Title: of tragedies and romances
Characters: Roa and Lance (slight Roa/Lance fluff)
Word count: 2,064
Rating: T for blood and language
A/N: Plot bunnies, plot bunnies... I highly suggest you read Teruul's Race for One Piece before this, or else you won't be able to understand many things. Feedback would be seriously appreciated :3 Also, this probably won't have consistent updates, so don't shit yourself when I update twice in a week after six months of no updating XD There may be AU slants and may not, some will be drabbles, and some will be oneshots like this. Of course, there will be different genres.
Set before the Volcaniea arc.
Ukae Island was a quiet sort of island, though it tended to get rowdy with the many pirates catching a pit stop there. Though not as spectacular as some other islands residing in the same sea, it was welcome for pirates who liked taking a breather, because it was very isolated, though not untouchable, of the World Government's influence. Even so, pirates still needed to keep an eye out for bounty hunters looking for a quick beli.
In a corner of the shadier part of the town, in an abandoned warehouse that had been boarded up, Shuusun Roa swore though his muffled gag, slumping down a bit in the chair he was tied to.
"I'll ask you once again, Demon Archer," a figure loomed over him. "Where are the rest of the Saber Pirates?" he ripped the gag, rather forcefully, from the navigator's mouth, and the blonde had to bit down on his lip to avoid a yelp.
Roa mustered the deadliest glare he had ever given, before saying clearly, "Fuck you."
His head jerked to the side before he even felt the pain, making the chains rattle, and bit his lip down again to stop a hiss of pain. His cheek burned, and he was sure it was flaring red now. The man - the ringleader of the bounty hunters? - punched him again.
"I don't think it's any use, sir," one of the bounty hunters tried to reason. "We've been going at him since morning, and - "
"Shut up, you fool!" the ringleader roared, slamming his combat boot into Roa's gut. There was a snapping noise as a few ribs gave way, and Roa bit his lip so hard he drew blood, and really wished that he had his bow and arrows to beat the fuck out of them.
Except that they had taken his weapons and had stuffed them somewhere.
Mentally, he cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake. When they had docked at Ukae Island, Atalaya and Ankh had gone out to get some medical supplies, Ruule went to get ingredients, Kitsune stayed on ship, and the stupid pretty boy some materials to tinker with.
Him? He went to the nearest bar and stupidly asked about the next island the Log Pose pointed to, earning him a club to the back of his head that caught him off guard and knocked him out. He didn't know where Fell was, only that she had flown away.
The bounty hunters had spent the next seven hours beating him for information on his crew.
"Stupid pirate! Speak!" one of the lackeys snarled, punching him with a spiked glove. The spikes dug into his skin, leaving shallow but painful puncture marks, and one of them kicked his shin so hard he felt the crunch in his bones and winced through the blood that covered his face, but he didn't dare yell back at them. He didn't dare trust himself to scream in agony once he opened his mouth.
"Sir! If we keep beating him like this, he'll die before we can get him to the nearest Marine Base, and his bounty will be cut thirty percent!" one of the lackeys yelled.
"I know that, you idiot!" the captain snapped, running a hand through his hair. "Still, forty million and twenty-eight million mean nothing if we get the whole crew." the last word was filled with a sneer in his direction.
Roa glared at him, before mustering as much spit and blood as he could and spat it in his face in a fascinating mixture of copper. Like hell anyone would lose to you cowards, he mentally snarled.
The ringleader swore, before stabbing a knife into his shoulder and digging it in, before yanking it out with a sickening squelch, and Roa squeezed his eyes shut at the pain that flared in the numbness that was his body. "Fuck you, filthy scum!"
And then his eyes caught a flash of green, then blue. He blinked for a moment, before letting out a gasp of surprise and pain as the ringleader stabbed the knife in again, this time only a bit above his heart. "What're you looking at, huh?" he taunted, a triumphant look on his face for making the archer yelp in pain.
There was a crunching noise, and the bounty hunters looked around curiously for source of the noise, when suddenly a large chunk of the roof fell down, sending them all flying from the pressure. Roa yelled in surprise as the chair was thrown back, and bashed his head against the hard ground, but the wood gave way, and mercifully he felt the chains loosen and he tugged himself free.
"What exactly do you gentlemen think you're doing with our navigator?"
Roa scowled at the silky voice. "About time, pretty boy."
Lance looked behind him, glaring at the bloodied man. "If you weren't so foolish to get caught yourself, I wouldn't have to do this, charlatan," he said flatly, even as Fell wobbly flew in the hole on the ceiling, jaws clamped around a bow and a quiver.
The battle was short, and soon the shipwright was calmly sheathing his trench knives, all the bounty hunters unconscious. He scowled as he eyed the Den Den Mushi in one's hand, and Roa struggled to his feet.
The moment he stood up straight, he felt pain stab him, and tipped over. Fell let out a warning cry even as she latched onto his back.
Shit, I lost too much blood... Roa thought bleakly, as everything turned fuzzy around him. The damn pretty boy's never gonna let me forget this...
He spiraled into black.
When Roa opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find that it was only sunset, judging by the orange streaks in the sky outside the window.
The second thing he noticed was that he was in a room. On a bed. Wrapped in crude bandages and a bowl of water on the carpeted ground beside him. Fell was curled up next to him, fast asleep. His bow and quiver lay in the corner of a room, unscathed.
