-Tangled Web-
A role-play/joint-fic by Digitaldreamer and Constable Remington
Chapter Nine: Tell me a story
O.O Wow. We got LOTS of reviews last chapter! (feels special) Quite a few of you liked the Dub-Sanji I see. I'm glad you all enjoyed it, Constable and I had quite a bit of fun writing it.
Also, a few of you asked when Ace will be appearing…(tsk tsk) Come on now, if I told you what fun would that be? (Dodges various heavy objects that are thrown) Eh heh…right, chapter time! (runs)
Sanji sighed, brushing back some of his hair and looking around the kitchen. "Well, interesting as this all is, I need a shower." He stood from his chair, pushing it back in. Looking towards Luffy, he grinned. "Don't forget my advice, kid! Now's a great time to try. Just go on up there and get him!" With that, he turned and walked out, whistling a funeral march.
Luffy stared after him, and then looked to Nami and Ussop. "'Get him'?" He repeated, sounding confused.
Nami sighed, running a hand through her hair. Then she smiled mischievously. "Don't worry about it. We'll work everything out for you…you just try to figure things out for yourself and we'll….help you along." Because I'm not going to be the one who gets a headache trying to explain it to you.
Ussop blinked. "We'll help him along? What do you mean we-" Usopp let out a yelp as Nami slammed her heel onto his toes. "R-right….we'll help you along."
Nami grinned. "Right….now come on, Ussop. I need to go watch my show, and you need to fold my socks, you still owe me for ruining that one pair last time." She said as she dragged Ussop out of the room.
Robin folded her hands in front of her as she watched Luffy's expression just become more confused.
Vivi looked up, watching Nami leave, wondering what things she could possibly have in mind. "Well..." she trailed, a little uncertain, before smiling to Luffy. "At least something good is happening in Roronoa-san's life," Though the term 'good' seemed to be rather loose. "He spends too much time alone. I'm glad he has a friend like you." She smiled towards Luffy.
Luffy blinked, cocking his head to the side as Vivi spoke. Then he grinned. "I'm glad to be his friend." He said.
Alright… So he had lied. Zoro didn't have any homework. He had finished that worksheet Robin had given him while Luffy was asleep, and besides that, tomorrow was Saturday. Maybe they would go shopping then. He sighed, slumping down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
There was something about Luffy, alright. But he couldn't put his finger on it...
Robin gazed at Luffy quietly from across the table. Her eyes betrayed no emotion. Luffy stared back, blinking. Finally the women sighed, putting her head in her hands. "How do you like it here, Luffy-san?"
Luffy grinned. "It's great here. If I could, I think I would stay here forever with everyone! I sure am glad I'll be able to come back and visit everyone…especially Zoro."
Robin looked up at him again, face still emotionless. "You think you're feeling well enough to leave soon and check your records, so we can find where you really belong?"
Luffy's face fell a bit at the thought of leaving. "Y-yeah….I guess, since I'm healing I'll have to do that eventually…"
Robin said nothing.
Vivi glanced up from the table, taking her hair from its pony tail holder and brushing a hand through it. "Maybe tomorrow, since its Saturday, and you seem to be doing much better. I'm sure your family is very worried about you, Luffy." She smiled a little. "We'll miss you, but of course you're welcome over here any time!"
Luffy's grin returned. "Really? That'd be great! Once I meet my family again I'll come and bring them here and they can meet Zoro and everyone, it'll be so cool!" He said with a grin.
Robin gave a soft, almost pained smile as she rose from her chair. "That's good, Luffy-san. If you'll both excuse me, I have papers to grade." She spoke over her shoulder as she exited in the room.
Luffy blinked after her, and then looked back to Vivi. "Does she always act that funny?" He asked, gulping down the last of his coke.
"Oh... Robin." Vivi shrugged a little, taking a sip of her lemonade. "She's a very mysterious person. But she really does mean well."
"Oh." Luffy said, standing up. He smiled at Vivi. "I'm gonna go see Zoro now, maybe he's done with that homework stuff." He said before leaving the room and heading up the stairs.
He poked his head into Zoro's room. "Zoro! Are you done writing boring stuff?"
Looking up, Zoro, blinked, but nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I'm done."
Luffy grinned, leaping into the room and onto the bed, the mattress sagging a bit under his weight before springing him upward. "WHOO!"
Zoro cried out, surprised at suddenly being launched into the air. He landed hard back on the mattress, 'oof'ing when the younger boy landed right on top of him.
