It's my first One Piece fic here! 8) You can take it as a pairing if you want, but I think it's sweeter if it's just nakama-ship. :'' Oh yeah, and this takes place after the post-Enies Lobby when they had left Water 7. I hope you'll like it!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE. ONE PIECE AND IT'S CHARACTERS ALL BELONG TO EIICHIRO ODA.
Dark and deep night had once again fallen upon the Grand Line, lulling even the lively Thousand Sunny and its sailors into a soft sleep. Even on the most dangerous sea over the world the Strawhat crew could always close their eyes for a much needed sleep in the feeling of complete safety, when one of them was awake and keeping watch in the crow's nest.
Tonight the crew's strong swordsman was in the watch duty. Zoro himself didn't quite know if he either liked or hated the job. He spent much time during their stays on the ship in the gymnasium placed in the highest mast of the ship, usually training or napping, and just simply spacing out too. At day time the whole ship was loud as hell and it was really hard to find a silent place to take a comfortable nap in, so the crow's nest was the best place for naps if you didn't want to get disturbed by crewmates and/or captains (=Luffy). The good thing of the watch duty was that at night time the ship was quiet and it felt like it was the only time when you could sigh in relief. Even the men's cabin was loud since always someone had to snore. The bad thing of the job was that when the ship once was quiet you couldn't sleep because you had to keep watch for enemies!
Zoro grumbled and watched the clock ticking on the wall, slowly but determinately. Still half an hour and he could go and wake someone up from the men's cabin, (Not either of women cause they needed their sleep. Damn, that witch.) since they had arranged some time ago that the watch duty was only for a half night so everyone could get some sleep and the watcher would be more alert.
The time went slowly, since Zoro couldn't even train anymore because it wasn't good to do just before going to sleep, but the next time he remembered to take a look of the clock he had already been ten minutes over. With an exhausted exhale Zoro pushed himself up from the bench and took the few steps to the hatch, starting to climb the ladders down.
With a soft thump he landed on the grassy deck and begun to make his way towards the men's cabin. Only just when he had opened the door to see he had walked over to he kitchen instead, he realized he had gone to the wrong direction. With an irritated grumble Zoro shut the door, carefull to not to slam it and freak Chopper out who slept in his own room (he loved his own room).
Finally finding the right door, Zoro marched in to the loud cabin. Deciding in his mind that it was that curly brow's time to sit in the watch duty he started to wander over to the bunk beds. Just when he was about to wake the shitty cook up by pulling his leg, he recognized something strange. Instead of one bed - Zoro's bed - there was two empty beds. Apparently it was Luffy's. And it was why it was all so weird.
The rubber captain was always very energetic and could handle very much, inhumanly much pain and physical exhaustion. That's why he always, even for his good appetite and love for food, ate so freaking much, and especially after fights, slept very deeply and well.
The Enies Lobby was the last big battle they had come over, and Luffy sure had eaten and slept well after that. All Zoro could think was that Luffy was simply too full of energy and that's why he couldn't sleep, since even the Usopp problem was solved now.
Even though Zoro was exhausted, he couldn't relax himself into sleep if he didn't know where the laid back careless captain was fooling around in this hour. With an irritated sigh he left the cook's leg in peace and left the cabin to find out where his stupid captain was hiding in. As he crossed the deck he couldn't help but think if the boy had fallen into the black ocean and drowned since there was no one awake to save him. Quickly the thought was washed away in hope that he would understand at least that much and not play around when it was seriously the matter that no one would, or could save him.
Coming up with an idea, Zoro made his way back to the kitchen, wondering if Luffy had somehow figured out the code for the fridge. Stepping inside the big room he noticed the refrigerator remained untouched. For some reason Zoro couldn't think of another place Luffy would want to spent his night alone instead of sleeping. Any another, but maybe...
Zoro frowned in annoyance after he had made sure Luffy didn't sit in his favourite seat, on the Thousand Sunny's head. Starting to grow impatient and more exhausted, he decided to look from every room of the ship. This night was going to be a long night.
