Royalty AU Filler Chapter 3

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"Its only your mom," Luffy chuckles as I pace the outside my mother's room.

It has been a few days since we went into town with Chopper, and we've been figuring out how we are going to tell my mother about us. We had to get everything in order to ensure that we didn't leave anything out. After learning that she would have a few moment today to talk, we knew that this was our now or never. If we wanted to ensure that we would be able to go to the ball as a couple, then this is what we have to do. No matter how nervous it makes me.

"I know that it is my mom, but that doesn't mean I can't be nervous," I sigh, wrapping my arms around my middle. "I've been keeping a secret from her for a couple years, and I just don't want anything to go wrong. Because so much can go wrong right now."

Luffy grabs my arm as I walk past him, pulling me into a hug. "I don't think anything is going to go wrong, but if it does, we don't have to stay here. We can go join Sabo, or find your father, or just go live out in the country for the rest of our lives. That would be enough adventure for you, wouldn't it?"

I giggle, "Yeah, I think that would be."

He holds me out by my shoulders, "See, then no matter what happens, the two of us are going to be happy, okay? I'm not letting you go from my side. I don't want to be anywhere that isn't right by you. I'm your knight when I need to be, but I am your boyfriend all the time. That I can't help. I love you, Akari."

"I love you, Luffy," I whisper. "Thank you for that. I needed to hear that."

He presses a kiss to my forehead, "I'm always here for you, my princess."

I spin out of his hold when the door to my mother's room opens and her lady-in-waiting steps out into the hallway. "Ah, is my mother ready to see me?"

"Yes, my lady," she bows. "She's been looking forward to this meeting actually. She says she feels like she hasn't been able to see you much this week because of all the planning with the ball."

"She does have to make sure everything is perfect," I smooth my hands down my sides. "Come, my knight," I glance back at Luffy, flashing a wavering smile.

He widely smiles back, giving me a nod of encouragement.

The two of us then walk into my mother's where she is sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. A small fire that is on the verge of going out not giving off enough heat to make it uncomfortable to sit near.

"Ah, Akari my dear," my mother lovingly smiles, reaching her hand out to me. "And you brought your knight, how lovely."

I take her hand, "I take him everywhere."

She presses her lips to my knuckles before releasing my hand and motioning to the chair right across from her. "Please, sit. I have the next couple of hours cleared to be able to talk just with you. I was happy that you wanted to talk with me so bad. I don't remember the last time we did something like this. You're always with Robin nowadays studying, or disappearing into the garden. Oh, I know how much you love that garden. It is one of the prettiest places in this castle. You would spend so much time out there with all your friends, and all of Ace's friends as well. That boy, he's always trying to be different than his father, but they are so similar I can't take it."

I nervously shift around in my seat, not wanting to stop my mother from doing the one thing she has taken so much pride in. Her ability to talk.

"I know that we all wish that he would come around more, but he has saltwater flowing through his veins. He needs to be out there sailing the seas. Exploring the world. Finding places that none of us every thought were out there. He loves us, I know he does, which makes the times that he is home even sweeter," she lets out a sigh, looking over at me for the first time since she started talking. Her eyes widen as she realizes that I came to talk to her, and I haven't been able to say anything since I made a comment about Luffy. "Oh geez, there I go running my mouth like I always do. You wanted to see me, and I haven't given you any room to speak. I am sorry dear. You clearly have something that you need to tell me. Okay, I will stop talking and you have my full and undivided attention," she softly smiles.

I take a deep breath, "Yes, yes I do have something to tell you."

"And I am ready to hear it," she softly nods.

I run my hands over my thighs, "Okay, now, I need you to listen to it all with interrupting me. This has been making me extremely nervous because I don't want to make you mad. I don't want you to be disappointed in me. I don't want to make things harder for you than they already are."

"Akari," she reaches over, placing a hand gently on one of mine. "I could never be mad at you. Even when you got your dress all muddy when you were little, or when you snuck into the kitchen to get sweets for you and your knight. No matter what, I will always be here for you. I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me." She pats my hand, leaning back into her seat. "Now, please, spill what has been on your mind."

I take another deep breath, not like it helped the last time. A glance over at Luffy shows a soft smile on his face as he looks right at me. If I need him, he's right there. "There's something that has been going on for somewhere around two years now, and it isn't something that just happened. This was a buildup. A buildup of so many years of being so close. Of knowing that I couldn't live without them, and knowing that my heart was slowly falling for them. I always thought that I would end up with some prince that was forced onto me because of some way to bring our country together with another, but I never wanted that. Oh god, that makes me sick thinking that could happen. I don't want some fancy prince. All I want is this boy that has held my heart for two years, no, for even longer than that. All I want is for us to be able to be together. To show everyone that we are more than friends. That he's more than my knight," I look right into my mother's eyes.

