Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I mean he’s my friend! And he's been helping me train. So, leave him alone.” Luffy helpfully answered, not providing the context Sodalite needed to wrap his head around the idea. Still, now that Sodalite had set the wolf down, Luffy hopped up, got a grip on Sodalite's pants, and started climbing up the gem with a wide grin stretched over his face. “You're back! It was so boring without you guys.” 

That drew a scoff out of Sodalite. He kept his eyes turned outward toward where the wolf shone in the shadows of a few trees. “I figured you could entertain yourself well enough while we figured our shit out.” As Luffy reached Sodalite's waist, Sodalite finally caved and scooped him up in a palm. 

“There was nothing to dooooo. I just had Kebab to play with. We trained together and stuff, but I wanna explore more. And it's just not the same without you.” 

Ah. 

Damn. 

That struck like a bolt of lightning. ‘It's just not the same without you.’ Sodalite almost didn't know how to respond. 

“You're fine, squirt. I'm here now. We can go exploring again soon. Maybe find one of those beetles you wanted to show Dadan.” Sodalite couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up. It was weak as the guilt around his throat stifled it. Then, after a moment, he quirked an eyebrow up. “Wait, training? You've been training?”

“Yeah! I need to get stronger if we're gonna be a team, right?” Luffy flexed his arm as if it would summon muscles from nowhere. He patted his bicep with his other hand and grinned up at Sodalite. Sodalite could only stare. The reminder of the words he said to Luffy days ago formed a lump in his throat that crushed his vocal cords. 

The silence that fell over them while his voice found form again was only interrupted by Luffy starting to talk about the progress he made. How strong his punches had become in only a week. He bounced from foot to foot acting much like a boxer dipping and dodging around invisible punches and shooting his own at an invisible enemy. 

Luffy asked a question that Sodalite didn't hear. “Look… Luffy. About what happened,” he began and paused when Luffy stared up at him blankly, “When I left you hanging on the wall.” 

Recognition lit up on Luffy's face and he dropped his fighting stance to rest a hand on his hat. “Oh,” the brim covered the spinel's eyes while Sodalite waited for the blow up. He deserved it too after what he said to him. He steeled himself, prepared for the crushing look of disappointment that might settle on that pink face.

When Luffy tipped his head back again, his hand guided his straw hat back enough that Sodalite could see his entire face. And there wasn't a hint of anger in the wide smile that took over his features. Luffy was beaming, unbothered by what Sodalite could only describe as a betrayal– an abandonment. “Oh, yeah! You were acting like a real jerk. You seem like you again, though.” And he laughed. Luffy laughed high and content and joyful like nothing Sodalite had ever heard before. Well, outside of every other time Luffy laughed, but each time was surprising with how quickly it broke down his defenses and closed the gap between them that Sodalite had apparently been imagining. “That's good.”

It stunned Sodalite into silence. He stared. Luffy stared back. He stared some more. Luffy's expression shifted to something quizzical with how he tipped his head and furrowed his brow at Sodalite. 

“... That's it?” Sodalite finally asked, something quiet. He almost expected Luffy to take it back immediately had he not known that Luffy never said anything he didn't mean. “I thought you would be pissed off.”

"Weeeeeeeeellllll…” Luffy's arms swung back as he rolled back onto his heels and then forward again when he slid up onto his soles. “I was really mad, but I know it's just ‘cause you were being a big scaredy cat. So, it's not worth getting angry over.”

“I wasn't scared!” Sodalite quickly cut in, but the look Luffy grinned his way said he didn't believe him. It was annoying that Luffy might be right. “I was just being careful.”

“Yeah right! You took forever coming back ‘cause you were a big scaredy cat.” Luffy laughed at his own joke like a doofus and Sodalite rolled his eyes. All four of them. 

“We took a normal amount of time coming back. You're just impatient.” There's some defensiveness in his tone he couldn't brush off.

“Nuh-uh! You took soooooooo loooooooong.” Luffy looked like he was about to wither away with how he sagged and elongated his words. 

“You're fine, squirt. We're here now.” Sodalite flicked the side of Luffy's head, something light that only made his head tilt a little to the side.

Something must have dawned on Luffy, because he blinked once, twice, three times before his jaw dropped. “WAIT! DOES THAT MEAN FIRE GUY IS BACK TOO?” Luffy jumped like he had been struck with lightning instead of a realization and peered around the clearing in search of Fire Agate.

The question that had been itching at the back of Sodalite’s mind for months and at the back of Fire Agate's for even longer finally bubbled up. Just… why?  

Why did he want to be around Fire Agate? Why did he act like Fire Agate wasn't the source of all of his issues?

“Why the hell do you care?” Sodalite spit out before the half of him that understood could stop the one that didn't. There was a tension between forcing the words out and trying to cage them behind his teeth simultaneously. 

When Luffy blinked those wide eyes up at him and gave a dumbfounded, “huh?” it just made Sodalite more angry, more confused, more… curious.

Not unlike before, the words on Sodalite's tongue nearly choked him. His thunderous expression was only accentuated when his eyebrows furrowed down over his eyes. His voice was rough and layered when he finally forced the words out. “Everyone knows fire agates are all worse than dirt. Practically useless. So, why do you care?”

Sodalite felt his tongue tie itself into knots, but that’s okay. Fire Agate got out the question he needed to know the answer to. It took half a second before Luffy was frowning. He prepared himself by taking a step or two backward. He got a barely running start and jumped toward Sodalite. He caught himself on the right side of Sodalite's collar and he was climbing until he could get fistfuls of Sodalite's hair. He pulled, yanking the flowing hair until Sodalite's head tipped slightly into the painful hold. His tongue came untied for barely a moment.

“OW! Squirt, what the hell are you–?!”

“Don't talk about Fire Guy like that!” Luffy huffed his words and climbed up a strand of Sodalite's hair so he could try to poke the fusion in the eye for going too far. Sodalite closed both eyes on that side of his face and leaned his head away as if that would ward off any of Luffy's attempts at retaliation. “He's my friend! Other people's dumb opinions don't matter. I think he's cool.” Luffy’s legs became a blur as he kicked to start pulling himself up onto Sodalite's head.

“Oh.” It's whispered– a barely formed puff of air that Sodalite didn't even register making. He went quiet. All until a tiny fist landed in one of his eyes. “Ow– QUIT IT, SQUIRT!” Sodalite curled a hand around Luffy and yanked him away from his face. He blinked away the tears that formed in his eye at the same time that the corners of his lips pulled up despite his frustration. “I get it, okay? I take back what I said.” Even as Sodalite said that, Luffy still wiggled in his hand. “I just had to know what your deal was with him.”

Finally, Luffy seemed to relax in the fusion's grip. It was only once the fight had melted out of him that Sodalite relaxed his hand and held him palm up for Luffy to right himself on. “You better be sorry, jerk.” Luffy crossed his arms over his chest, but he still nodded his head to accept the revocation. 

“Aaaaaand I should probably fess up to lying to you.” Sodalite had already come this far. He might as well air out some dirty laundry while he's at it. The dam was open and he didn't know if there would ever be an opportunity like this one. 

“Whaddaya mean?” Luffy's head tipped and there might as well be a question mark flashing in neon lights above it. 

“Fire Guy–” Sodalite's voice clipped off and he cleared his throat, something annoyed with how he instantly corrected himself with a, “Fire Agate,” through his teeth. It was in stark contrast to the chuckle that tried to bubble up from his chest. “Fire Agate hasn't been practicing in the Kindergarten. Which, it's not my fault that you didn't piece that together, but whatever.”

That seemed to ignite some semblance of recognition in Luffy's eyes. “Woah, he must be doing something extra cool if it's top secret.” 