After checking every room but one Zoro hadn't found his captain. If he had been even a little bit more perky he would've been really surprised to not finding him even from his favourite spots, but right at the moment he seriously was too tired to even think about it. Not expecting to find him from this last room at all, Zoro very lazily made his way up the ladders, calling himself stupid in his mind for trying to find the captain who possibly just woke up for toilet or something and was already sleeping soundly in his swinging bed.
The surprise was so big that Zoro felt like he was getting all perky, and for some reason he felt a sudden need to go and wake everyone up very quickly. Of all places of the ship, he found Luffy from the ship's library. Reading a book. Luffy. Reading a book. In the middle of the night. Silently. Calmly. Reading a book. Book. Book. Odd.
Was this the true nature of their stupid and reckless captain?
No way. An unbelieving laugh left from Zoro's lips.
Seemingly Luffy hadn't heard Zoro, since he was so in the book (what), so Zoro climbed up and walked closer the captain who was sitting at Nami's navigation table. Suddenly the boy talked.
"UOOOH! That's so cool!"
Well, that sounded like Luffy. Unmistakably honest amazement. Definitely Luffy.
"Uh... Luffy." Zoro spoke silently. No answer.
"Lu-"
"Ooooh, I didn't even remember that happened!" Luffy chuckled and Zoro understood he hadn't heard him and was talking to himself.
"Hey, Luffy. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Zoro asked louder with a slightly irritated tone. Luffy turned quickly, surprised face changing to a frown.
"Zoro! What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" The captain asked, like Zoro never had talked to him first.
Zoro gritted his teeth. "That's what I was asking..!" Suddenly he remembered the book.
"But what are you um.. reading?" The tought of Luffy and 'reading' in the same sentence didn't quite fit his brains, at least in this hour.
Luffy's frown faded away quickly, like it never was there and he turned back to his seemingly interesting book.
"It's our log book! Nami has written all our adventures here, and it's really fun to read them again. It's like living those moments twice!" The rubber captain laughed merrily and turned back to his first mate with gleaming eyes.
"But the best parts are the one's when a new friend joins my crew! Those are the moments I really could live even thousand times over."
Luffy looked like he doze off for a moment when he fell silent with half lidded eyes and a soft smile. Zoro didn't know what he should say, or should he say anything, so after a comfortable silence he answered shortly:
"Is that right.."
Luffy perked up from his daze and nodded eagerly to the swordsman.
"Yeah. But sadly there's one adventure missing..." Luffy said and turned back to the log book. He tucked a piece of paper for a bookmark and opened the book from the very start.
"It belongs here. I know Nami couldn't write it, because she doesn't know what happened then. But I really think it should be here."
Zoro was silent for a moment. "You think so?"
"Yep, it's the most important of them, too! The story of how this begun. That I didn't have even one nakama..."
Luffy smiled. "And then how I saved Zoro. And how Zoro became my first nakama!" He turned to his first mate and grinned widely. Zoro couldn't help but smirk a little at his captain taking pride of saving him.
"I see. How about you write that then."
Zoro meant that to make fun of his captain, but Luffy was too oblivious of the joking on his detriment.
"Yosh! I'll do that!" Luffy exclaimed and seemed ready to start immediately, but suddenly the boy started snoring on his seat, head hanging heavily on his shoulder. Zoro snorted and sighed while shaking his head and decided to carry the boy fast asleep back to his bed to sleep more comfortably. He leaned over the table to switch off the oil lamp, as he glanced at the log book wide open on the desk. Nami's cursive and neat hand writing was filling the pages. Zoro grabbed the book and flipped trough the many pages of adventures from the Arlong Park incident back to Enies Lobby.
"It's been a pretty long time, huh.." Zoro thought with a small smile. "And what next..?" He finally closed the book and turned off the oil lamp.
Zoro took hold of his snoring captain and started to make his way back to the men's cabin.
"Well, let the time show, I guess." He smirked.