She doesn't say anything, but I know the gears are turning in her head.

"I'm in love with Luffy, mom," I look over at the boy who now has a big smile on his face. "I am so in love with him that I was so afraid of telling him until he come out with it that he liked me. That was two years ago, and we've been going behind everyone's back. Only a few people know. Ace, Zoro, and Robin. I know that us being together is wrong. He's my knight. He should only be my knight. But I don't care," I feel the tears start to run down my cheeks as I shake my head before looking back over at my mother who is now tenderly smiling. "I don't care about what is right or wrong because I know one thing for sure. That I love Luffy with all me heart, and he loves me. We don't want to hide anymore. We don't want to go behind anyone's backs anymore. I'm not going to dance with random princes at the ball in a couple days, and he isn't going to let guys stare at me like I am a piece of meat. Our relationship has been in the shadows for too long. I don't want to be with anyone but him. Please, I know this will be difficult, but you can do anything. I need you to make this all okay," I whimper.

"Luffy, do you love my daughter as much as she loves you?" My mother asks, looking over at him.

"Yes ma'am," Luffy answers. "I might love her even more than that. I know that I can act childish, and I don't think things through sometimes, and I can't hold in my emotions when I probably should, so I shouldn't be the one to stand next to your daughter, but I can't help that I feel in love with her over the years. She's my princess, my dumpling, and I never want to be away from her. She says that I make her feel safe, well, she makes me feel warm."

I chuckle through my tears, "Luff, oh, I love you so much."

"I can tell when a boy is lying about his love for a girl," my mother says. "I've had to deal with many princes asking for your hand in marriage someday, and this lie leaving their mouths that they love you. I can see it in their eyes that they love the way you look, but they don't love who you are. I know that you are telling the truth, Luffy. I should have seen this coming with how much the two of you spend time together. Two whole years together, huh? If you worked that hard to be together and keep it from everyone, I can't call that anything other than love."

"So you're not mad?" I choke out.

Luffy rushes to my side, easily picking me up so he can sit down and hold me on his lap. "You're breaking my heart, princess," he presses a kiss to my cheek before wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"I already said before that I could never be mad at you, Akari," my mother softly chuckles. "But if you need to hear it, no, I am not mad at you. Actually, I feel a certain amount of pride for you following what you heart wants. For doing whatever you had to in order to be with the one you love. You know, your father isn't royalty either, though he also wasn't my knight. He was just a man that stole my heart with a single look. He just had a certain air about him that I was drawn to."

"What are we going to do?"

"I'll do what I always do. I'll talk. I can get all the adults together before the ball to let them know that my daughter is actually off the market. That she will be getting married, just not to anyone they thought. I will tell them that her knight is going to be more than just her knight, and that love wins out around her. I'll say that she's going to the ball with him. No one else. I can talk my way through anything, and you know that."

"See, nothing to worry about," Luffy presses a kiss to my temple. "Are you happy now?"

"Relieved right now, but I am sure in a few hours I will be happy," I sigh, settling into his hold. "My anxiety is still running through my body."

"I'm right here," he whispers.

"Well, now that I have you two here, I might as well talk to both of you about all that has been happening over the last two year. Anything else you need to tell me?"

"I don't think I can talk for a little bit," I focus on my breathing as the tears slow.

"I've been sneaking into Akari's room recently," Luffy blurts out. "I mean, sneaking in makes it seem bad, but like, I can't be without her. I sleep so much better with her by my side. That is just the truth. There's this tug at night that I can't ignore."

"Luffy," I gasp.

My mother chuckles, "That must be why your door is locked sometimes. That's sweet that the two of you feel that. There's no need for sneaking around anymore, though. If you want to be together like that, then I won't stop you."

"He makes me feel safe," I say.

"That's the best feeling a person can give."

"I just really love Akari," Luffy says. "If I can always be with her, life would be even better than it is now."

"So you reveal our late night secrets," I chuckle.

"That's not true," he whispers. "I kept the special moments secret."

I feel my cheeks heat up, so I hide my face in his chest.

"That can be arranged," my mother says. "I mean, there are still times you have to be apart, but once I reveal the two of you to everyone, there will be nothing keeping you apart for longer than needed. He can even join you at meetings."

"Those boring things?" Luffy groans.

"Luffy," I giggle, lifting my head up to look at him. "You can't say that."

"But you do all the time," he pouts. "If you can sit on my lap, then I think I could make it through."

My mother chuckles, "They are kind of boring, aren't they? Even if I know how to speak during them, sometimes I have to tell myself to focus when others are droning on and on. I wonder if that is how they feel when I keep on talking, but I try to make them as interesting as possible. I guess it can't be so for all you young ones."