That pulled a wry smile over Sodalite's face as he stared down at Luffy. How was Luffy so calm about this? As they spoke, Sodalite got comfortable, bent his knee, and settled Luffy down on said knee so he could lean back on his palms instead. “He's not a spy either.” Almost on cue, Luffy deflated and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“You're no fun,” Luffy sagged as he complained, but his imagination seemed to be infinite. “What aboooooout…” Luffy's head tilted and his eyes rolled to the side then up to the sky as if the answer was written in the clouds. He pressed his hands together in front of his chest, flush and fingers curled together apart from his middle and index fingers on each hand. He widened his stance and opened his mouth. 

Sodalite was faster though, “He's not a ninja either, squirt.” Sodalite hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he had already let Luffy believe his own lie for long enough. 

The wind was quickly taken from Luffy's sails. He sagged once more, back hunched and his arms hanging in front of him. “Uggggghhhhhh, I'll just have to tell him when he comes back that he should be.”

“Well, he kinda reformed already.” Sodalite rested his upper hands behind his head as a pillow while the lower two rested against the ground to prop him up. It was almost… too easy talking to Luffy about this. It felt like everything was normal. Guilt still itched at the back of his mind, but Luffy was brightening up and grinning that goofy grin and Sodalite decided he could enjoy this while it lasted.

“Really?! Let's go find him, Soda Guy!” Luffy was practically vibrating and Sodalite wondered how he didn't put the pieces together. But, well. This was Luffy, after all. Sodalite caught Luffy when he tried to jump off and settled him back on his knee, making sure he was sitting when he did so.

“Squirt, have you really not noticed that I'm not a normal gem yet?” Sodalite almost couldn't believe that Luffy hadn't realized it yet. He knew Luffy knew what fusions were. 

The apparent conversation shift seemed to grab Luffy's single-minded attention and his interest was piqued. He settled down, cross-legged and curious on Sodalite's knee. “Wait… What do you mean? What kinda gem are you?” 

“I'm a Sodalite.” It was a simple enough answer, but it just seemed to make Luffy even more confused. 

“Yeah, duh, but–”

“I'm a Moonstone and Fire Agate fusion.” 

Luffy's jaw dropped like that was the biggest revelation of his life. He gaped at Sodalite with wide eyes and an excited wonder in those black irises. “YOU'RE A FUSION?!” 

So, he really didn't know. An amused smile tugged at Sodalite's face and he raised his two gem-ed palms so Luffy could see them both. “Well, yeah. Why do you think I have two gems? You've seen both of ‘em before, squirt.”

There's a pout on Luffy's face as he's made fun of that quickly melted into a huge grin. “Well, I've never seen them both at once before! I just thought you kept moving them around, I guess.” Luffy shrugged and it was clear he hadn't put much thought into it. 

And, as per usual with Luffy, Sodalite couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at that. “You're funny, squirt.” Could gems even move their gems around? Sodalite's never tried. 

Still, Fire Agate made a promise and, despite his nerves, it was time to get the ball rolling. He pinched the back of Luffy's vest and lifted him up. Adorably, Luffy let out a little, ‘wheeee’ as he was lifted. 

“Here,” Frankly, it would be a relief to be themselves again. “You're no threat to us, so we'll unfuse now.” And Sodalite felt like he could unfuse this time. He didn't feel needed as much as wanted. It was a nice feeling. But it was also nice in the short time they had been apart. Sodalite was fun to be, but it was even more fun to see each other and mess with each other. There was the last wolf, but they could handle one wolf as themselves.

As his sandals touched the grass, Luffy was, once again, practically vibrating with his excitement. His hands curled into fists in front of his chest in his every attempt to contain his eagerness. “Ooh. I can't wait to meet you!” 

That left a warm feeling in Sodalite's chest. He couldn't help but laugh again– a quiet, near inaudible chuckle. “Well, you already met one of us,” Sodalite was a little surprised that Luffy didn't pick up on the ‘Fire Agate’ half of the fusion he mentioned, but, eh, he seemed more focused on the ‘fusion’ part. 

Here we go. 

Sodalite relaxed and let himself unravel. As his body glowed and curled in on itself until it was just a circle of light, it split in two. Luffy stared up at him in awe, eyes following every moment up until Moonstone and Fire Agate stood before him.

––– 

To say Moonstone was excited was an understatement. He smiled happily at Luffy as the spinel's expression shifted into one of pure shock. Now, breaking the ice was paramount. Moonstone raised a hand in a wave. “Hello! I'm Moonstone! And, of course, you already met F–”

“FIRE GUY?!” Luffy screamed loud enough to scare the birds away. They bolted into the sky to get away from some perceived threat.

The Fire Guy in question was flushed, his head was turned to the side, and his arms were crossed resolutely over his chest. “It's–” He started, though the heat in his voice was overtaken by something else Moonstone couldn't quite place. Resignation, maybe? That was rare. “Whatever, never mind.” He grumbled his words, but Luffy was too busy launching himself at Fire Agate.

Fire Agate barely kept himself standing as Luffy clung to him. Moonstone couldn't help but grin. “You're back!!” Luffy said happily, but Fire Agate was already moving.

A palm came out and pushed at Luffy's face, stretching his neck while Fire Agate fought to push him off. He's still flustered, but his attempts were a little weak compared to the strength Moonstone knew he had. “Get off.” He grumbled, barely any heat to it. 

There's an ever present smile on Luffy's face as his head tipped back with the force. His head was upside down, beaten up hat barely holding on by a worn-down string around his neck. He turned his attention to Moonstone even while Fire Agate grumbled his complaints. 

“I'm Luffy!” He definitely had dimples. Moonstone hadn't been able to see that as easily when they were Sodalite. A ray of sunshine. A smile that spoke of mischief, mayhem, and joy. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he looked like every second he lived was better than the last. 

Luffy was a new friend, a close friend, and a friend added to Moonstone's intentionally small world. It grew to accommodate and lit up with the newest addition.

And, yeah. There wasn’t anything Moonstone wouldn't do to keep that smile on his face, to keep that vibrancy safe. Moonstone grinned just as wide back at him and nodded his head. “I know. But, still, I'm excited to officially meet you.” Moonstone clapped his hands together then paused. He reached into his pocket and pulled his gloves out so he could slip them on. “We couldn't unfuse for a while and then Fire Guy was feeling really shy, so I had to wait.” 

“I wasn't–” Fire Agate cut in and, with one final shove, pushed Luffy off of him. The gem went tumbling, but he was quick to bounce back up to his feet. “I'm not shy. Shut up.”

Moonstone just flashed his sharp grin Fire Agate's way. “What? You were. I thought we were being honest now.” Moonstone spoke innocently, but Fire Agate's eyes narrowed anyway. Before they could argue more, there were gloved hands on his face and guiding his mouth open a little more. “What're you doin?” 

“You've got sharp teeth.” Luffy peered at them with wide, curious eyes, and Moonstone reached up to curl his hands around Luffy's wrists and pull them away from his mouth. He still kept his mouth open though. No harm in letting Luffy look at his fangs. “Just like Soda Guy.” 

“It's more like Soda Guy's like me.” Moonstone shrugged his shoulders and closed his mouth when Luffy opened his own. 

“Oh, hello.”

All three of the boys’ heads snapped toward the voice. There stood a smiling Makino.

Luffy's head perked up and he waved happily. “HI MAKINO!” Fire Agate, meanwhile, crossed his arms over his chest again and couldn't quite look at her.

Makino smiled at Luffy, then her eyes drifted to Fire Agate, and finally settled on Moonstone. “I don't believe we have met. Or, well, I haven't met you- you yet. I'm Makino. I suppose you are… Moonstone, if I recall correctly.” Makino bowed politely toward Moonstone. Moonstone released Luffy's wrist so he could turn fully toward the woman. 