Luffy threw back his head and laughed, propping his elbows against Zoro's chest and leaning his head on his arms. His feet kicked idly in the air, Zoro's oversized jeans swishing with every motion he made since they were so big on the boy. The boy grinned down at Zoro. "I win." He declared, though what he had won was probably unclear even to him.
Sputtering, Zoro decided that he didn't really mind the pressure on his chest so much as being in this... rather awkward position. "You win?" he repeated blankly. "What, you want a prize or something?"
Luffy nodded enthusiastically. "Yup!"
Smiling in amusement, Zoro folded his arms under his head, slightly propping himself up. "Well? What do you want? Food, I'm guessing?"
Luffy frowned, considering this. "…I don't know," He said finally. "I just want a prize for winning."
Zoro sighed. "Well... I'll buy you candy or something tomorrow," he finally decided, his cheeks going slightly warm with Luffy so close.
"YES!" Luffy cried happily, rolling off of Zoro so he was now beside the swordsman, mimicking how he was laying.
The swordsman, for a moment, was unable to decide if he was happy or sad with Luffy having rolled off him, and he frowned at this, cursing himself. "Damn it..." he sighed under his breath, turning his head a bit to stare at Luffy.
Luffy blinked in confusion at Zoro's sigh, mimicking Zoro's motion as he looked back at him. "Hm…? Something wrong…?"
"No," he answered suddenly. "Nothing's wrong." He rose from the bed, digging around for pajamas before glancing back to Luffy. Tossing him an old, comfy t-shirt, he continued to search for his own sleep clothes. "You can sleep in that," he said simply.
Luffy caught the shirt, blinking down at it before hugging it to his chest. It had Zoro's smell, and Luffy had decided he liked Zoro's smell. But then he blinked. "Just in the t-shirt?" He asked, remembering how Zoro had blushed when he had only put the shirt on earlier.
"...Yeah, well... it's fine if you're sleeping," he muttered, finally finding his own clothes and beginning to change.
"Oh… Kay." Luffy said with a shrug, pulling off the ripped jeans and blue t-shirt before pulling the new shirt over his head.
Zoro definitely didn't watch Luffy change, or, at least, that's what he told himself, pulling his own pajamas on and hitting the light switch, falling back against the bed.
Luffy yelped as Zoro suddenly landed on the bed, sending him springing upwards. The mattress squeaked as he landed. The boy blinked for a moment before grinning in the dark. Who cared that the lights were out? He didn't feel tired yet! And the bed was bouncy and cool! Luffy bounced up and down on the bed, laughter filling the dark room.
Grimacing, Zoro frowned towards Luffy in the dark, feeling him self bouncing up and down on the bed. "Luffy," he said suddenly, eyebrow quirking. "...What are you doing?"
"Jumpin' on the bed." Luffy said simply, continuing to bounce.
Zoro sighed. "I figured that much," he answered shortly, sitting up. Looking towards the boy, he grinned, temporarily seeming to forget Luffy's possible limitations due to his wounds. If Luffy wanted to play so much, then Zoro would show him a much better way to play. As soon as the boy landed against the bed once more, Zoro's hands grabbed his shoulders and he suddenly tossed sideways with the boy, beginning a strange game of wrestling.
Luffy yelped as Zoro suddenly launched into him from the side, beginning a new game. Then he laughed, figuring out exactly what the game was. He rolled over, and making a grab for Zoro's wrist. "Ohhh, you want to wrestle, eh? So all I gotta do is pin you?" He asked, grinning.
Zoro grinned back, a sort of playful glint entering his eyes. It seemed like no matter how annoying everyone else got, with Luffy, everything was just simple and relaxed. There wasn't any underlying meaning to anything, and Zoro was finding himself deeply appreciating Luffy's nature. "That's right," he responded. "Provided I don't get you first!"
Luffy laughed again, his right hand snatching Zoro's wrist. His hands were rather small, his slender fingers barely making it around the older man's wrist. "Like that'll ever happen!" He said with a grin as he bounced up again, landing in a crouch on the front pads of his feet. He loved playing games, and Zoro made a great playmate.
Seeming to remember Luffy's wounds, Zoro frowned a bit. On one hand, he certainly didn't want to lose to the boy. On the other, Luffy was hurt, and Zoro should take it easy. "I don't want to hurt you," he said seriously. "So..." Acting, for just a moment, as if he were going to give up, Zoro suddenly betrayed this by swinging his free arm up and snatching Luffy's furthest shoulder to attempt to force him down, fingers latching tight against Luffy's t-shirt-clothed skin, ...Be sure to tell me if I do!"
