Author's Note:
Let me begin by stating that I didn't expect to be returning to the Crossfire universe with more than an occasional drabble much less a full-length multi-chapter sequel-of-sorts. I was, in fact, pretty adamant that the assorted alternate and alternate alternate drabbles were as far as the story would go, despite numerous reader comments asking for Luffy and Zoro to give it one more try in hopes of having a girl. I should've known better; never, never ever ever say never.
A few months ago, I started roleplaying as Zoro for a group of very special, wonderful people that I met via both tumblr and facebook. Several of them - Luffy, Robin, Nami, Chopper - had read the original CF fic and convinced Sanji and Usopp to check it out too, and we somehow ended up rping according to the alternate alternate ending. Then Luffy decided the Roronoa-Monkey family wasn't quite large enough, and lemme just say- that captain's one persuasive, MANIPULATIVE motherfucker.
Because I never intended to take the story further and therefore didn't have any particular plans, I gave Luffy's player almost full creative control over this round and promised that I'd run with whatever she wanted as canon to what I started to jokingly refer to as Crossfire-to-the-third-power. Crossfire-cubed, if you want to be specific. We originally planned to attempt a real time scenario, spanning a literal nine months, because we'd never heard of anyone taking an rp to such an extreme and thought it might be interesting if challenging, but things got complicated due to offline events and I decided that dropping out of the rp for personal reasons was in my best interests.
While it was still going full-force, however, I got hit with a serious case of writer's block which I attempted to combat by starting a writing challenge. One pairing, one sentence per theme, fifty themes per set. I decided to use LuZoLu as my pairing and the rp scenario as background for what finally ended with 141 sentences and nearly 8,000 words of material which slowly started to take shape as a specific narrative rather than the series of isolated events it resembled when I first started.
I originally planned to leave my work unpublished outside the rp group and I never did finish the last nine prompts, but now that I'm writing an entire piece based on this stuff, I'm not sure it's necessary. If anyone's interested in seeing how the sentences evolved into what's likely to become another sprawling monster of a fic, I'll probably include them with my closing remarks when I eventually wrap this thing up.
This one's dedicated to my rp crewmates: Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper - both of you - Robin, Franky, Brook and especially Luffy. Guys... what the hell can I even say. I had a lot of fun, and I'm glad most of us still talk on a regular basis. Thank you for everything. Also, a nod of special thanks to Ewim for taking a moment to read over my sentences when I was attempting to put them in chronological order and for humoring my ridiculous, awkwardly-worded messages. And the biggest thank you of all to my husband, who's graciously agreed to beta another multiple-chapter fic of this utter nonsense.
If you haven't already read Crossfire's alternate ending and the accompanying drabbles, I highly recommend doing so before you start reading this fic, which directly references those. The standard warnings apply here as well: mpreg, implied non-con, potentially graphic medical descriptions, etc.
xxx
"Yeah, she figures we'll spot land within the next hour. Oh, and Sencho said we should probably- OI, Sabo, I said NO."
Grimacing, Zoro carefully pries his younger son's damp fingers off the panic-stricken Den Den Mushi and shifts the scowling toddler to his other hip. "Shit. Sorry, Jinbei. Kid's got another tooth coming in and he's trying to chew on anything he can cram in his mouth. Now what the hell was I- oh, right; Luffy only wants us docking a few ships at a time so we don't take over the whole bloody port."
He pauses, listening, with the agitated snail hoisted safely out of reach.
"Ba," Sabo insists, wriggling determinedly in his grasp and reaching for the mollusk again. "Ba-ba-ba!"
"Look, I know it's kind of round but it's not your damn ba-ba, so will you quit-" The swordsman responds without thinking and then breaks off, flushing and clearing his throat, because the fishman's clearly abandoned any attempt at conversation in favor of low chuckling. "Son of a-"
He's interrupted by the dining hall door swinging open and brightens immediately at the sight of the tall brunette stepping into the room. "Hang on a second, okay? Robin, do me a favor and distract this little monster so I can finish talking to Jinbei without sounding like a freaking idiot? Or more of an idiot than I already have, anyway."