“You're right. It's nice to meet you.” Despite the attempted polite words, the politeness was ruined with how his grin widened and he snorted quietly at some thought he didn’t bother to share. Finally, Moonstone held his hands up. “Thank you for the gloves.”

Makino seemed unaffected by his behavior. “Of course! Please let me know if you need anything else.” She stood back up straight and looked over the three gems. “Did the wolf run off?” She looked both relieved and concerned with how her head tipped and her lips pursed slightly. 

“Yeah! Soda Guy scared Kebab off. He'll be fine, though. We can find him later. He's probably just eating grass or rocks or something.” Luffy spoke with such certainty that the rest of the party just had to trust him. There hadn't been an attack all week, so hopefully that was becoming a pattern. 

“... If you're sure.” Makino nodded her head and curled her hands together in front of her. “Would the three of you mind coming with me? I have something that needs done in the village and I think you would be the perfect gems for the job. I can promise food once you finish it up.”

There's an air of hesitation over two of them and an air of hunger on the third. Luffy nodded quickly. “We'll help!”

“Don't make decisions for us, Luffy!” Fire Agate punched Luffy lightly on the shoulder, but when he glanced at Makino, he cleared his throat. He looked Moonstone's way and Moonstone simply nodded. “... But, fine, I guess we can help.”

“WOOOO! FOOOOD!” Luffy yelled and was already running, but Moonstone had to reach a hand out to grab the back of his vest. 

“Luffy, the village is that way.” Moonstone pointed in said direction and, as he lifted Luffy, the gem just kept up with the running motion. Moonstone laughed and set him down, but this time running in the right direction. 

Luffy took off and, when he was several feet ahead, he called back over his shoulder. “LAST ONE THERE HAS TO LET ME EAT THEIR FOOD!” 

And, as dumb as that challenge was, Moonstone was determined to win. So, he started running after the spinel. “Hey! You got a head start, that isn't fair!” 

————————

“Guess you get to eat Fire Agate's food, Luffy.” Moonstone grinned triumphantly as he rested his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. Victorious, they had just made it to the outskirts of the village when they decided to stop and wait for their other companions. 

“How did you pass me? You had to be cheating.” Luffy complained and pointed an accusatory finger at his new friend. Moonstone just grinned at him.

“It's not cheating when you're just slower than me.” His tone shifted to something unfocused as Moonstone looked around, waiting to see Fire Agate racing after them. Fire Agate wasn't the type to let a challenge go unmet. Frankly, Moonstone was surprised Fire Agate hadn’t been running at his side head-to-head the entire trip. He saw a green bandana start to appear over a hill and perked up. Only for his head to tip when a familiar, brown-hooded head was absent.

Maybe he was just taking his time? Makino made Fire Agate nervous, so he could just be trying to play it cool like a total loser. 

Whatever. Moonstone shrugged his shoulders and, as Makino stepped up, she spoke, “Fire Agate said he had something to take care of and not to wait up for him. I tried to convince him to do it later, but he was certain it couldn’t wait.”

That was… well, not surprising. Fire Agate was stubborn at the best of times. Luffy was on the move before Moonstone could let the thought linger for long. Luffy threw his fists up in the air and started running toward Makino’s bar in the heart of town. Even as he disappeared around a building, Moonstone could hear his shout of, “FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!” giving away his location.

Laughter boiled in Moonstone’s stomach and raced up his throat before he could reflexively contain it. He shook his head as he laughed and grinned after the spinel. He couldn’t believe that they had once thought he was a threat. It didn’t quite fit into the mold when he tried to wrap his head around it.

“We better hurry before he tries to eat the refrigerator,” Makino reached a hand to pat Moonstone’s shoulder as she passed by him. She took a much slower pace than Luffy– a walk that mimed urgency.

“Yeah? Has he tried that before?” Moonstone stared at her back, but after a few steps he couldn’t help but turn his head to stare into the jungle they left behind with something cautious, but otherwise unreadable in his eyes.

“More times than I’d like to admit.” Makino laughed and her voice grew more distant from him as she continued. “I admit it is funny seeing him try to open his mouth wide enough. He hasn’t figured out how to do that yet, thankfully.” There’s a short pause before she spoke again, voice slightly clearer. “Moonstone?”

That seemed to pull Moonstone out of the focus he fell into. He blinked and turned his head toward her with a question in his distracted blue eyes.

“Are you coming?” Makino had turned around when she got to the first turn, her eyebrow lifted. 

One last glance was sent toward the jungle before Moonstone finally started walking after her. He jogged to catch up and even kept jogging as he turned the corner because otherwise he might turn around and wait some more. “Yeah! I just thought I saw something.”

The village wasn’t big, so it didn’t take them long to get close to the center of town and closer to a cacophony of indistinct voices. A cheer rang out from an apparent crowd. When he and Makino turned the final corner, his lips parted in faint surprise. The town center was decorated. There were still robots fixing things here and there, but stalls had been set up with food, booze, and everything in between. Villagers– Humans and gems alike –drifted around a huge bonfire surrounded by music, dancing, and easy laughter that invited Moonstone to join in. Torches lit up the slowly darkening world where the light from the bonfire didn’t quite reach.

“Oh.” It took him a second, but Moonstone brushed off his initial surprise, “Is there a holiday or something?” Moonstone asked before the big banner hanging from the awning of Makino’s bar caught his eyes and gave him his answer. It was nothing fancy, homemade and with a simple, heartfelt, “THANK YOU FOR SAVING US!” in bold letters.  

“I might have lied to you about needing your help.” When Moonstone turned his wide eyes back to her, she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, everyone just wanted to surprise you three, so I needed an excuse to get you to come with me. Hopefully Fire Agate doesn’t get spoiled before he gets back.” 

“Oh.” Moonstone didn’t mean to repeat himself. The single sound tried to catch in his throat as he turned back to the crowd of people. It’s then that more and more people finally seemed to notice him and Makino. Confusion covered several faces at first and that alone had Moonstone standing up straight. There’s an instant rush of panic and a ball in the pit of his stomach– even knowing this was a thank you party, Moonstone still expected some type of criticism on how he should have done better. 

The ball quickly dissipated when they seemed to recognize who he was, if only as “half of Sodalite” before voices chimed through the crowd. An even louder cheer echoed through the clearing and was quickly chorused by everyone else. It was ear-piercing, but it fueled the giddiness in his stomach, overtook the panicked gut reaction, and bloomed a budding smile into a sharp grin.

————————

Moonstone has never been to a celebration like this before. Hell, the closest thing he ever came to it were the nights that the bandits sang and drank to their hearts’ content and that was through Sodalite's distant eyes. That, however, wasn't near the size of a full village’s worth of people coming together in a festival. The buildings were damaged, there was still the lingering mourning that came with those that were lost in the initial attack, but through it all, they could find a reason to smile and tap their drinking glasses together through salty tears and nostalgic laughter. 

It wasn't long until Moonstone caught up with Luffy and, sure, that did well enough at holding his attention. But minutes distracted turned into an hour and that was long enough that Moonstone couldn't put it out of his head anymore. He bumped his shoulder to Luffy's and spoke over the loud cheering of those scattered around the ramshackle festival stalls they had been drifting around. “Hey– Have you seen Fire Guy around?” 

It had been itching at the back of his mind for a while now. Luffy's head turned and he blinked a couple of times as he processed what Moonstone said. He cupped his chin and tilted his head, one arm crossed over his chest to hold the other elbow up. “Huh… Nope! Wait…” Luffy squinted and stared across the street at someone for a few seconds before pointing. “There!” 

Imagine Moonstone's surprise when he turned his head to look and saw… Well, not Fire Agate, at any rate. He even tipped his head and rolled up onto his toes to see over people's heads to double check if the gem had walked further down the street and, nada.  "I… don't see him. Are you sure you saw him?” 