"I wil- ACK!" Luffy yelped in surprise as he was suddenly flipped over onto his back, releasing Zoro's wrist as he did so. Well, this isn't good. He thought as he attempted to squirm away, but remained firmly in place with Zoro's grip on his shoulder. He wasn't going to let Zoro win that easily! But he couldn't exactly get up like this, and he wasn't going to be winning from here.
Suddenly his eyes brightened as he got an idea. He grabbed the arm holding him down with one hand and reached up, tickling Zoro's armpit with the other. Well, if all else failed…
Zoro instantly let go of Luffy's shoulder in shock, trying to get away from the wandering fingertips as quickly as possible. He pulled his arm away from Luffy's grip, staring down at his little roommate for a moment before a smirk overcame his cheeks. Two could play at that game! Zoro's own hands came down over Luffy's sides, up from the bottom of the shirt and tickling wildly against Luffy's skin.
Luffy instantly burst into laughter, squirming and rolling as he attempted to get away from the feather light brushes against his skin. "Awww come on Z-Zoro! No fair!" The boy yelped through peals of laughter.
"You did it first!" Zoro cried, laughing right along with Luffy, but in amusement. "Little cheater!" Zoro's fingers only seemed to push even harder into the strange sort of torture when Luffy had called for it to stop.
"Awww, come on! It's only fair when I do it!" The boy declared, still laughing as he attempted to roll away as the tickling got worse.
Zoro laughed, letting his hands stop and simply laying his palms against Luffy's bare stomach. If he had noticed the embarrassing closeness between them, he hadn't flinched away. "We should get to sleep," he said gently. "We gotta big day ahead of us tomorrow."
Luffy folded his arms and pouted up at the swordsman. "But I'm not tired!" He whined. However, his body seemed to think otherwise, as no sooner had he finished saying this when he yawned loudly.
Smiling some, Zoro pulled his arms away, flopping down beside the boy. He lifted a hand, affectionately brushing some of Luffy's wild hair from his face. Their little games seemed to have removed any uncertainty or embarrassment he had about being around Luffy. "You've been cooped up too long. We'll do something fun tomorrow." He grinned. "You ever have ridden a motorcycle?"
Luffy's eyes widened, a boyish grin spreading across his face. "A motorcycle?" He repeated. Then he frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know…I might have ridden one, but if I have I don't remember it. Why?"
Oh yeah... Zoro had forgotten about the amnesia thing, too. He grinned. "You wanna ride mine?" He smirked. "You'll have to hold on tight, though. Don't wanna lose you along the way." Nami and Vivi could take their own damn car to the mall.
Luffy's face lit up, his eyes shimmering with boyish excitement. "I get to ride on your motorcycle? Really?" He gasped.
"Yeah, if you want to," Zoro answered with a yawn. "It's much more exciting than taking a boring ol' car."
"Sweet!" Luffy cried, scooting closer to Zoro so he could wrap his arms around the swordsman's middle in a tight hug. "Thank you Zoro!"
Blinking a bit, Zoro felt his cheeks get warm. "Yeah... 'course." He placed a hand in Luffy's hair, smiling awkwardly. "Now, get some sleep, alright?"
Luffy made a face. How was he supposed to sleep knowing that he was going to get to ride on a motorcycle tomorrow? "Awww..." He whined into Zoro's shirt before pulling away to pout at the swordsman. "How am I supposed ta' sleep now?"
"Well," Zoro said sensibly, "If you don't sleep, it'll take even longer for tomorrow to come." Still, he knew what Luffy was feeling. It was the same sensation young kids get the night before Christmas or the first day of school, and really, Luffy was nothing more than a big kid. "What, do I gotta drug you down or something?"
Luffy made a face at the thought. "Blah, no drugs. Pills are icky." He declared, sticking out his tongue. He sat up and pulled his knees up to his chest and pulled the comforter back so he could get under it…or rather, he tried to and failed miserably since Zoro was lying on top of it. "Tell me a story." The boy said simply as he jerked the comforter again.
Moving from the bed to momentarily stand at the side and help Luffy tug down the sheets, he slipped under them, waiting for Luffy to do the same before tugging them back up for warmth. "A... story?" he asked blankly. Really, story-telling was more Usopp's art form than Zoro's, and he found himself wracking his mind to think of one.
"Yeah!" Luffy said with a nod, eyes wide as he laid his head on the pillow. "A-and make it about…um…pirates, yeah!" He added.