"Certainly. I thought you might require an extra hand," the historian teases, amused by her crewmate's sigh of relief – and the sight of the Den Den on his palm visibly relaxing – as he passes the squirming child to her. Sabo, clinging reluctantly to his father's coat, utters a string of babbled protest that dissolves into repeated cries of "dada" before he's abruptly sidetracked by the long black tresses that are suddenly dangling tantalizingly within reach. Robin tries not to wince as he tugs a fistful happily, lifting him higher so she can free her hair and sweep it back over her shoulder. "My goodness, someone's getting rather heavy."
"Tell me about it- I can't wait 'til that blasted tooth comes in and he decides to stop being so damn clingy," Zoro grumbles, although the expression on his face is somewhat wistful, forcing his nakama to hide a broader smile because she's certain he's thinking quite the opposite.
"Go ahead and finish briefing Jinbei-san, and we'll be waiting for you and Luffy on the lawn deck," she informs the swordsman, deftly diverting the small hand that Sabo's attempting to plunge into her cleavage as they head towards the exit.
"Jeez, I swear that kid's worse than the ero-cook, grabbing at tits all the time," Zoro muses to himself when she's out of earshot- and nearly drops the snail when it utters a loud, sputtering cough. "Ah, sorry, Jinbei. I would've snagged somebody to watch him earlier, but everybody else was busy fucking around with the rigging and shit, and Nami's got Sencho cornered in the library, going over receipts or supply lists or something."
He doesn't bother telling the fishman that he briefly considered letting Sabo roam the dining hall floor, only to immediately dismiss the idea when he realized he was likely to spend most of his time scrambling under the table or behind the kitchen counter to retrieve the kid. While the little guy still spends a lot of time clinging to stationary objects while trying out his feet – something Franky laughingly coined as "furniture cruising" – he's capable of getting from point A to point B pretty damn fast crawling on his hands and knees.
"There's no need to apologize," Jinbei assures him, voice still holding a clear note of amusement. "But, yes, in regards to Luffy's orders, I agree that we ought to exercise a certain measure of restraint. Should I assume that the Sunny will be leading?"
"Sure- sounds like a plan. You know how he gets when it takes this long between islands and the cook's gotta start rationing the damn meat supply. Although at this point, I think we'd all be happy for a chance to stretch our legs."
xxx
Much to Luffy's dismay, he doesn't escape Nami's clutches, or what he considers the claustrophobic confines of the observation room, for a good hour and a half after reluctantly agreeing to take a look at the inventory lists she was clutching when she intercepted him and Zoro on the lawn deck, seized him by the scruff and dragged him bodily inside.
He's not entirely sure why the navigator bothers keeping such detailed records on everything, considering they're definitely not short on money – nowhere near it, in fact, and they haven't been for some time now thanks to the steady trickle of other pirate crews eager to pledge their support to the Pirate King, not to mention his steadfast refusal to abandon adventuring – but she's determined to make every beli count. And for some reason insists on making sure that he's aware of exactly where it's all going.
While he doesn't mind the opportunity to get his hands on Sanji's grocery lists, even if no one's liable to mistake his sloppy scrawling for the cook's neat penmanship or agree that they really need quite that much meat, the rest of it-
"If we need repairs and stuff, why don't we just get 'em done?" He asks petulantly, drumming his heels against the side of the desk he's perched on. "I don't see why you gotta tell me. I mean, Franky's the shipwright and you're the one who handles all the money, so it really doesn't have anything to do with me, right?"
"You-" Nami buries her face in her hands momentarily before slapping them both palm-down on the desktop forcefully enough to make him jump. "YOU'RE the one who damaged the bloody ship in the first place, fighting with Zoro when-"
"I told you, we weren't fighting. It was an accident," the captain mumbles, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Luffy, you nearly knocked him through the men's quarters wall!"