“What are you talking about? That's him right there.” Luffy pursed his lips and pointed at a short gem– bright yellow and by no means the gem they were talking about. 

The speed at which Moonstone had to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle his snickering wasn't quite fast enough to keep the other gem from looking over and, assumedly, thinking Luffy had made a joke about them. Bright yellow eyes narrowed in their direction, but Moonstone just shook his head and turned his attention back to Luffy. “Well, they have a glare like Fire Guy, but no. I think he might still be in the woods. Maybe the crowd scared him off?” 

“Hey! What were you two looking at?” The short yellow gem was suddenly in Moonstone's face. Or, well, they weren't quite tall enough to reach Moonstone's height, but close enough. Moonstone blinked down at them, not offering a verbal response.

A few minutes later, the gem was dazed and sitting in the wreckage of an old barrel they had been kicked into. Moonstone and Luffy booked it away from the vendor they had perturbed. Lots of money was lost tonight in the contents of that barrel, but the running gems hardly seemed to care as their laughter echoed into the night air. Moonstone led Luffy closer to the edge of the town and finally came to a skidding stop. Only for Luffy to barrel straight into him from behind.

Moonstone tensed and shifted his weight backward to attempt catching both of their balances. It barely worked and they were running down a downward slope, so Luffy was high enough that it planted Luffy's head on top of Moonstone's own. Luffy's arms looped around Moonstone's shoulders to hold himself up and Moonstone, for his credit, was barely even jolted forward. Instead, he turned his head left, then right, and Luffy's head turned with it. 

“Okay, I think we lost them.” Moonstone spoke seriously as he turned around as one last check and, like he intended, they were right back at the edge of the village. 

“Yeah, totally lost ‘em.” Luffy tipped his head forward at the same time that Moonstone's head tipped up. Eyes locked, they kept straight faces for all of .2 seconds before both of their faces broke when they started snickering. Luffy dropped from where he was wrapped around Moonstone and landed on the ground with an ‘oop’.

“You can head back to town, Luffy. I think Fire Guy got shy, so I'll have to,” Moonstone paused for a second before a shit-eating grin spread wide over his face, “smoke him out.”  Nice. Moonstone mentally pat himself on the back for that truly awful joke. Luffy's lips curled up and the snort he let out was all the enabling that Moonstone needed. “So, I'm gonna go look for him.” He gestured toward the forest behind him with his thumb.

Wide black eyes looked between Moonstone’s thumb, the forest it gestured to, and finally over Luffy's shoulder before he shook his head and pointed toward the forest. “‘s okay! I'll help look too. It'll be more fun when we're all together.” 

That took Moonstone aback. He stared at Luffy for a second before a softer smile tugged onto his face. He turned toward the forest so he could gain his bearings. “Okay, so, he might have gotten pretty far, so let's meet back here in an hour if we don't find him.” Moonstone raised a hand up. 

Luffy paused and stared at Moonstone's raised hand. Then realization spread and he grinned brightly. His palm slapped against Moonstone's before he turned around and took off. Moonstone himself almost wished he asked for a map before he headed out. Whatever. He angled right and headed further down the treeline to start searching.

————————

Why was he so reluctant? Fire Agate sat on a tree branch, one leg bent up under him to bounce up and down as an expression of his inner turmoil. The tree branch he sat on lightly bounced along with him. 

It was a simple enough solution. He just had to go. Still, his hood drawn up and his eyes squinting in his glare, Fire Agate found himself… hesitating. This was for the best, yet he only got about fifteen minutes through his trek back up the mountain. He felt like such a wuss. 

“I don't even like those guys!” Fire Agate threw his hands up and snapped into the previously quiet woods. He saw a few bugs and birds fly away as the loud sound echoed against the trees. 

See? Luffy would have already scared those creatures away before they even passed into this part of the forest. Everyone and everything on this side of the mountain would know exactly where they were. Luffy would grin and laugh and trip over something he should have been looking out for. 

Fire Agate didn't need the dead weight. As he thought that, he clenched his eyes shut to will the seed to be planted in his thoughts. Luffy's smiling face flashed behind his eyelids and Fire Agate let his thoughts linger on the days he spent running away from it. His eyes quickly snapped open and he slapped a hand to his forehead. Part of him half-expected to have a gem bump into his forehead until his open palm was all that smacked against his skin. 

Fire Agate pulled his hand away to peer at it. Right. Moonstone's gem was on that hand. Fire Agate's own was in the hand currently resting on his leg to will it to stop bouncing. Apparently being Sodalite for that long impacted him more than he thought it did. His fingers curled around his empty palm and closed into a fist. He didn't need Moonstone either, thank you very much. Get out of his head. 

Only he didn't. They didn't. His mind swirled helplessly with memories. Going out with Moonstone to collect things for their eventual spaceship was so every day it might as well have been mundane. He remembered the way Moonstone used to smile and cheer when they came back with a big haul. How distracted he would get figuring out how some of the machine parts worked. These days, they hadn't been able to go out much. They were just getting comfortable enough to touch back in at Grey Kindergarten to see if the Azurite Pirates were still after them. Maybe that's what Fire Agate should do. If he could keep the Azurite Pirates off of Moonstone and Luffy's backs, Moonstone could go searching again without a worry. 

Luffy mentioned wanting to be a pirate often enough. Maybe he could start collecting things with Moonstone instead. And Moonstone could keep Luffy safer than Fire Agate ever could. Where Fire Agate tried to brute force his way through every problem, Moonstone had the wherewithal to look at the why, the how, and get to the root of any issue to solve it. Fire Agate was marginally better in a fight than Moonstone, but what Moonstone lacked in battle instincts, he made up for in problem solving. It was only a matter of time before Moonstone got more into the swing of things and fought as well or better than Fire Agate. 

Moonstone would need it if he was gonna keep Luffy and the bandits fed. The mention of the bandits had another sinking feeling settling into his stomach. At least they all got what they wanted– Fire Agate wouldn't be a problem anymore. 

“Ah, damn it! Stop thinking about people.” Fire Agate slapped his own cheeks to disrupt that train of thought. He dragged his palms down freckled cheeks and stared off into the distance. “Won't make any of this easier.” Clearly. He would already be halfway up the mountain by now if it was that easy. 

“You're being so dumb.” And he really was. What was so difficult about walking away? This was all he had ever known– these people and these places –but he wasn’t particularly close to any of them or attached to any particular place. Except… well. Two idiots. “Ugh,” Fire Agate turned and fell back until he was laying along the branch. He could barely make out the sky through the leaves, but the dark outlines of the swaying leaves caught and held his eyes well enough if not his attention.

“FIRE GUUUUUUY!” Was a lightning strike in the relative peace of the forest followed quickly by a piercing howl. It shot tension through Fire Agate’s body and hit him with the strongest sense of familiarity. It put him right back in time to a few months ago. He blinked and turned his head to stare down at the forest floor. “WHERE ARE YOOOOOU?!”

And there’s that familiar strawhat. The wolf– Kebab or whatever Luffy called it –was several steps ahead of Luffy, slowing to a trot before stopping in the clearing under Fire Agate to sniff around at the ground. Fire Agate’s muscles tensed and he was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice as two old adversaries returned. He turned and sat up at a snail’s pace, hoping that Luffy didn’t have the thought to look up and that the stupid wolf wouldn't actually catch his scent. One leg shifted up so he could get a foot under him and he leaned his weight back to get ready to jump toward the vine to his right. He’s lost Luffy before and he could do it again. Luffy’s head turned right, left, and he even went as far as to look under the log of a fallen tree held up only by a few of its torn fibers still clinging to its stump. “D'you think he's around here?” Luffy called to Kebab as the wolf circled the clearing.