"Pirates?" Zoro repeated. "Yeah, alright..." He seemed to know a pretty good story about them. Ussop had some weird comic thing he was always drawing about pirates anyway, but Zoro wasn't so sure he appreciated some of the things Ussop did in them. For one, Zoro didn't think Ussop would really make as good a captain as he thought he would... but who could the man cast in Usopp's place? He glanced towards Luffy... and then he grinned. His voice began to quietly ring through the room, telling a great story of a legendary treasure and a young, gleeful captain with a crew of strange characters, including a swordsman for a first mate who used three sharp katana to bring down any foe that threatened his captain.
Luffy listened intently to the story, eyes filled with wonder as he was told a tale of a world that really made no sense, with a legendary sea with all sorts of weird creatures, like a whale that rammed it's head into the side of a mountain all the time, or a little blue-nosed reindeer who walked and talked like a human. There were so many different islands, each its own quirks and its own stories to be told, with its own heroes and villains. And no matter what the young, gleeful captain encountered, he had his crew by his side, and with them there, there was nothing that they couldn't do. Besides the Captain and the First Mate there was Navigator who could predict the weather, and a sharpshooter who wanted to a great warrior of the sea even though he acted like a coward most of the time, and a cook who wanted to find an ocean where every fish in the world swam.
There were so many wonderful adventures that just went on and on…and as these tales were told, Luffy's eyes slowly began to drift shut as he snuggled against the pillow. He was beginning to feel really tired and he wanted to stay awake to find out what happened, but he was so tired. "Zoro…what happens when the Captain finally finds the treasure and becomes King of Pirates, and the First Mate becomes the Greatest Swordsman in the world? What happens then?" He asked in a sleepy sounding voice.
Zoro paused at this point, his story having taken them both well into the night and then the early morning, and even he was struggling to keep awake, his voice nearly spent. "...after that?" he asked, trying to think. "They'd stay together, of course. Sail the seas and keep having adventures... forever."
Luffy smiled at this, eyes finally falling shut as he curled up under the covers, snuggling a bit closer to Zoro. "…That's so cool...I wish I could do that…." He murmured before falling asleep.
"Yeah, kid..." Zoro whispered to the sleeping boy. "...me too…" He leaned slightly over Luffy, hesitating for only a moment, before he allow his emotions to finally get the better of him, placing a soft, whispering kiss against Luffy's cheek, at the corner of his mouth. His face felt burning warm, but he only pulled away, resting his head against the pillow and shutting his eyes. "Goodnight, Luffy."
The next morning Luffy awoke to pounding on Zoro's door.
"Oi! Guys? It's like, twelve in the afternoon, you have to stop smooching and get up at some point!" Nami's singsong voice came from behind the door.
"…Naaa?" Luffy mumbled, opening his eyes to view the brightly lit room. For one who had been woken up before the sun was up for the past two days, this was a new sight. He glanced around groggily for a few moments before he remembered; Zoro said he'd get to ride on his motorcycle today!
Luffy glanced over at Zoro, pulling an arm out from under the covers to poke the swordsman in the forehead over and over. "Oi! Zoro, wake up! Come on, wake up, you said you'd let me ride your motorcycle today! Zoro! Wake up!" He said in a cheery, sing-song voice that he apparently learned from Nami.
Awakening to a finger jamming against his temple repeatedly probably wasn't the greatest way for Zoro to greet the new day, and he instantly snatched Luffy's hand, cracking a very annoyed eye at the young boy. "Good morning to you, too," he grumped, rising from the bed and letting go of the boy's hand. "I need a shower first. Then we'll get to the damn mall."
Luffy grinned, clapping the soles of his feet together happily. "Yay! Mall! Motorcycle! Yay! Mall! Motorcycle!" He babbled as he rolled off the bed in search of the blue t-shirt and jeans he had worn the day before. He had only worn those for like, half a day, they weren't too dirty yet!
Glancing towards Luffy, Zoro sighed and stood from the bed, stretching and yawning. He rubbed his eyes, finally stumbling towards the door. "...I'll be quick."
"Okay!" Luffy said, waving. Since he was beside the bed looking for his clothes, however, the only that was visible was his waving arm, which was peeking from behind the bed.
Moving into the hallway, Zoro quickly went into the bathroom before anyone could interrupt him with stupid jokes about his sexuality. Shutting the door behind him, he quickly locked it, too, starting the water and climbing into the shower. He was still so exhausted. Washing quickly, he jumped out and dried off, pulling some clothes he had grabbed on and brushing his teeth.
