A/N - There was a bit of a storm beating against the house while I tried to write most of this, so if it reads a little disconnected I was a little distracted.

The soft whisper of the wind, the gentle lapping of the waves, and the shivering gasps slipping from between your lips were the only sounds that night. Zoro's rough hands were surprisingly gentle, slipping along the lines of your body and barely brushing against the bruises and welts from your fight.

Light kisses followed along with the tender touches, barest hints of pain fading away into the warmth of his hands and his lips. Tears slide down your cheeks, but they're not born of pain or sorrow, simply of the overwhelming gentleness that is engulfing you. A need to banish the pain in your body, a desire to unite in pleasure; the restraint of his actions are a beautiful mix of feather light and completely undeniable.

"Haa," you shiver a little, the cool air dancing over your shoulders. "If this is the treatment I'll receive whenever I get injured, it's not exactly a deterrent." You admit with a nervous chuckle. Your face goes red when Zoro looks up at you and you turn your gaze away. Sharp teeth threaten to sink into your skin and you gasp a little at the action. "S-Sorry."

He pulls your shirt back up your arms as he straightens up, glowering down at you a little while he buttons it up. You smile despite the look on his face and place your hands over his. You don't stop him from buttoning up your shirt, but you find yourself wanting contact, and feeling his hands move beneath your fingers is enough.

As he finishes the task, you let your hands fall to your sides. These moments have always been far too fleeting for your tastes.

"Is it... would it be cruel of me to say I want to sleep beside you?" You ask. You can feel your neck and ears heat up.

"No." He answers shortly, before stepping away from the railing and sitting down against the wall and staircase. He pats his lap, looking up at you.

"That's -."

"I can't go into your room." He says flatly.

You could sleep in the cot with him in the boys' room, but the cots were meant for a single person, and they're a little tricky to get into. Which isn't a problem when you aren't covered in bruises and small fractures from fighting.

"I sleep like this a lot, it's okay." He explains as you step toward him. You smile softly, remembering when you were new to the ship and had seen him sleeping leaned up against all manner of surfaces. All he seemed to do some days was sleep.

Stepping into his lap you get as comfortable as you can, with a little wincing as you settle into the space he's offered. You turn toward him a little, face nuzzled between his chest and shoulder, his arms wrapped around you, feet against the deck. You can feel yourself already starting to drift to sleep even as the soft kiss warms your forehead.

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The crew's answer to your injuries when the ship was slung through the air like a rocket was a cocoon of blankets and a combination of Robin and Luffy's devil fruits. Robin would cradle your cocoon of blankets in a net of her arms, and Luffy cushioned the whole thing by inflating his body.

Aesthetically it looked completely ridiculous, but functionally it was perfect. It absorbed the force of the acceleration and the sharper deceleration of the landing. The only fleeting downside was that it made you feel a little motion sick, but once the take off or landing were complete the sensation faded quickly.

After reassuring Zoro and Chopper after the first test of it, a schedule was set to rocket the ship toward the Grandline Metro as fast as possible. The further ahead of the Vice Admirals that you could arrive, the more time you had to get your feet under you before anything else happened.

Eight, terrible, queasy, barely controlled shots through the air and you finally arrived.

"That island is massive." You admit, watching the line of land on the horizon grow larger and more defined as the Sunny approached it. "It seems more continent than island."

"The Grandline Metropolis is both the largest city and island in the world," Nami says. "The only body of land larger is the Red Line." She unfurls a map and holds it out in front of you, giving you one side to hold onto so she can point while she talks. "We'll be landing here, on the northern edge of the eastern coast, just inside the large rural area known as East Blue." Her finger moves further into the interior of the island. "About here is the start of the territories directly controlled by the Warlords, it's banded around this section which is the domain of the Four Emperors."

"And all that surrounds the supposed neutral zone people call the Holy Land?" You question as Nami nods.

"You've got it. The One Piece is thought to be somewhere in the Holy Land, it's half of why it's called that."

"What's the other half of the reason?"

"There's a few Celestial Dragons there, and a very strong Marine presence." You make a face and Nami laughs. "Yeah, that's an appropriate reaction, (Y/N)."

You point to the four outer sections of the circular island. "East, North, West, and South Blue all have their own... king? But not a monarch, it's a title for those seeking the One Piece, yes?"

Nami nods. "Luffy is the East Blue's king."

"And you have, you said alliance was a strong word," you pause for a moment, considering your words. "An understanding with the kings of the North and South?"

She nods again. "We realized before we left on our journey that the tree of us have slightly different goals, even if they all revolve around the One Piece. Luffy sees it as a friendship, but I don't think the other two captains view it quite so positively."

"But the concern of deceit is low because all three have objectively bigger concerns than one another." You say, remembering what had been explained to you before. "It is an unofficial alliance, without terms or restrictions. I'd call it foolish if I were back in the Dukedom, but for this world it seems reasonable."

"Ooooiiii!" Usopp yells down from the crow's nest. "I see them on the shore! Luuuuufffffy!

"A day's notice was enough?" You question. "You said the island was massive, six hundred thousand square kilometers. Even on a horse that would take days."

Between Coup de Bursts, Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Franky did their best to explain how different the Metro was from the islands you had been too. It had something Usopp called an inter-net for communication, and strange flat rectangular devices called cell phones, that let people talk to one another so long as they were on the island. You were struggling with the idea of cars, even after Usopp and Franky had drawn you various pictures of them. The idea that they could travel so fast over land safely seemed suspicious, but you were also certain the crew wasn't lying to you.

At least the odd long-distance radio devices, called den den mushis, or transponder snails, made some sense to you. The idea that they were modified living creatures was a little hard to grasp, but they weren't too dissimilar from the telegraphs or communication magics you knew of in the Dukedom.