Fire Agate used that moment of shifted focus to adjust his weight on the branch. He sucked in a deep breath and threw his weight forward. “Oh, hey! Fire Guy!” Luffy called out from suddenly far too close with a bark from Kebab that was right under him. Fire Agate's head snapped to the side to see Luffy scaling the tree to his right. Then the world tilted. 

“Agh, fuck!” Fire Agate cursed as his foot slipped and he lost his balance. Gravity was as consistent as ever as it pulled him toward the forest floor. Fire Agate flailed to get his feet under him, but he wasn't high enough up the tree for any attempted cat-like reflexes to kick in. The soft grass did little to ease how hard his back slammed into the forest floor. 

And all he could do for a second was stare dazedly up at the sky. Fire Agate groaned less from the pain in his back and more from his own frustrations. He rubbed his hands over his face. When his fingertips passed over his eyelids, he opened his eyes to find Luffy's face hovering feet above him as Luffy leaned over to stare down at him. Kebab's soon popped up as well, though Fire Agate eyed him more warily. The wolf just rolled its tongue out as it sat and panted.

The asshole, however, was cackling so hard he had tears in his eyes. Every breath came in with a wheeze. “You should've– Hahaha, Fire Guy you– Pfffhahahaha!” The laughing brought color to Fire Agate's cheeks. “You should've seen your face!” Luffy leaned back with his arms wrapped around his stomach. “Look– Look, it was like–” Luffy could hardly stop laughing long enough to drop his jaw and widen his eyes to a comical degree before he erupted in laughter once more. 

“Gah– Shut up, Luffy! I didn't make any kinda face!” Mortification laced itself in Fire Agate's tone and, since he couldn't quite reach Luffy yet for revenge, he just settled for glaring at the stupid idiot and his stupid laughing. “What’re you even doing out here? You're supposed to be with Makino and Moonstone.” 

“Looking for you. I was yelling your name and everything.” Luffy was still getting his chuckles out as he leaned forward with his hands settled on his thighs to keep his weight up. “Do your ears work?” 

“No.” Fire Agate's tone was flat. He gave Luffy a bland look.

“Oh, dang! Fix that sometime!” Luffy spoke even louder and slower as if a lack of hearing meant he just needed to scream through the apparent deafness. 

“Stop yelling!” Fire Agate yelled.

“You first!!” Luffy yelled even louder.

“You started it!!!”

“NUH-UH!!!”

“You should’ve just stayed in the village! I'm too busy doing stuff to deal with you.” Ah, yes, a lot of stuff. Like sitting in a tree for a little under an hour.

“It's not as fun without you there.” Luffy seemed to take the pivot in conversation in stride. He spoke so earnestly that Fire Agate could only stare up at him dumbfounded from his spot on the grass. “Do whatever dumb stuff you're doing later.” 

Silence. Relative silence, at any rate. Fire Agate broke eye contact, sat up, and kept his back to Luffy. His hood pooled around his neck and revealed messy dark hair. His jaw set, Fire Agate spoke almost too quietly to be heard. “It'd be more fun if I was there?” 

“Mhm!” Luffy nodded his head, though Fire Agate couldn't see it. 

“It's bad when I'm not?” Fire Agate felt… heavy. So heavy that his shoulders sagged with the weight settled upon them. He stared down at his hands.

“Yep!” Another nod as Luffy probably missed the double meaning to his words– the weight his affirmative carried.

‘Fire agates are less than dirt! The whole line's just cursed to be evil.’ 

‘All of ‘em were too stupid to follow instructions. Look at what just one of them did.’ 

‘Fire agates might as well do everyone a favor and shatter before they piss another diamond off.’

Years of insults poured through Fire Agate's head in a torrent. It's then that he felt a wet nose nuzzle into his palms. Kebab leaned over him, lightly nosing at his hands enough to bring Fire Agate back down to earth. He hesitated before he brushed a palm over the hard exoskeleton on Kebab's head. His lips pressed together more firmly for half a second and his eyes closed. He finally got his last question out.

“... you don't think I should be shattered?” 

“Whuh–? Of course I don't.”

A breath he didn't need hitched in Fire Agate's throat.

Fire Agate's words had almost been quiet enough to be a whisper, felt too slight on his lips for Luffy to hear. Not only did he answer, but he… he was so quick about it. He didn't even need to think about it.

“I see.” Not really. Not fully. Fire Agate didn't think he ever would. 

But Luffy did. Even though Fire Agate often avoided him or hurt him, Luffy saw him.  

Not a fire agate. 

Not a waste of space with an expiration date. 

Him.

…

“Fine. Let's go.” Fire Agate stopped petting Kebab and stood up from his spot on the ground. He kept a straight face for all of a second before he whipped around with a glare and a declarative fist raised in front of his chest. Some things had to be clarified for good measure. “And not ‘cause you told me to either! I was gonna head back in a second anyway.” 

“Yeah right! You fell out of a tree!” It was a wonder who headbutt the other first, but Luffy certainly gained ground for those two sentences before Fire Agate was pushing back harder.

“What the hell's that gotta do with anything?! You fell outta way more trees than me!” Fire Agate wasn't gonna back down without a fight either. He pressed back, digging his forehead into Luffy's.

“That's different. You looked dumb when you fell!” 

“You're right! It is different!”

“HA–” 

“‘Cause you look dumb all the time!”

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!”

“YOU HEARD ME!”

“Good job, Luffy, you found him!” Moonstone's voice cut through their arguing with a note of relief in his tone. Fire Agate and Luffy both turned to look at him at the same time. One gem had a happy smile on his face while the other had murder in his golden eyes. When their eyes met in the middle again, Luffy stuck his tongue out triumphantly. Beside them, Kebab's ears perked up and his head turned so he could peer toward Moonstone.

Fingers pinched either of Luffy's cheeks and pulled hard enough to stretch. Luffy shrieked his disdain while Fire Agate ignored his rage to instead turn his head to look at Moonstone. “Moonstone? Why're you out here too?” 

“Looking for you.” Simple. As if Fire Agate needed any more reason to stay. Moonstone grinned cheekily at Fire Agate, unaware of how much those three words shook Fire Agate's foundation. “I figured you heard the party going on and chickened out.”

“I'm not a chicken.” Fire Agate scoffed and finally let Luffy's cheeks go. They snapped back into place hard enough that Luffy stumbled backward. “You two keep mentioning a party. What party?”

“Guess you’ll just have to come with us and find out,” as Moonstone spoke, he stepped further into the clearing until he was standing beside Fire Agate. “C’mon.” Moonstone dug an elbow into Fire Agate's arm and nudged him toward Luffy and, more to the point, the village. Fire Agate swatted Moonstone’s elbow away, but he still started off toward Foosha. 

“Nice job being even more vague, ass.” Fire Agate scoffed out his words, heading into the treeline with Luffy on his heels.

Even through the light atmosphere, Moonstone’s eyes were zeroed in on Fire Agate. A glance over the gem told Moonstone there was something swirling in the storm behind his friend’s eyes, but now didn’t feel like the right time or place to approach it. He took a moment to glance over the clearing they were leaving behind. Flowers, grass, trees, and nothing particularly different than the rest of the forest. With a low hum, he turned and followed after Luffy and Fire Agate before they could get far without him.

“What were all the secretive things you had to do out here? All I see are trees and grass.” He could ask that, at least. Moonstone caught up with the other two easily if only because they were busy butting heads over something he didn’t bother to pick up on. 

“Fire Guy fell out of a tree!” Luffy spoke up with a laugh that stayed even when Fire Guy himself dug an elbow into his side.  

“Watch it or I’ll throw you out of a tree.” Fire Guy settled his thunderous gaze upon Luffy, but he didn’t look at Moonstone when he turned it forward instead. He lifted his arms to lace his fingers together behind his head. 

