A Straw Hat Christmas
Been in a bit of a Christmas-y mood and so far have done two stories involving characters from Legacy of Kain and GTA IV respectively celebrating the holiday. I actually came up with this, and the other two all at about the same time. Of course this one took some thought as I wasn't immediately sure of what to have happen, but I'm sure it'll be well enjoyed. ;)
Chopper entered onto the lawn deck on a very cloudy afternoon finishing a new entry in his medical log. The Thousand Sunny had been nearing a wintery island for the last day and a half and he could already feel the familiar chill. Memories of his home, Drum Island immediately flooded his mind, and the tiny reindeer couldn't help but sniffle slightly as the faces of his two mentors flashed before his eyes. Then he remember what day it was, the 24th of December, and a wide grin spread on his face as he approached Luffy, playing cards with Ussop, and Brook.
"Hey guys!" The small straw hat chimed.
"Hey." Luffy and the other guys waved, barely looking away from their cards. Chopper frowned, but figured they were busy and left them. He then decided to walk over to Zoro, who was resting against the tree, just missing the snickers that broke out on the faces of the men as he departed.
"Hey, Zoro! Can you guess what day it is?" Chopper asked with excitement, hoping to hear that favored two-word compliment. But instead all he received was a tired grunt as the swordsman casually rolled onto his side.
"Bastard!" Chopper glared, then stormed away, again missing the knowing grin that briefly played across the green haired man's face. In the kitchen, Nami and Robin were quietly enjoying a light snack, while Sanji flittered about, catering to both women with hearts popping out of his eyes.
"Hi!" Chopper said shyly, wondering if he would get a response this time.
"Hey Chopper." Nami said with a gentle smile.
"Greetings, tiny doctor." Robin nodded, her lips slightly curving into a smile.
"So...uh, is there anything special going on today?" Chopper asked, nervously scratching his head with one hoof.
"Not that can think of, why?" Nami asked sweetly, her eyes showing a sincere look. Chopper frowned, turning away.
"Oh... well, it's nothing." He said, then exited the kitchen.
"You think we might be going a bit far, Ms. Navigator?" Robin asked stifling a small giggle.
"Just a little longer, Franky said he should be ready very soon." Nami replied, frowning slightly, a little unsure of the scheme she and others were taking part in.
"Worry not, my dearest sweet Nami-swan, I know your brilliant surprise for Chopper will go off without a hitch!" Sanji cooed, his eyebrow wiggling as he danced around the red haired navigator. Outside on deck, Chopper sat between the space of the railing and stared out at the deck, wondering what was wrong.
"Did they really forget my birthday?" He thought aloud, looking close to tears. But then he realized what he was doing and lightly poked himself on the head with his hoofs.
"No! A real man doesn't cry over something like this.... but what if they really did forget?!" The blue nosed reindeer cupped his head and blanched at the thought as tears welled up in his eyes. But before he could finished wigging out, the loud speaker crackled to life.
"Attention! Everyone is required to gather below deck in the wreck room, there's a suuuppper awesome surprise waiting!" Franky's voice boomed across the ship, braking Chopper's chain of thought. Though still a little depressed, the doctor did as instructed and headed down to the specified room, where he could already see Luffy and the others already gathering. Inside the room, the lights were dimmed, and Franky stood before a shrouded object covered with a tarp.
"Umm, guys? What's going on?" Chopper asked when he noticed everyone was wearing a knowing smile. The lights then flickered on and Franky clicked his fingers as he struck a pose before pointing directly at Chopper.
"It's a super, ultra, special surprise, just for you little bro!" Franky said with a flashy display, then pulled on the tarp with his other hand, revealing a spherical globe about the size of a basketball, which depicted a familiar looking castle surrounded by red rocks. Chopper's face immediately shone with a glee and joy as he realized it was Drum castle.
"WOW!" The tiny reindeer was awestruck, as was his raven haired captain.
"But that's not all, watch!" Franky hit a small switch and the rocks began to blow and twirl around the replica castle, like snowflakes, bringing back another fond and cherished memory to Chopper's thoughts.
"SO COOL!" Luffy said with wide eyed wonder, watching the large snow-globe of Drum Island being covered in cheery blossoms. Chopper meanwhile was dumbstruck, he had almost doubted his friends, his family remembering his birthday.
"It was sister Nami's plan!" Franky said, gesturing to Nami, who nodded.
"I helped find the petals! And I can tell it was no easy task, first I had to travel to far off island far to the-" Ussop started, only to be butted out by Luffy and Brook, who both dog piled on the sniper's head as they faced Chopper.
"Me and Luffy were able to find the most exquisite model shop to get the building materials." The skeleton said, Luffy nodding with a big grin while Ussop's arms flailed under both of them while he shouted about their rude 'interruption'.
"Happy birthday, Chopper!" The crew said, leaving Chopper completely speechless. The pink hat bobbled from side to side as the tiny doctor tried vainly wipe away the tears that now trailed down his face in rivulets.