"After you ride in a car, you'll understand." Nami assures you.

Yesterday Luffy had used the ship's transponder snail to contact his brothers and let them know the crew was almost back. Neither brother was, according to the crew, a member of Luffy's crew, but both were supportive of him. You didn't understand all of it, but enough.

Sabo was part of a group of rebels that was led by Luffy's father. Ace was a part of a different group of pirates, though they were coming off the defeat of their captain, so it was hard to say what the crew itself would do.

Regardless of their situations or obligations, the young men put one another above all else, and so both had been waiting at the shoreline when the Sunny docked.

Luffy's joy at seeing his brothers could have set the entire island on fire it was so bright. He leapt from the Sunny and cleared the small bit of ocean easily, crashing into the shore with the kind of reckless abandon only someone made of rubber could risk.

By the time you reached the shore the reunion was calming down. Aside from Zoro, who was coming ashore with you, the rest of the crew had caught up with the brothers. The two of them turned toward you and you bow slightly. You're not completely healed, but the last five days have let your bruises fade, and the only thing you had to do was mind your breathing so you didn't twinge your rib.

"(Y/N), it's a pleasure to meet the captain's brothers." There's a flicker of shock on their faces before the two break into very different smiles.

The blonde one bows, removing his hat and the actions are practiced and comfortable for him. "Sabo, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The tan and freckle-faced brother's smile is more of a grin. He removes his hat and bows as well, but there's no comfort or practice in his movements. It's mimicry, but it's not meant as an insult. "Ace, at your service." He straightens up and looks you over. "You're not what I expected."

"Ace!" Sabo scolds. "Don't mind him, he's a brute."

"What did you expect?"

Ace shrugs a little as Sabo sighs. "Between the amount of your bounty and the frenzy from the Government about your arrival, I expected you to be like practically giant-sized, wielding trees as clubs or something. Instead, you look pretty normal."

"I... don't know what to say to that." You admit. "I'm not wanted for my battle skills." You say a little more bitterly than you mean to let slip. Ace flinches and puts a hand over his face before bowing.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," you assure him.

"It's true then?" Sabo prompts, looking from you to the crew and back as they nod. "You're a prophet?"

"Seems so." You admit a little uncomfortably. "I can't really control it though."

"Control isn't something this crew is exactly brimming with," Sabo mutters with a small smile. "Which is to say, you fit right in."

"So, what's the plan?" Ace asks, looking around.

"Protect (Y/N) and search the Holy Land!" Luffy says from the tree he's climbed. "Robin and (Y/N) don't think the One Piece is actually there, but we need to check."

"Sorry – what?" Sabo exclaims. "Decades of certainty that it's somewhere in the Holy Lands and you're saying it's not? Are you sure you read the right poneglyphs?"

"(Y/N) can read them." Robin says, and Sabo starts to say something before he pauses and then looks at you differently.

"Natively?" Sabo questions and you nod.

There's a twitch in his fingers that causes Zoro to step between the two of you and Sabo seems to snap to his senses. Putting his hands up he steps back.

"Sorry, sorry, I absolutely would not." He promises. "At the very least I wouldn't kidnap a member of Luffy's crew no matter what the Revolutionary Army needed or wanted."

Zoro grunts and you feel yourself relax a little until realization dawns on you.

"Oi, Luffy!" You call out to him, and he pokes he head down from the tree he's in. "Let me join your crew!"

Luffy laughs. "Of course!"

You look up at Sabo and smile. The young blonde man chuckles a little and bows slightly.

"You never asked?" Zoro questions, caught more off-guard than Sabo.

"I... things happened." You say, looking away as you hear him groan. "It's resolved now though." You point at an odd-looking carriage to change the subject. "Is that a car?"

"Technically, it's a van." Ace answers you, a smile of pride on his face.

The boxy contraption looked big enough to hold everyone that was gathered, if not a little snuggly. It had rubber wheels like Franky had described, a windshield, and a door that slid off to one side. It seemed similar to what Usopp had drawn for you, but it was certainly a bigger, different design. It was decorated with flames down the sides of it, and seemed a little ostentatious to you.

"Oh!" Sabo snaps his fingers and walks over to the tree Luffy's in. "Luffy, you should contact Trafalgar now that you're back."

"Traffy?"

He nods. "Apparently there's quite the tale to tell from the last year and he wanted to catch you up on things before you did anything."

"Let's get back to Merry Go," Luffy says, dropping out of the tree. "Taffy will get irritated if I call while we're all crammed in the van."

Sabo's eyes go a little wide. "That... doesn't usually stop you." He shakes his head as Luffy laughs it off and pulls an envelope from his coat as he turns to the crew's cook. "Sanji, here."

"Eh?" Sanji takes the envelope and looks over at Sabo questioningly.

"It was left at the tree house, so it's either from Law or Kid, but it's addressed to you." Sabo explains. "I found it last week and brought it with me when I heard you were all coming back today."

Sanji tucks it away. "Thanks."

"Alright, everyone in the Fam Van!" Ace yells, pulling the side door of the van open and directing people to pile in.

Jinbei sat up front in the passenger seat while Sabo got behind the wheel. Franky settled into the wide backseat, with room for Robin and Nami on either side of him while a small Chopper sat on his shoulder and Brook settled into the cyborg's lap. Sanji, Usopp and Luffy sat along the wall just behind the driver and Zoro sat down in what looked like a single occupancy seat before motioning you over to him.

You wince a bit getting into the van, but settle into his lap without much additional concern. Ace glances over at the two of you as he sits in the other seat before he closes the door. There's a grin on his face, but he doesn't say anything.

By the end of the drive your mind is made up about vans and cars, and you like neither.

the Fam Van™