There was expectation in the look Moonstone leveled on Fire Guy though and he could tell the eyes on him were starting to get to him with how Fire Guy shifted, glanced ‘subtly’ Moonstone’s way, and then twitched his eyes resolutely forward. 

“Stop lookin’ at me like that. I figured it out already, anyway, so don’t worry about it.” And there was no further clarification.  Well, whatever. Moonstone could accept that, at least.

“I knew you were some kinda secret agent!” Luffy shouted excitedly and pointed a finger at Fire Guy as if that would further solidify his point. He started off about the evidence for the supposed secret agent status. Fire Guy gave him a look that said, ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’ before he opened his mouth to say those words. 

Moonstone shifted and walked a little faster to push between them. With a moment of surprise that he couldn't pull Fire Agate's hood over his face easily for once, Moonstone pushed Luffy’s hat down over his eyes and obnoxiously mussed up Fire Guy’s typically straight hair with slightly more aggression than necessary– a provocation –before he burst into a run. 

“Bet I’ll get there first!”

“Like hell you will!”

“Wait! That’s not fair!” 

Distantly, he heard Luffy say bye to Kebab in a hurry before the race truly began.

Moonstone just ran faster as heavy footsteps slammed against the forest floor behind him, a laugh bubbling up his throat.

————————

The sounds of celebration had lessened as the night grew later, but it was still loud enough that Fire Agate could hear it even as they dashed through the outskirts of the village. It had him hesitating just long enough for Moonstone to pass him. His eyebrows lifted. So, there really was a party going on. 

People didn’t usually like having him around at parties. 

There was an excuse to leave trekking up Fire Agate’s throat to rest on his tongue. Still, he had a race to win.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Fire Agate yelled and ran faster. Luffy was several feet behind the two of them trying to keep up, though both Fire Agate and Moonstone made sure they weren’t too far ahead of the spinel. 

“HAH! I win!” Moonstone cheered as they turned a corner and stumbled into the middle of town side by side. 

Fire Agate shoved him with a scoff of, “Yeah, right! I got here…” His words trailed when he saw the sign hanging over Makino’s bar. The wild bonfire burned brightly in the middle of town with people and gems alike dancing around it to the beat of loud music that echoed through the town. Fire Agate froze when he felt eyes settle on him. He felt like he was trespassing, actually. He didn’t save anyone. Not really. That was blind luck. 

Why were they celebrating when he failed?  

“Wait…” Fire Agate took a step back when even more people turned to look their way. Distantly, Fire Agate recognized Luffy’s voice as he came around the corner. The sudden arm around his shoulders had his shoulders slumping with the weight of Luffy split between him and Moonstone. 

And then there was cheering. Cheering that was somehow loud enough to overtake Luffy’s voice right in Fire Agate’s ear. And they were smiling. At him. Fire Agate was rigid next to his companions, face darkening in his embarrassment. He–... How was he–... 

Fire Agate felt his throat constrict enough to cut off any words he might have tried to push out. It wasn’t… bad, but it was definitely overwhelming. He cleared his throat and only came back to himself when he felt a gloved hand slip around his own and squeeze a little too tight, but just tight enough to catch and hold his attention. His head turned to see Luffy standing between him and Moonstone. He held each of their hands before running forward with a yank hard enough that Fire Agate stumbled along after him for a moment. 

“Come on! There’s probably still some food left if we hurry!”

And Fire Agate was quite literally dragged into the festivities while Moonstone followed along eagerly. It wasn't that Fire Agate didn't want to participate, it's just that it was hard to have fun in the middle of a party when you can't be sure if the next gem or person you see will try to turn you in just for existing.

Still, Fire Agate got his fill of the vendors’ food options: actual kebabs that only Fire Agate could eat fresh off the grill without burning his tongue, some kind of fried bread that crunched pleasantly when he sank his teeth into it, ice cream that was the sweetest thing he's ever tasted before it melted in his mouth, and so much more. Fire Agate had never eaten outside of being Sodalite before and, actually? This was kinda great. Who knew food could be so good? 

So, they toured the stalls until there was no more food to be had and the vendors were waving them off. Only then did they migrate into the main square once more. 

Music still bounced in the air and, while there were less people dancing around the bonfire, there were still enough to call a crowd. Fire Agate could feel the heat even from where he stood with Moonstone and Luffy toward the edge of the crowd. A few people hung around the fringes like them. Everyone was socializing or playing games. Some were laughing drunkenly around a group of friends. They swapped stories over a drink. The only things that told Fire Agate that this place had been attacked less than a week ago were the bits of damage to the buildings and the occasional spare spine dug too deep into surfaces to be pulled out easily. 

Yet everyone seemed so happy and carefree. It had a quiet awe filling Fire Agate's eyes as he looked around. He lagged behind Luffy and Sabo in his distraction.

The rhythmic sound of shuffling cards could barely be heard over the music. His eyes found a table to his right beside the restaurant Sabo and Luffy were already stepping up toward. The table was surrounded by gems and humans alike. A blue gem sat close to the table shuffling the deck to prepare to deal them out. They spoke, but Fire Agate couldn't quite make out what they were saying. There's curiosity in his eyes as he looked over the group. He watched a moment longer when the dealer dealt two cards to each person. 

Okay, yeah, this was the game that Garp, Dadan, and Makino were playing. Unless there was some other game that looked similar.

Eyes flicked his way when they felt his gaze and the blue dealer tipped their head curiously at him. “Yo. You want me to deal you in?”

“Fire Guy?” A voice called before Fire Agate could answer and he turned to see Moonstone hovering in the restaurant's doorway. “You coming?” 

Fire Agate gestured to the poker table with a tip to his head. “I think I'm gonna play. Grab me something though.” 

Moonstone's eyes shifted toward the table before he realized what he meant and tipped his head in understanding. “Yeah, yeah. Try not to lose without me.” With a cheeky smile and a simple two-fingered salute, Moonstone turned his attention back to the restaurant.

“Yeah, right! You weren't even half the reason we did good last time!” Fire Agate couldn't hear it, but he could see the way Moonstone's shoulders shook with laughter when he stepped into the restaurant then out of sight. Fire Agate finally turned around back to the table and offered a nod their way. Maybe all the time he spent with the other two idiots ate away at any hesitation he might have felt. He played as Sodalite, so he definitely knows the rules, hopefully. Instead of dragging his feet, Fire Agate just shuffled over to the table and sat down on an open stool with all the fake confidence he could muster. 

All of the eyes at the table turned his way and Fire Agate felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up from all of the attention. He absently reached to tug his hood up onto his head. 

“Looks like you're in.” The gem shuffling the cards tipped his head slightly toward Fire Agate and everyone zoned back into the conversation they had been having. Fire Agate only relaxed a little once the attention wasn't focused on him. And he nodded. 

Here we go. “Poker, right?” And the dealer nodded his head back toward Fire Agate as confirmation.

Fire Agate patted his pockets absently to see if he might have money, but a woman to his right spoke up and patted his shoulder as she pushed some chips his way. “We're just playing for bragging rights, kid. You ever play before?”

The tension laced through him didn't quite relax even as the smalltalk started. If anything, it got worse when the cards were dealt. 

Hesitation sank to his core as he picked his cards up. Then Fire Agate lost the first round. Then the second. He almost won the third, but someone else had a spades flush and Fire Agate just had a hearts flush. Annoying, but whatever. He furrowed his brow while he waited for his next two cards. 

The next hand was better, at least. Fire Agate thumbed idly at the two aces in his dealt hand– diamond and heart. He already had a three of a kind with the ace of clubs the dealer placed out in the community line. Fire Agate's hand hovered over his chips before he raised his bet with a couple chips placed on top of the three he already had out. One man with only three chips left had to fold with nothing else to bet, but everyone else met his wager. They went around and around the table while Fire Agate just peered down at his hand with something like interest in those golden eyes. 