"Yeah, but-" He scratches his head sheepishly, searching for a way to explain, because it honestly HAD been an accident, but really- how was he supposed to know his first mate was going to get so pissed off over such a trivial matter? Seriously, using Gomu Gomu no Fusen as an impromptu trampoline had been a stroke of pure genius; Ace himself had said so – thought it was a GREAT idea – and everything had been perfectly fine right up until Zoro had stopped yelling and tried to actually grab him.
Being unexpectedly manhandled had forced all the air out of him in one giant "FWOOOSH" and the resulting impact had sent the swordsman flying while Luffy himself had bounced off in the opposite direction with his arms wrapped tightly around their son.
"We were lucky-" Nami growls, "-that Franky had enough lumber to replace the paneling and repair the doorframe right away, but now we need to replace it, and Adam wood is expensive."
"But Nami, we've got plenty of-"
"Expensive and RARE. It's not something you just stumble across on any old island! And besides, I've been saying it for years- as captain, you should be taking an interest in our financial affairs, not just blithely running around having adventures and stuffing your face."
"But Nami-"
"Not to mention, you need to decide what we're going to do about the fleet. It's getting larger every time we pass through the Grand Line, and that means more mouths to feed, more repairs, more bloody paperwork-"
"But-"
"No more buts!" The navigator snaps, then snorts and smacks her nakama's shoulder because he's snickering at her. "Luffy, I'm serious. It was different when it was just us and the Sunny, but now we've got all these guys showing up, insisting it's their dream to follow the Pirate King, and-"
"I know, I know…" He sighs, absentmindedly trailing a fingertip along the wood-grain in the desk's surface. "Zoro keeps saying it too. That I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do with them. He swears there's new faces showing up almost every day, and he thinks some of them have pretty big bounties too. Not like ours, of course, but-"
The captain glances up, brow furrowing. "I think it freaks him out a little. Not knowing everybody, I mean."
Nami's expression softens a bit. "That doesn't surprise me. But he's right, you know. We- YOU- need to be more involved with… well, a lot of things. Which is why you're going with Franky to check the local shipyard for lumber, although I doubt you're going to find anything."
"What about you?"
Gesturing to the small mountain of paperwork piled haphazardly on her chair, the redhead favors him with a weary smile. "I've got plenty to keep me busy right here. Hopefully I'll get through it before this evening, but I suppose there's always tomorrow."
"You're not gonna ask Brook for help?"
"Sanji's already claimed him and Chopper to help carry everything we need to restock the kitchen, and they're definitely going to have their hands full this time. We're down to the last of the citrus, and the mikans won't be ripe for at least another two or three months. The last thing we need is someone coming down with scurvy."
Luffy wrinkles his nose, nodding in silent agreement. His crew's been fortunate, having a cook and doctor both fanatical about ensuring everyone avoids vitamin C deficiency, but he's seen others who aren't quite so lucky. Bleeding gums, jaundice and fever make for some unpleasant if easily diagnosed symptoms.
Another thought abruptly occurs to him, but Nami's speaking again before he can do more than open his mouth. "Usopp offered to stay behind and take watch so I can get some work done. It's going to take the log pose about 72 hours to recalibrate, so we'll just wait and go ashore tomorrow."
"Ah, okay."
There's not many things the captain demands from his crew, but the idea of his nakama - any one of them - either setting out or remaining on the Sunny alone still bothers him after all these years. Bad things tend to happen when he and his crewmates are separated from each other, and although he hasn't outright mentioned it to anyone, he agrees with his swordsman; being surrounded by ships sailed by fellow pirates he doesn't know very well has done little to ease his mind.
While he prefers to see people in light of their virtues and strengths rather than their vices and shortcomings, personal experience has taught him again and again that it's in his – and his crew and family's – best interests to remain guarded at best.
