'd say yes but they're very effective in the event of a major attack. If you want to check one out, there's a door over there, it leads to the outer hall surrounding the Sunny. All it's cannons line it."

He pointed to a single, unassuming door wedged between a couple of machines. It was easy to miss, which explained why you hadn't seen it yet. And of course you couldn't ignore the need to check and see if he was telling the truth or just pulling your leg to get a good laugh. You opened the door and peered into the dark hall, feeling for a light switch on the side. As soon as you found it, the area lit up and to your surprise, there was a single cannon placed directly in front of you only a few feet away.

It was placed on a rail that looked like if the cannon was pushed, it'd poke it's nose out of a panel that had to double as a slot that'd open. The one thing that confused you was you were in the basement. On one side, you had the sea and on the other, pavement.

"Franky?" You called over your shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"How do these work if they're below ground?'

"Oh, the Sunny raises up when necessary. We keep them below ground so no one snoops around the openings and messes with our stuff. Smart, right?"

"Yeah..." You were beyond amazed. 

Kid probably had no idea about this and if he ever did, he'd be fuming that he didn't come up with such a crazy idea. Equipping an entire hideout with cannons.

"So....what exactly are we working on?" You moved in further to get a closer look at the cannon and the crates full of heavy balls set up beside it.

"The cannons are supposed to move forward and the panels should open with the push of a single button. But the panels aren't responding properly, I've been getting alerts on them."

"So we're going to fix that?"

"Yep." He poked his head in, still smiling away at you.

He had to be proud of the little set up he'd made and was happy to show it off. You couldn't lie, it was beyond interesting to get to investigate it and now you were getting a chance to even interact with it all.

"And you're sure you're okay showing me all this stuff? Even if I don't stay?"

"Of course! You're not the vindictive type Doll, I'm sure this is all safe with you."

You weren't sure if his trust was well placed yet or not but you weren't going to turn down an opportunity to figure out how this all ticked. He was right, maybe it was about time you learned some new skills.

"Okay...so uh, what's first?"

Franky waved you out of the hall. "Come on, I'll walk you through it all."

You never thought you'd look forward to spending time with a gang again. Somehow, you didn't mind this exception.