"Thank you... you jerks... thank you..." Chopper bawled, sniffling as he watched the snow globe slowly die down. Many more gifts were presented, from an anatomy tome from Robin, to a book on beatles from Luffy.
"You just got that so you could borrow it yourself, didn't you?" Nami cast a look at the boy, who blinked and looked away with a guilty frown. Before Chopper knew it, a full on party was in swing, with Sanji carting in a large offering of food, the center piece a cake designed with his Jolly Roger. Of course Luffy had to be batted off when he attempted to snatch a large handful of the delicious confection.
"I've never had such a wonderful birthday party before... thanks!" Chopper sniffled, still feeling so overjoyed. Luffy grinned as he always did, his signature laughed hissing from between his teeth.
"Like we would forget, besides, it's right next to Christmas, so it's easy to remember." Luffy said, laughing again as he stuffed some food down his mouth.
"Speaking of which, it's only a few more hours till Christmas, how about we open a gift or two." Ussop suggested, to which the others heartedly agreed. Returning back to the kitchen, the crew sat around the table, each one picking out a random gift from the pile in one corner.
"Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Luffy frantically tore into a blue stripped box, which opened to reveal a fresh new red ribbon.
"I thought since the old one is always just barely making it through all your fights, you might like a spare handy." Nami said, watching Luffy grin excitedly.
"Thanks Nami! Quick, open mine!" He said pointing to a clumsily wrapped, oblong package. Nami beetled her brow at the poor presentation, and simply looked flabbergasted as she saw what it was, a strange blocky looking doll that resembled a cross between a robot and a dog of sorts.
"Isn't just cool?" Luffy asked, not seeming to notice the quizzical look on Nami's face. But as the navigator looked the peculiar figurine over, she couldn't help but smile.
"It's wonderful, Luffy, thanks!" She said with a slight blush.
"Oi!" Zoro grunted loudly, drawing a few glances in his direction. A bottled reading "Sword Polish: Defeat the greatest enemy, stains with one swipe!" dangled from the swordsman's hands as he glared at the blonde cook with disgusted look.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" He asked.
"I think the words you're looking for are; Thank you." Sanji replied with sneer, blowing a puff of smoke into Zoro's face as he opened a gift, only to blanch when he found it was a feminine looking apron.
"AND JUST WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" The cook thundered, glaring daggers.
"I think you mean to say; Thanks." Zoro said with a smirk. Robin chuckled lightly at the antics, averting her eyes when Zoro turned to give her a look. She then went about unwrapping a heavy book which chronicled several popular fairy tales.
"I thought it might be a fun read." Nami said, smiling.
"Thank you, Ms. Navigator."
"Hey, Ussop, whatca got there?" Franky's voice carried over the table, the sniper had a box in front of him, which previously held a strangely cobbled together slingshot with a note attached to it.
To our proud and fearless captain! We thought maybe your old one might have busted or something, so we all put our heads together to make you this! Hope you like it, make sure to use it to stop plenty of evil bad guys!
~ The Ussop Pirates, Carrot, Pepper, and Onion!
~P.s: Ms. Kaya gave us a letter to send with our gift!
Ussop then peeked into the box, noticing an envelope sealed with a wax stamp. The words 'To Ussop; open in private' were written in fancy writing, a red smear that looked like lipstick punctuated the sentence. Ussop shrugged, not sure what to make of the words and carefully opened the envelope, where he saw the edges of several photos. But when he pulled one half way out, a deep blush ran across his face.
"K-K-Kaya?!" He said with a stuttered, a bead of sweat ran down his face, as did some blood from his nose.
"Hey, is that something from a girl? Is she cute?" Sanji was about to wander over to peek over Ussop's shoulder, only to be booted in the face by the sniper's large shoes.
"It's nothing you should concern yourself with!" The curly haired teen said, closing the envelope and stuffing it into his pockets for safe guarding while the blonde angrily growled a confused remark as he rubbed his cheek. Luffy and Nami both laughed, but soon stopped when a piece of mistletoe was suddenly dangled above them by a slender hand. Nami immediately turned beet red and glared Robin, who tried to look innocent while Luffy merely regarded the dangling mistletoe with confusion.
"Ooh, how daring!" Franky said as he watched Nami and Luffy both exchange awkward glances. Sanji could be heard moaning, asking softly to Robin why she would play such a cruel prank on his Nami-swan like that. Finally, after a silent pause, which was broken by Brook's signature laugh, Nami and Luffy slowly leaned closer to one another.
"Merry Christmas, Luffy..." Nami said, her face flushed crimson. But instead of hearing Luffy respond the same, she felt a soft sensation press to her lips for a second. Pulling his head back, Luffy grinned as he always did, carefree and spirited.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Nami!"
THE END!
Yea, I was a bit mean to Chopper in the beginning, but hey, it all worked out in the end! I admit I might have rushed it near the end, but I couldn't really think of too much without being "oh, person x opens a gift." I was trying to make the sword polish bit with Zoro and Sanji sound dirty, kinda poking fun at the yaoi pairings, but also how the two do tend to set each other up for quarrels. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this.
Anyway, happy holidays to everyone!