It hasn't been all that long - only five or six weeks, maybe a couple of months at most - since that mess with one of Zoro's challengers, and while the swordsman certainly hadn't been alone during that fiasco, Luffy hasn't forgotten Sabo's nearly hysterical reaction to the tense atmosphere. He also hasn't forgotten the toddler's instantaneous calm at Usopp's abrupt return before anyone else was even aware the sniper had boarded the ship again following his unplanned side trip.
It was kind of weird. Almost like he knew we should've been- that we NEEDED- to be together. That we wouldn't be okay while we were still missing somebody. And that wasn't the first time either.
He hasn't mentioned his growing suspicions to Zoro yet, but-
"Go on, get out of here," Nami laughs, derailing his thoughts. "It's pretty obvious you're like a million miles away, and I guess I've kept you long enough. I'm sure Ace has driven Sanji up the mast by now."
Luffy bolts for the door before she can change her mind; he'll worry about repair bills and the growing fleet and small children exhibiting signs of Haki later, but right now he just wants to get outside because the weather's nice, there's an island to explore and he can hear his family's raised voices drifting up from the lawn deck.
"Gah, leggo my face, you little-!"
When the curious captain peeks over the balcony, an enormous grin immediately surfaces on his face at the sight below.
Sabo is giggling madly, one flailing hand repeatedly smacking his swordsman father in the nose as they lie face-to-face in the grass, and as Luffy watches, Zoro abandons his attempts to fend off the blows and rolls onto his back with their younger child clutched against his chest, struggling to muffle poorly concealed laughter as he declares himself soundly defeated.
Ace, sitting at the top of the stairs and looking somewhat torn between going down and joining in or staying put and maintaining his dignity, glances over at the slap of sandals coming up behind him. "You finally got away, huh?"
"Unngh," Luffy groans, dropping down beside him. "Yeah, I got lucky she didn't make me stay in there for at least another hour. Oi, so I guess I gotta go with Franky to check out the shipyard- you wanna come along, look at guys building boats and stuff?"
"Sure! What about Dad- is he going too?"
"Dunno. I didn't ask him yet." He straightens up slightly. "OI, ZORO!"
On the lawn below, the swordsman sits up, narrowly evading the fingers Sabo's trying to jam into his left nostril and brushing bits of grass from his hair as he peers up at them.
"WHERE YOU GOING AFTER W- ow!"
"Oops," Sanji hums, casually replanting the foot he's just used to boot the younger pirate in the buttocks. "Didn't see you there, shitty Gomu. Must've mistook you for some bloody seagull screeching its damn head off."
Ace snickers.
"If you wanna talk to Marimo, why don't you go down there and do it instead of screaming at him from here?" The cook shifts the small drink- and snack-laden tray he's balancing to the opposite hand. "She hasn't yet graced us with her presence, so I'm guessing our lovely Nami-san is still hard at work?"
"Yeah, she's digging through old records and-" Luffy eyes the silver platter overhead, nostrils flaring with interest. "I could eat that, you know. Since she's busy. So it doesn't get wasted."
"Keep your shitty fingers to yourself unless you want me to tie 'em in a knot around your neck."
"Aww, c'mon, just one little-"
"I said hands off, you greedy bastard! It's never just one little anything with you. Now go tell that shitty swordsman of yours that he'd better be careful rolling around on the lawn like that or he's gonna end up with grass seed sprouting on that fuzzy green head- or would you rather explain to Nami-san why her tea's gone cold?"
"Nah, no thanks- she's all yours," the captain grimaces, envisioning his afternoon vanishing in a flurry of parchment and ink. He loops an arm around his son's waist. "Hang on, okay? Going down."
Long accustomed to the rubber man's preferred method of travel - stairs are overrated - Ace calmly grabs hold of him with just enough time to shoot Sanji a broad grin before Luffy flings them both over the railing. While he isn't quite sure how his father manages to judge distances so well with barely more than a cursory glance, they've done this often enough that he's fairly confident they won't land on anyone below, and sure enough they land a safe distance from his other father and little brother and he's set down without incident.