Four cards in the community line and Fire Agate had only two other people still willing to wager. Well, so far Fire Agate had a full house– Two aces in his hand, one on the table, and two twos also out on the table. Not too bad.

The next flop card came out and, as the dealer turned it over, Fire Agate couldn't stop the smirk that curled victoriously onto his face. There it was– Ace of spades. It was ornately designed with swirling details within the spade itself. Fire Agate let his eyes flick back and forth between the set of aces in his hand and the set of aces in the middle while everyone else raised their wager. 

“Cawds?” Rang a familiar voice and, when Fire Agate felt a head appear next to his to peer down at his hand, Fire Agate realized it was muffled with food. Luffy chewed his mouthful, his hat lifted slightly with his cheek pressed against Fire Agate's. “Cool! Are you winning?” Luffy squinted down at Fire Agate's hand. “What does the A mean again?”

Fire Agate felt his stomach drop at that and he opened his mouth to tell Luffy to shut up, but suddenly there was another cheek pressed against the one opposite to where Luffy had hunched over to press closer. Fire Agate's mouth was filled suddenly with what smelled fried and tasted sweet. 

“Looks like you gotta good hand.” Moonstone whispered a moment later, but saying it quietly still was by no means saving Fire Agate from the fact that Luffy  had already given his hand away. He was just about to go all in too… Fire Agate was ready to strangle both of them.

As his teeth sank through the pastry he was given, Fire Agate felt Moonstone and Luffy's arms hook under his own and heave simultaneously. He scrambled both to catch the half of the pastry not in his mouth with one somewhat restrained arm and to catch his falling cards with the other. He caught the pastry but both of his cards fluttered uselessly onto the table he was pulled away from. Mouth full, he could only make an incoherent sound of alarm and frustration before he was lifted and pulled away from the table.

Laughter chimed around the table after the flailing gem was pulled away from the game. Fire Agate forced his mouthful of cake-whatever down with a harsh swallow before he continued. “Hey! I was about to win! Assholes…” His flailing didn't quite free him from the hold, so he took another method and let most of his weight drop instead of holding it up himself. He shoved the rest of the weird dessert into his mouth with a petty little glare over his shoulder. 

“Don't be a baby. They're gonna put the fire out in an hour,” Moonstone, infuriating, hardly struggled with his half of Fire Agate's weight as they marched him off toward the bonfire.

“Yeah! It's dancing time, Fire Guy. Who doesn't dance at parties?” Luffy grinned as they stopped close enough to the fire that no one would be burned, but still close enough that Fire Agate could feel the heat on his back. 

Only when they released him and he almost dropped to the ground did Fire Agate finally balance his weight on his feet once more. He straightened and turned around to face Luffy and Moonstone who stared at him with matching smiles and wide eyes that wouldn't save them from the vengeance Fire Agate would enact on them later for ruining the one hand that he would have won.  

Still, Luffy shifted from foot to foot and moved his arms along with the other dancers that were still having their fun before the night crawled to a close. Then Moonstone fell into step and, well. Fire Agate had never danced before outside of the times he's fused with Moonstone, but it was a simple enough dance. For now, he just watched the two weirdos bump into each other and laugh at the fumble. As they righted themselves, they got back to it. Then two sets of expectant eyes settled on Fire Agate. 

“You two are really bad at this,” Fire Agate’s voice was flat as he spoke. Even with the fire being the only source of lighting, the darkness didn't hide the smile that creeped up onto his face. There's a crack that quickly turned into a grin when Luffy stuck his tongue out at him. 

“Oh yeah? Show us how it's done then, oh wise dance master.” Moonstone raised both eyebrows and gestured with a hand toward Fire Agate to tell him to go ahead. 

A moment of silence before Fire Agate finally turned and settled into the rhythm. See? Not that hard. He gave a smug look toward Moonstone and Luffy, but Luffy was already dancing along and the smile on Moonstone's face hardly seemed offended. 

It was… nice. Weirdly enough. The group dance shifted into one with more complicated steps and Fire Agate followed along the best his inexperienced ass could do. He stepped forward then back onto the other foot with a clap. One foot slipped over the other. Turn, clap-clap. 

One more turn with a weird foot movement Fire Agate didn't even attempt that had them stepping left. Only Moonstone stepped right and bumped into Luffy. “Oof–” Luffy's feet tangled with Moonstone's and they tipped back trying to catch themselves. 

Fire Agate saw it coming, but he wasn't fast enough to do anything about it before they both stumbled into him and, like a couple of dominos, they fell. Dirt kicked up around them when they landed hard on the ground. Fire Agate grunted when he fell. Luffy was half on top of him when he landed diagonal across Fire Agate's legs. His head bumped the dirt and his hat was knocked off, barely saved from getting sent flying by the string that hooked around his neck.

Moonstone got a faceful of dirt as he face planted into the space between Luffy's torso and Fire Agate's hip. His own legs were somewhere lost in the pile and his elbow somehow found its way into Fire Agate's stomach. 

There's a moment of stunned silence as they all figured out what happened. It was broken when Moonstone got a hand on the ground under him to push himself up and, when he looked up, his face was covered in dirt. He squinted and his lips shifted uncomfortably before he spit to get some of the dirt out of his mouth.

Laughter cut through the air a half-second later. Luffy and Moonstone turned their heads at the sound. 

Fire Agate couldn't help it. His head tipped back, his face pulled into a grin, and he didn't have a chance at stopping how the sound kept pouring out. Luffy's own laughter joined in barely a second later. Last, but not least, was Moonstone. He laughed enough that he nearly face-planted again and that just reinvigorated the laughter. Fire Agate laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. Most of it came from the landing, but at least a little bit of it came with the release of all the tension that he had been holding onto for the past few days.

They laughed then. They laughed some more ten minutes later when Luffy backed into a couple trying to slow dance. They laughed even more another fifteen minutes later when they were joined at the hands and spinning in a circle so fast they would have been sent flying had they not been holding on tight enough. They laughed even more when Fire Agate's grip slipped out of the other two's and he landed right into the bonfire. 

Fire Agate had never been a party guy before, but maybe it wasn't so bad. When they were there.

————————

A night of partying bled into a day of sleepy smiles, bustling early morning activity, and, eventually, goodbyes in the afternoon when Fire Agate, Moonstone, and Luffy started back up the mountain. 

And, of course, they had to stop in the forest to find a beetle similar to the one Luffy meant to bring Dadan. With Kebab's help once the wolf joined them, it didn't take an hour until they found one. Or, at least, a beetle that Luffy claimed looked similar. 

It was another hour before Luffy shuffled over to Moonstone. Moonstone turned his head with a curious tilt to it. Luffy held his hand cage out toward the gem. “Hold this,” Luffy said and Moonstone obliged. He held his hands out and carefully took the beetle to keep it in the hollow made between his cupped hands. 

“Are you going somewhere, Luffy?” Moonstone's question drew Fire Agate's attention. The gem slowed down until he was back in line with the other two, silent but curious. 

Instead of a verbal answer, Luffy just shook his head, widened his mouth comically in a yawn, and shuffled closer to Fire Agate. Fire Agate kept a curious eye on the pink gem and even looked over his shoulder when Luffy stepped up behind him. And up the gem climbed, not stopping even when Fire Agate tensed and let out an incredulous, “What the hell are you doing?” 

Luffy finally settled with his arms around Fire Agate's shoulders and his legs hooked securely on his torso in an unreciprocated piggy-back ride. Fire Agate shifted his balance to hold Luffy's weight and he would've pushed Luffy off, but then Luffy's forehead pressed into the top of Fire Agate’s shoulder. And, well, he couldn't really bring himself to push Luffy off then. With a roll of his eyes, Fire Agate finally reached his hands under Luffy's knees to adjust him and hold him up properly. 

