A/N: Inspired by Amethyst Turtle's "Flying with Albatrosses", Unconditional Skies is gonna be a set of 36 drabbles (or oneshots) featuring all possible pairings in the Straw Hat Pirates. Because, well, we all can never get enough of nakamaship, right? :3 I've already got a few pairing plots down, so I hope I can post regularly (hopefully once every week). :) I'm still trying to get the right way of writing each character down, so if you notice any of them being out of character, please don't hesitate to tell me.
Title: Weights
Pair: Luffy, Zoro
Length: 990 words
Summary: Though it's been two years, it still seems to both Luffy and Zoro like nothing's changed.
Happy reading!
Zoro was up in the crow's nest, training with his incredulous number of weights as usual. It was nice to hear the clanking of metal again, to hear the barely silent grunts Zoro made as he crouched and stood with weights on his shoulders—the almost inaudible volume evident of how easy it was for Zoro to lift double or quadruple the amount of his eight nakamas' weights in total (not that Brook added much weight), and to Luffy, watching this familiar scene from the crow's net entrance, felt like nothing changed for the past two years, like they weren't apart for more than a day.
The swordsman hadn't changed much, the captain observed, save for the scar across the swordsman's left eye and some more scars here and there, like marks of every step he made getting closer to being the strongest swordsman on his body. Zoro looked more massive now, he must have gone through really tough training, the captain presumed, but the more Luffy watched Zoro, the more he thought that Zoro was still Zoro.
"Luffy," Zoro spoke, set his weights down and turned to the intruder on his right. Don't bother me, I'm training, Luffy expected, just as Zoro would have said two years ago. "Get on up here and sit on the chair if you're gonna watch."
"Oh," Luffy blinked. That response was surprising. Then his lips pulled to a wide grin. "Shishishi, okay!"
Luffy stretched his feet over his head and sommersaulted to the crow's nest floor. He leapt towards the sofa, sitting with legs crossed as he used to on Merry, and watched Zoro with earnest eyes as the swordsman put another set of weights on each side of the bar and placed the weights on his shoulders again.
Zoro didn't speak much after. Not that Luffy expected him to, anyway. Zoro was silent, steady as a rock, exploded only when reasonable (like Sanji calling him those names the captain found so funny). But Luffy wanted to ask so many things—like how Zoro got that scar (and that scar, and that one, and that other one), how vicious training was under that Hawk guy, how many new moves can he do by now. But, Luffy realized, there will be lots of time for that. They had just left the first island in their adventure here in the New World, and there will be many more chances for him to ask those questions.
He decided, then, to ask one question for now.
"So, you can cut ships in half now?"
The swordsman paused while standing, the abrupt question catching him off guard for a moment. He let out a short chuckle, which others may find to be an amazing feat that he could manage to laugh while holding such heavy weights. "Yeah," Zoro then resumed his squatting. "the cook told you?" Zoro remembered he had only ever sliced a ship in half once since he reunited with his nakama, and that was back in Sabaody, where he first saw the cook again.
"Nope! But I thought you should be able to do at least that after two years." Luffy laughed again—shishishishishi—and his laughter blended with the clanking of Zoro's weights.
None of them spoke for a few moments after. Luffy couldn't see, but Zoro was smirking, glad he reached the least of his captain's expectations. But his eyes flared determination—that he will show Luffy he can even do more than just slicing ships in half, that all the scars he had received so far will be such a small number compared to how many enemies he is ready to—and will—slash and defeat, that he was more than ready—and capable—to take Luffy to the top of the seas, of even the whole world.
Another shishishishi filled the room.
"We'll do it, Zoro." At those words, Zoro stopped moving. He put the weights down and turned to his captain, hands on his haramaki, who repeated his words with determined eyes, "We'll do it."
I'll become the Pirate King. You'll become the greatest swordsman. We'll all accomplish our dreams. Those, Luffy left unsaid, but Zoro heard those words through that bright, stupid, wide grin his captain always had since he first met him. Trust Luffy to say something like this, to say something out of the blue, as if by instinct, or as if he just read Zoro's mind. The swordsman grinned right back to that goofy smile.
"Of course."
"Luffy," they both heard a low voice call from below.
"Ooh, these ham sandwiches are amazing, Sanji!" Usopp shouted joyfully. They could hear Chopper squealing with happiness at how delicious the sandwiches were.
"Oi, Luffy!" Sanji called again towards the crow's nest. "If you don't come down right now I'll give your share of snacks to the Sea Kings."
"MEAT~" Luffy drooled, eyes turned to stars, grinning as he leapt towards the crow's nest entrance, about to jump from out and make it down to where Sanji must had held plates over plates of delicious, delectable ham.
I don't think you'll get what you're thinking you're getting, Luffy. Zoro inferred, given the expression on his captain's face, that he was imagining a huge tower of meat. He watched his captain wave a wide goodbye to him then jumped down the entrance. Zoro sighed at his captain's simple-mindedness, then resumed his training.
There were actually many things Zoro meant to ask—how did he get that scar on his chest, how was his clash with Mihawk back in Marineford (he heard snippets of it from his master himself), how did he feel (and was he okay by now?) about Ace. But with the way Luffy still seemed to be Luffy, he figured that maybe he didn't need to ask these questions. Not now anyway.
Many days and many adventures awaited all nine of them, and there will be a lot of time to talk about such things in the future.
A/N: So, how was it? :) Honestly I don't think Luffy's as brainless as most make him out to be. He's perceptible when you need him to be, right? Especially after the timeskip. That doesn't mean he's not impulsive anymore, though. Haha. Zoro... I don't think I've made my Zoro characterization speak much, even in my last Zosan fic. I wonder if he's being too silent. o: Anyhow, for this chapter, I actually tried to establish a captain-first mate trusting each other-like mood, not so sure if I got that through though. Ahaha.
Constructive criticism is very much welcome! :)
Reviews are very much appreciated.
Thanks for reading!