Wide eyes fixed on them, Sabo squeals and waves both arms in excitement when Luffy hurries over and bends down to scoop him out of Zoro's lap, earning a bemused smile from the swordsman.
"I think somebody missed you."
"Yeah, no wonder- I was in there for HOURS." He bumps his nose gently against the toddler's, eliciting a giggle. "Were you watching me and Ace? You wanna go for a ride too?"
"Da!"
"I'm sure he does, but-"
"Not 'til you're a little older," Luffy informs Sabo, voice distorted because the little boy's seized his lower lip and started tugging on it furiously. "I think Zoro's afraid I'm gonna rattle your brains or something."
"More like accidentally throw yourselves overboard or into the mast or some shit." Zoro winces as the sound of his voice causes Sabo to twist around to look at him, letting go of the captain's face and causing it to snap back to its normal shape. "Damn, he's been really grabby with people's faces lately..."
"Maybe he's doing it 'cause he wants to talk and can't?" Ace suggests, then brightens as he remembers what brought them down to the lawn deck in the first place. "Oi, Dad, you gonna come along to the shipyard with us?"
"Shipyard? Why would-? Oh. Nami."
"She's still mad about the other day," Luffy explains morosely, hugging Sabo closer and running fingers through the child's hair as he pops his thumb into his mouth and leans his head against his father's chest. "I tried telling her it was an accident, but she didn't wanna hear it."
"I'M still mad about the other day." Bundling his katana and slipping them back into his sash, Zoro climbs to his feet and shakes out the skirt of his coat, surreptitiously inspecting it for grass stains. "One of these times, somebody's actually gonna get hurt. I think you keep forgetting that the rest of us aren't made out of rubber like you."
"I'm always careful with them," Luffy protests. He shoots a sidelong look at Ace, seeking support, and the older child shrugs.
"See? Everything's fine. So, you going with us?"
"Ah, I would, but I already told Brook I'd hunt down more rice paper and finishing powder and the rest of the junk we- uh- couldn't get last time." There's an awkward moment of silence. "Oh, and I need to look for a new maintenance kit box. The one I've got must be a piece of shit, 'cause it's falling apart. I dunno what kind of wood it's made from, but the humidity and the salt water's warped the damn thing so bad I can barely get the lid closed right."
"Okay, so who's-?"
"Robin wants to find a book she hasn't already read - if that even exists - and Jinbei said he'd tag along too, maybe look for material for a new kimono or something." The older pirate reaches out to tuck a stray wisp of hair behind Sabo's ear. "I'll take the squirt here with me, leave your hands free. Otherwise you'll end up too busy dealing with him to pay attention to anything else, and then Nami'll get even more pissed off."
The toddler blinks up at him, then yawns enormously around the finger in his mouth.
"Heh, looks like you need a nap, kiddo. Here, hand him over, Sencho. We got, what, half an hour yet until landfall?"
"Something like that," Luffy agrees, planting a kiss on Sabo's forehead before passing him to the swordsman. "You gonna nap with him?"
"Thinking about it."
"Well, just in case we're gone before you guys wake up-" The captain leans in to give Zoro a quick peck on the cheek, prompting a scandalized groan of dismay from Ace.
"Dad~! Ugh, really, do you have to do that out here?"
"What's wrong with out- mMPH!" Luffy's cut short by his smirking first mate, who's freed one hand to grasp him by the jaw and guide him into a deep, very sloppy and thorough open-mouthed kiss.
His actions prompt distant cheering and laughter from a few of the nearest ships as the crews aboard them notice what's going on, and while both Pirate King and World's Greatest Swordsman are determined to ignore them in favor of a far more interesting pursuit, the whole exchange becomes that much more desperate because neither of them can keep straight faces at the gleeful suggestions suddenly being hurled across the water.
