Naa(1) Zoro...
Title: Naa Zoro...
Author: forevernyu
Pairings: Luffy/Zoro. Can be viewed as friendship ;) I just think they make a wonderful pair!
Summery: Luffy has nightmares that lead him to wonder how strong his bound with Zoro is and if he will ever be left behind. Sequel to 'Luffy, King of the Hearts' which presented Zoro's POV of his relationship with Luffy.
Warning: Minor spoiler for the Enies Lobby Arc.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece.
AN: Sometimes words just wouldn't convey the feelings I tried to express in this. I believe the fault lies with the writer *sweat drop*. Well, please be patient, I'm trying hard to improve my skills *cough* (even if English is my third language).
This was edited by Aven (Blu-Calling) *deep bow*. Thanks sweetie, I'm in your debt!
Now, on with the story :D
He opened one eye, then the other. He blinked adjusting to his dimly lit surroundings and his pupils got wider making his dark eyes a deeper shade of black. The world around him was upside down. He blinked again only to realize that HE was dangling out of his hammock with his legs barely preventing him from falling to the floor, head first.
'That would have hurt', he thought while pulling himself up.
In a reflex-like motion, his right hand caught his straw hat and thrust it on his head. Feeling whole again he turned his attention to his surroundings once more. The boys' room was a mess rendered even more impressive by the huge, indefinable shadows it formed in the darkness. Outside, the sun hadn't risen yet, and it seemed the candle they usually left on the table died down long ago. The snoring and mumbling of his mates filled the room with a familiar cacophony but the ship was totally quiet otherwise. Luffy frowned. Waking up so early in the morning was by no means a habit of his!
He stretched his members in an impossibly long yawn then swiftly jumped to the floor declaring to no one in particular "I'm hungry!". He probed the room in search of their cook and spotted Sanji, or rather the void place he usually occupied on the bench. A wide grin crept to his face and he walked to the door determined to request a delicious snack. He rested his hand on the door handle then turned around looking for a missing 'item'. The green-haired man was nowhere to be spotted, probably on watch. Luffy walked out of the room and was greeted by the fresh, almost freezing morning breeze. To think that it was suffocatingly hot just a couple of hours ago... Grand Line was a strange place indeed!
Luffy stalked to the kitchen instinctively hunching his shoulders in reaction to the environing cold. However, when he reached his destination, he looked up the mast staring at where Zoro was supposed to be. The dream he had earlier, the one that woke him up so early in the morning, was tugging stubbornly at his consciousness filling him with a nagging feeling of discomfort. Hence, he decided that he had better talk to the source of it all and get it over with. Anyway, he could tell from the chopping sounds and the absence of a delicious smell that breakfast wasn't ready yet, and he knew from experience not to bother the 'love cook' when ... cooking. His decision made, he slowly climbed to the crow's nest.
***
The little room was almost as cold as the outside, probably because of the window being left wide open. Zoro must have opened it when the weather was still warm, then dozed off, not even noticing the rapid drop of the environing temperature.
'So very like him' thought Luffy a smile back on his face. He turned his attention from the window to the wall, and sure enough Zoro was there sleeping in his usual sitting position except for both of his arms clenched tightly around him and the little scowl on his face. The cold's doing no doubt.
Luffy crouched near the sleeping swordsman and leaned closer. He once heard Chopper saying something about people unconsciously answering questions while sleeping and this was the perfect occasion to test the theory.
He stared at his first mate as if trying to read his thoughts through the frown on his forehead. The man was a complete mystery, rarely showing his emotions or inner thoughts, taking a nap whenever he could and barely speaking to anyone. One thing was clear though, Zoro had changed since he joined the straw hat crew. He started interacting more with the other members of the crew albeit awkwardly, through rants and quarrels. And more importantly, he started putting trust in them.
Luffy however was concerned over how the swordsman viewed him. He once said that a captain who lost his crew members' respect was no longer worth following(2). His words were harsh but true. They left him speechless then haunted his dreams from time to time, that very night for instance.
Luffy was worried. After all, while all his other crew members joined him of their own free will, he had to blackmail the green-haired man into following him. Until then, Zoro had had a solitary life ruled by his belief that people can only rely on their own strength. For the affection-starved captain that was an awfully lonely way to live and he wished for his first mate to confide in him.
Zoro was not one to question his captain's authority and proved it more than once. He was faithful and would still be but Luffy couldn't know if he was satisfied with having him as a captain. His other crew members did not restrain from criticizing him and treating him as an 'idiotic captain' but he still felt their attachment to him, whereas Zoro was a lot harder to read. He did scold him for his foolish decisions or dangerous actions but Luffy feared his swordsman was otherwise indifferent.
***
Luffy leaned some more and his face got closer to the swordsman's so that their breaths mingled and formed white waves of warmth in the freezing air. Then he drew a deep breath and asked in a whisper, his eyes still locked on the other man's face:
"Naa, Zoro... If you were to choose again, would you rather leave me?"
Zoro's face suddenly relaxed into a sweet smile. The sight took the little captain aback and he could only stare to make sure that it was not an illusion made by the first ray of light that was now playing on Zoro's face. When the shock wore off the young captain smiled back and said simply:
"I see." Then he rose up to his feet.
Now that he was totally relieved his hunger was back at full force. He cast one last look to the sleeping man before closing the window and leaving the small nest. He had barely landed on the deck when he called at the top of his lungs: "SANJI! ASA MESHI(3)!"
- End -
Note:
(1) Naa equivalent to 'say' in English.
(2) Enies Lobby Arc spoiler : refers to when Zoro refused to let Luffy go fetch Usopp himself after he quit the crew.
(3) Asa Meshi means breakfast.
AN:
The 'slow motion' on this fiction is mirroring my own laziness, sorry about that.
This sequel was requested by Henna89 and Marhi. Thank you guys again for sticking with me.
Everybody please, please review and let me know what you think of it ok?
AN2:
You feel the end is frustrating? I have a more... romantic ending written, I just couldn't choose between the two. *Sigh* I'm so hopeless. Anyways, I decided to post it as a second chapter. You can read it if you're curious just know it will be rated T ;)