“You've got legs, Luffy. The hell are you making me carry you for?” Fire Agate still kept walking though and Moonstone fell into step with him a moment later. 

“‘Cause you're warm.” Was the only answer, low and as quiet as Luffy was capable of getting. When Fire Agate just kept walking, he let out a laugh. “Thanks, Fire Guy.” Silence fell before the peace was interrupted by Luffy's ungodly snoring. Fire Agate was still tense as he walked, but that certainly had his complaints dying in his chest. 

“I can switch with you if you want,” Moonstone offered after a moment and Fire Agate glanced his way. Then his eyes drifted back to the mop of black hair sticking up in all directions that was pressed into his shoulder. He stared for a couple seconds before his eyes turned forward again and he just walked a little faster. 

“Nah.”

Moonstone snickered and extended his strides to keep up.

————————

It's close to nightfall again, the sun setting in the distance before the three gems finally made it back to familiar territory. Luffy woke up a while ago and, when he kept moving around enough to nearly trip him, Fire Agate took up the offer of trading. Moonstone held Luffy up dutifully despite how Luffy shifted and moved, disrupting his walk when he jerked his weight one direction or the other. Fire Agate, now more curious than ever about this damn beetle, held it in his hands and kept occasionally taking glances at it in the slightest gaps between his fingers.

“I mean, it's got a pretty big horn,” Moonstone mused as they grew close enough to the bandit hut to hear the sounds of life through the shifting trees. “Maybe it's another type of rhinoceros beetle?” 

Fire Agate hummed contemplatively. He had seen the beetle around enough, but he never really went out of his way to learn what it was called. It was just called the weird yellow one with the horn when he saw its kind flying around.

“I dunno!” Luffy said and finally dropped from Moonstone's back. He made grabby hands at Fire Agate to which Fire Agate couldn't help the snort that came out. He still handed the beetle to Luffy. Luffy took in a deep inhale, held the beetle carefully yet firmly in his hands, and took off like a bullet toward the bandit hut. “BIG LADY!!!” 

As Luffy passed into the clearing, Moonstone and Fire Agate settled into quiet laughter hearing the bandits chorus surprised cries. “Are you talking to– It's Dadan, you idiot!” Came Dadan's voice a moment later, though there was something half-hearted in her attempted insult. “And quit shoving that elephant beetle in my face.” There was an overjoyed gasp from Luffy when he finally got his answer. 

There were even louder gasps when Fire Agate and Moonstone passed into the clearing. “FIRE AGATE?!” The clearing chorused. Couldn't blame them. It had been months– as far as they knew, anyway.

“You're alive?” Magra gasped.

And another a moment later, “Wait, so Luffy didn't– Dammit! I lost the bet.” Money was shuffled around and Fire Agate just pointedly didn't look at any of them as he made a beeline toward the hut. 

“Look, boss, you don't have to worry anymore!” Herc said brightly as he patted Dadan on the shoulder. That had Fire Agate pausing mid-step, his head turning just enough to see Dadan. 

“I wasn't worried about that twerp!” Dadan tried to scoff, but the tears that wet her eyes and the way she sniffed said plenty. Feeling and then seeing Fire Agate's eyes on her, she just narrowed her eyes in a dare for him to say anything.  

Fire Agate didn't know what he'd say, to be honest. If anything, he was surprised that any of them even noticed, let alone cared. He flushed and marched off toward the bandit hut resolutely to hide his embarrassment. 

“What are you guys, stupid? I wouldn't die that easy.” Fire Agate finally thought to say, but his attempted exit was interrupted by Luffy. He had Moonstone in tow and the beetle surprisingly calm resting on his shoulder as he raced toward the hut as if the building grew legs and was running away from him. As he passed Fire Agate, he grabbed him by the arm and kept pulling. “Gah– Luffy, let go!” 

And they disappeared into the hut with Luffy at the front.

“Wait… Did any of y'all notice that there was one more of them?” 

Luffy led Fire Agate and Moonstone up the stairs and into that familiar room that he hadn't seen the inside of for months. The thread bare cots Luffy laid out to sleep on were still spread across the floor and that was where he landed once he released Moonstone and Fire Agate. 

“Hahaha!” Luffy sounded victorious as he spread out on the blankets. “I got you to fit! Now you've gotta try sleeping.” He pointed a finger at Moonstone and then at Fire Agate, switching back and forth as if the point would compel them to listen.

“What? Since when was that a thing?” Fire Agate furrowed his brow at Luffy while he gained his bearings.

Moonstone was already settling down on the cot when he answered, resigned to his fate. “We said it as Sodalite, remember?”

Fire Agate scoffed and didn't even bother righting himself completely once he heard that. He forgot about that stupid promise they made. Still, as reluctant as he was to delve much deeper into the whole “pretending to be human,” thing than eating, he wasn't the type to break a promise. He dropped his weight down onto the cots and leaned back on his palms. “How do you even know we'll be able to sleep, anyway?”

There was hardly enough room for the three of them, but they made it work. “Well, if Luffy can, we probably can too. Have you ever tried?” Moonstone laid back with his arms under his head like a pillow as he spoke. 

“Nope.” 

“Yeah, me neither.”

“It's the easiest thing ever. You just relax and…” Luffy was out, snoring despite the long nap that he took on the way back up here. The beetle he brought with him skittered up his cheek then flew off out the window to their right.

“Pff,” Moonstone smiled and closed his eyes to make his best attempt at actually sleeping. “Can’t be that hard…” His attempt seemed to work if how he eased and his breath evened out meant anything. 

Fire Agate took a while. He stared up at the ceiling, recounting the months that led him here while he counted the planks that made up the roof.

Huh. 

Nothing really changed, but at the same time… Fire Agate turned his head slightly to peer over at the two other gems in the room spread out and sleeping beside him. Well, he couldn't really say nothing changed. That felt so weird to think about.

Fire Agate thought he was getting used to being alone. Isolated even when surrounded by the bandits. 

Then Moonstone came along. And his world opened a little wider.

Moonstone showed him there were some people worth depending on. People he could trust. People who could annoy the shit out of him and get annoyed in turn, but at the end of the day they would still have each other's backs. Fire Agate figured he was okay with that much. He didn't even deserve that much, so he got comfortable with it. That was enough.

Now there's Luffy. So much had happened. Fire Agate couldn't even begin to list off all the ways he's fucked up so far. Yet Luffy hardly seemed to care. He hung on for dear life the whole ride. Even cheered along the way. 

With Luffy came trouble. A pest. A new thorn in his side…

A friend. Someone who smiled at him even when he wasn't able to do the same back. Who didn't give up even when Fire Agate showed the worst of himself.

There's more laughter in his world now. More experiences he didn't think he would like. Someone new to worry about, but someone who could put him at ease even when they were pissing him off. 

Fire Agate eyed the two of them for a long few more seconds. Then he sighed, he closed his eyes, and he settled in to try this sleep thing out.

…

It came easy. Just like Luffy said.

————————

“I'm Moonstone.” Moonstone's face was split in a grin as he stood before a perplexed Dadan. It was far too early for this shit, frankly. Moonstone rubbed the back of his head, eyes trailing to the side over the group of bandits he was somewhat familiar with, but who still looked at him with caution. “I've heard a lot about you. Guess I'll be staying with you from now on.” 

Before Dadan could so much as speak her trepidation, Fire Agate was calling from across the clearing. “Moonstone, c'mon!” 

And then Luffy. “Yeah, come on! We gotta go before the skunks leave!” 

“Right!” Moonstone called back to them then gave another toothy grin at Dadan. “Bye, lady!” And he was off. 

It wasn't even nine in the morning and Dadan already felt exhausted. It just got worse as she watched the three of them run off, pushing and shoving and laughing the whole way.