"DAD!"
"Hnn, maybe you better get going-" Luffy warns when Zoro finally releases him, amusement dancing in his eyes as he wipes one corner of his mouth with the heel of his hand. "-or you might not get that nap..."
"Oh my god, c'mon, there's people WATCHING." Ace complains, pointing to where Usopp and Chopper have just emerged from the dining hall and are standing at the railing, struggling not to laugh.
"What's your point?" Zoro waves at their nakama, who lift hand and hoof in unison to return the gesture. "It's nothing they haven't seen before."
"Gross..."
"In fact, I'm pretty sure they've seen worse."
"Double gross."
"GO," Luffy insists, forcibly unclenching the fingers he's knotted in his swordsman's coat. "Really, I mean it, or you're gonna have to tell Brook to get his own damn paper and Nami's gonna throttle me."
He eyes the older pirate speculatively. "... pretty sure it'd be worth it though..."
"Maybe later." Zoro flushes as someone on a nearby ship shouts a suggestion that he's fairly sure is physically impossible even with his captain's unique stretching ability, although he can't help feeling smugly pleased as well, given the incredulous look that's just come over Luffy's face.
"I wonder if-"
"OI, STOP SAYING THAT SHIT IN FRONT OF MY KIDS, ASSHOLE! YOU WANT ME TO COME OVER THERE?"
There's scattered laughter and the culprit raises both arms, palms out, in supplication and hollers an apology along with a flowery plea for clemency.
"Bunch of morons," the swordsman grumbles, but the corners of his mouth are twitching uncontrollably.
"C'mon, go nap. You can kick their asses later, but- look, he's doing that eye-rubbing thing and you know how cranky he gets when he doesn't get enough sleep." Luffy gives Zoro a none too subtle nudge. "He gets like you, actually."
"Funny." He shifts the sleepy toddler in his grasp to one arm, leaving a hand free to ruffle their older son's hair. "Oi, remember what I told you, alright?"
Ace shakes him off, obviously embarrassed by what he considers a gesture towards a little kid – something he will usually loudly and repeatedly explain to anyone in earshot that he is most certainly NOT – but he's also grinning again, too excited by the prospect of exploring a new island to find himself legitimately annoyed. "I know, I know- stay out of trouble and don't let Dad do anything dumb."
"Good, 'cause he's-" Zoro breaks off, glaring. "Don't give me that look, Sencho. You're worse than Sabo when it comes to getting into freaking everything, especially if there's food involved. We get enough shit with those damn wanted posters still floating around- the last thing we need is some goddamn merchant flipping his shit and making a call because you forgot you didn't have enough beli on you before you ate everything in his stand."
Then, turning back to Ace. "And no pickpocketing or stealing shit. It's not that big a deal here on the ship when I can just give it back and everybody thinks it's pretty funny and just laughs it off, but you start pulling that crap on people we don't know and they get pissed- we don't need that kind of trouble. I don't know what the hell Nami was thinking, teaching you-"
"He's getting pretty good at it, though."
"Shut up, Luffy. Most of what he steals ends up feeding your face." The swordsman sighs as Sabo utters a low whine and starts wiggling animatedly, head-butting him in the collarbone. "Damn it. Okay, look. The shitty cook yells a lot and sometimes he throws stuff, but he wouldn't really hurt you, right? But you pull a stunt like that on the wrong person, you could end up losing a hand or-"
"Oi, do you smell something?" Ace demands, wrinkling his nose.
"Yeah. Shit." Zoro scowls, eyeing the whimpering toddler. "I better get going, but-"
"We'll be fine," Luffy tells him firmly, discreetly elbowing their older son, who nods in agreement.
"Alright," the swordsman sighs. "I'll see you guys later."
He turns his attention back to Sabo, who – having resumed sucking his thumb – blinks up at him innocently. "C'mon, kiddo, let's go change that diaper. You're pretty freakin' ripe."