"I just don't think I'll ever be able to talk like you do," I sigh, turning to look over at my mother. "It all comes to easily to you, and I feel like I put too much emotion into whatever I am talking about."

"Well, I don't want you to talk like me. You have to find your own voice, and I think you have that in the way you talk now. Emotions aren't a bad thing. You show it all on your face, which is not a disadvantage. It helps people trust you, and so many people trust you, Akari. There's a reason that you are the beloved princess."

I giggle, "I guess you're right."

"Oh, I am always right. Portgas's are always right. Now, can you please tell me why Robin new about you before me? Ace and Zoro I understand, but what made you tell Robin?"

"We didn't really tell her, she found us asleep in the library."

"Akari reads to me," Luffy says.

"That is sweet," she smiles. "We still have a while together, so please, tell me all the stories of the two of you together."

*~~~~~~~~*

"I can't believe that Akari has a boyfriend," Nami teases. "And I can't believe she hid it for two years!"

I giggle, leaning back into Luffy's chest, "Yeah, well, I couldn't have people knowing and unintentionally spreading it, so we decided to keep it to ourselves for as long as needed."

"But I want to dance with her," Luffy says.

Everyone chuckles, and I feel the pure love from everyone present. We're in the garden having dinner, all of us sitting on the ground. There was a time when we called ourselves the Straw Hats because of a hat Luffy wore all the time, but we haven't been able to do that for years. Still, I know if I brought it up right now we would all grab onto that name. Even when we are apart, nothing really changes between us. We'll be friends for life.

"I mean, I knew since I train Luffy, but it was still a little shocking at the beginning," Zoro says. "I think I actually saw him lovesick."

"Not like Sanji," I tease, looking over at the blonde.

"No one is like Sanji," Robin giggles.

"Oh come on," Sanji grumbles, taking a drag from his cigarette. "There's nothing wrong with appreciating women, and there are so many beautiful women out there. There's four sitting right here."

"And half of them are now betrothed," Vivi smiles. "Oh Akari, you'll have to come visit when you first get married."

"Of course," I widely smile as Luffy's arms give me a small squeeze around my torso. We've both gotten excited knowing that in a couple years we'll be joined in the eyes of our country. "Not that I am thinking that far ahead quite yet."

"I'll have to get started on making something for a wedding gift," Franky nods a few times.

"Where does that leave everyone?" Usopp asks. "I mean, I am with Kaya, and once I get promoted a few more times, and she has become a doctor, then we'll be married. What about everyone else?"

"I'm waiting for the perfect prince," Nami lets out a big sigh. "I mean, someone that will benefit both our countries, but also someone that I truly care about." Her eyes flicker over to Sanji, but that is an issue for a whole other day.

"I'm married to my work," Robin smiles. "I don't need someone to complete me or whatever. I am happy right where I am."

"I'm sure that some girl will pop into my life, or maybe not, but I don't need to worry about that with all the building I have to do," Franky chuckles.

"I'm sure that I'll find someone before Idiot Chef over there," Zoro taunts.

"Yeah right, Moss Head," Sanji snaps. "I have plenty of princesses that would love to be with me, and with three other brothers, I know I'll be able to pick a girl that I actually truly care for."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Zoro grins.

"I'm just content being with all of you," Chopper says. "I just want to spend as much time with all of you that I can."

"Aw, Chopper," I tenderly smile. "This is why I want you to be my personal doctor when you have finished training with Law and Marco. You're too sweet be anything other than that."

"Ah, stop, you can't flatter me," Chopper squirms around as he cheeks redden.

"But why would you need a doctor if I am always right there to take care of and protect you?" Luffy asks.

"Some people actually get sick," Nami shakes her head. "Unlike that three monsters in this group."

"And you do know that once the two of you get married, an heir will be expected to come before long," Brook adds. "Doctors are needed during that time."

"Oh, yeah," Luffy mumbles.

I feel my cheeks starting to heat up, "That's even longer off then the marriage."

"I know that Akari is flustered easily, but I didn't think anyone could fluster Luffy," Zoro chuckles.

I sit up so I can look back at Luffy's red cheeks. "Aw, Luff, your blush is cute."

"Yours is cuter," he presses a quick kiss to my lips. "I just have never thought about little you and me running around. About what that would look like, and I realized that it would make life even better."

I giggle, leaning back into his chest, "I love you."

"And I love you," he fixes my tiara.

Vivi giggles, "Akari found someone that will always fix her tiara, other than Ace, I mean."

"I did," I goofily smile. "I really did, and my heart is so full because of that and all of you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ah, I hope you enjoyed reading! Writing filler is so much fun! I guess it probably has something to do with being able to write Luffy and Akari as a closer couple, but I think too that exploring these new worlds is just lovely. Anyway, next chapter is the least section of filler, and will be the ball. I would love to know what you thought! :D

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