The door creaked open, and Lance entered, with more gauze and disinfectant. He raised an eyebrow at Roa. "You're finally awake, charlatan," he said coolly, setting down the things beside the bowl of water.
"Where's this?"
"Hotel," Lance answered. He paused for a moment. "You also need to thank Fell - she's not used to flying without carrying a human, and there were many humans and pirates who were... interested in her. Still, she managed to find me."
Roa scoffed. "I suppose I need to thank you too?" he asked, looking away. He grunted in slight pain as he sat himself up, and crossed his arms, scowling.
"I need no thanks from such a pitiful-looking man."
"Why you - "
Lance grabbed the punch that was thrown easily, given the archer's condition, and grabbed both his wrists when the other one connected, before slamming them both against the wall. "I advise such a pitiful-looking man shan't pick a fight with me in his condition," he said, raising an eyebrow in amusement as Roa turned red, from anger or embarrassment he didn't know. "If you open your wounds again, I'm not helping you," he added.
"Put a lid on it, pretty boy," Roa snarled back, in a last act of defiance.
The two men paused for a moment, and it was precisely then that Roa realized how close they were. Lance must've also realized, because he blinked for a moment and then let his wrists go, pulling back with a less-than-subtle flush on his cheeks.
"Prude, pretty boy?" he taunted.
"Shut your mouth, charlatan," the blue-haired shipwright scowled back.
"Why don't you find Ankh to treat me?"
"The bounty hunter back there, with the Den Den Mushi, tipped off the Marines. They're probably taking care of them as we speak, but if I leave you alone here I doubt you'll be able to defend yourself."
Roa gave him the finger.
The two of them lapsed into silence, and Roa leaned back against the smooth plaster of the wall, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. Somewhere between the beatings from the bounty hunters, his braid had come loose, and golden hair tumbled down as if spun from a wheel. Lance hadn't bothered to take him out of his current clothes, and his sleeveless jacket and camo pants were looking a little worse for wear. Lance, on the other hand, seemed to be at the exact opposite of the spectrum, with his neatly combed hair and his immaculately pressed suit, free of wrinkles.
Roa scowled again. "I really hate you," he said flatly.
"Likewise, charlatan," Lance replied easily. He had opened a book, and was now flipping through the pages, completely immersed in the story. Roa squinted to make out the gold lettering on the black cover.
"...Romeo and Juliet?" he questioned, holding back a snicker. "Isn't that a sappy comedic romance story? Never took you to be the type of person who would sigh over Romeo."
"Never took you to be the type of person who could actually read," Lance retorted. Before Roa could grab ahold of his arrows and shoot an explosive one at his head, he continued, "It's not a comedy either. They both die in the end."
There was a pause as Roa processed that. "Huh," he said simply, leaning back against the wall again. "Anyway, we should get back to Atlas before night falls so that Atalaya can find us a hotel or an inn, they probably took care of the Marines by now." he clucked his tongue. "Shit, I forgot to ask for the time it takes for the Log to set."
"Only a man as stupid as you would forget that," Lance ducked under the arrow that sailed at his head. It stabbed in the wall, embedding all the way up to the feathers stuck in the back. He checked his hat to make sure it didn't graze it, before eyeing Roa, who was gingerly pressing his feet to the carpeted floor. "Can you walk?"
"Shut up, these are only scratches," Roa grouched, standing up easily. Save for a tiny limp, no one could detect anything out of the ordinary. He leaned down, rousing Fell. "Hurry up, let's go."
By the time they arrived at the docks again, dusk had fallen, and the rest of the crew were waiting rather impatiently (save for Ruule and Kitsune).
"About time!" Atalaya huffed, when she caught sight of them. "Ruule's already finished dinner." she held up two containers. "Ankh's found an inn that has a few open rooms, and won't squeal on us." she eyed Roa's bandages and scratches. "What happened to you?"
"Got in a bar fight," Roa dismissed easily. "Nothing to worry about. Now, where's that inn?" He grabbed one container from Atalaya, Lance thanking her and taking the other one. The two of them hung back from the group, immersed more in eating than talking with the crew.
There was a pause as Roa suddenly said, "Don't tell them anything, it's already been done and those guys got what was coming to them."
Lance raised an eyebrow. "You mean, when I took them out, charlatan?" he taunted, a slight smirk tugging on his lips.
"Once these wounds heal, I am going to gut you, pretty boy, and then show Ruule how to drain the poison out of blue-haired shipwrights."
"Whatever you say, charlatan," Lance replied, an all-out smirk on his face now. He fished in his pocket, pulling out his copy of Romeo and Juliet out again, flipping through pages to look for his spot, balancing his dinner with the other.
There was a small pause, then Roa said quietly, "Don't you dare fucking die on me, or I'm going to kill you."
"I wasn't planning to," Lance quipped, pulling his hat down to hide the amused look on his face.
A smirk pulled on Roa's face.
"Good."
A/N: Ah, gotta adore that tsundere love that Roa always shows. I will huggle you if you leave reviews and huggle you even more if you leave constructive criticism. Thanks!
I don't own One Piece, that goes to Oda, and I don't own Race for One Piece, that goes to Teruul. Nor do I own any characters save for the extras like the bounty hunters, nor Romeo and Juliet (well, that one's pretty obvious XD). I will say this only once because it is seriously tedious.
-alittlebitlate