Zoro knocked on the door to his room first, peeking inside. "Luffy? If you're ready, we'll tell Vivi and Nami and get going."
Luffy had apparently figured out where he had tossed the shirt and jeans from yesterday, as he was sitting on the bed wearing the jeans and struggling to pull on the shirt just as Zoro entered. "Yosh! I'm ready!" He cried, hopping off of the bed and rushing over to the door. "Let's-go-let's-go-let's-go-let's-go!" He babbled as he bounced up and down.
Blinking, Zoro sighed. Luffy really had made a full recovery... "Alright, alright, calm down already," he sighed, starting out the room and down the hall towards the stairs. Vivi was sitting at the kitchen table when Zoro got down there and poked his head in. She waved, smiling some.
"Are we leaving?" she asked cheerfully.
"...yeah, that's the plan," he said after a moment, glancing to Luffy. "You guys don't mind going in your car, do you? Luffy wanted to ride the motorcycle..."
"Motorcycle!" Luffy repeated as he appeared behind Zoro, punching his fist into the air. He then proceeded to march around, chanting the word over and over.
Nami raised a brow at Luffy's antics, but she could feel a smile creeping onto her face. "That's fine. I kind of figured you gay boys would want a bit more alone time anyway." She said as she sipped a glass of orange juice.
Zoro only rolled his eyes. "Oh, please," he scoffed. Looking to Luffy, he grabbed the boy's arm as he passed by, beginning to pull him from the kitchen. "So we'll meet you at the entrance in what, twenty minutes or so?"
Vivi smiled a nodded. "That sounds about right. You two have fun!" She waved them out, and Zoro happily left.
To be continued…
KuroKame: Yup, that was dub Sanji. X3 Heh, glad you like how Luffy's written. Yes, watching ceiling fans is insanely entertaining; I do it a lot myself.
KairiQueen: Who says we didn't die laughing while writing that chapter? We could be zombies, you know. Maybe we merged bodies to live…you never know..(waves hands in an attempt to look spooky)
poxmaker: Yes Zoro, you're gay. Stop being in denial and admit it, you'll save yourself a lot of embarrassment in the long run. X3 Um..lesee here. As for the Japanese…my Japanese is very amature, but I'll answer to the best of my ability. Hopefully I'll get it right.
"Ne" is sort of just a sound when I use it, but it can mean "right?" or something like that. "Ja Ne" is like saying "See you later" from what I've learned, but I could be wrong. Eh, it's some form of short-term goodbye… "-san" is a suffix put on the end of someone's name, usually to be polite. Generally used for someone older than you. "-kun" is a suffix you put at the end of a little boys name who is younger than you or is a close friend around your age. "-chan" is a suffix put at the end of a little girls name. "-sama" is a term of high respect, like "Lord". "-Dono" has even more respect than "-sama", it means "Master". "-Sensei" is for a teacher. Yeah. Hope that helped. Greiver5: The mercenary thing will show up eventually, I swear. X3 Yes, Luffy is awesome.
Mai Hayami: Awww, we made you act cheerful? Yay! (happy dance) X3 I see everyone hates the dub and loves the teasing..heh…
Rikku Rinku: Heh, thanks for your review. I kind of wish I had done that too….stupid dub Sanji and his stupid dub voice…
whooptidoo-basil: Oh my, I hope you didn't get in trouble for reading our fic during class! Glad you like the fic.
Crystal17: Wow, you made an exception for this fic…I feel special. Thank you!
Icy Sapphire15: Well, Constable's back now and our friend Mia is beta-ing now, so we don't need a beta anymore. Thank you for the offer though.
Griffingurl: Ace….um…(whistles) He'll show up….um….well, let's just say he's not showing up for awhile. You do get to see him in flashbacks though…
webs: Heh, thank you. It's not all my writing though, it's half written by Constable Remington…so the writing you thought was good was probably hers. Luffy is a bit childish, but you have to remember he sort of has amnesia, so he might not remember how to act his age…
Love is for fools: X3 Yes, no matter how bad we feel for Zoro, his torture is oh-so-much fun to read and to write.
QueenNarca: XD Tangled Web Luffy- now with ten percent more wallpaper watching for your enjoyment.
eminem4eva: Yes, Luffy is random ALWAYS. X3 But we love him for it.
AlibisDragon: But a rock just sits there all day, so you'd think it'd have a pretty large attention span...
Next chapter: Motorcycles and sushi. I am the Dark Lord Digitaldreamer. I have forged the rulingreview…THE ONE REVIEW TO RULE THEM ALL! REVIEW! Perhaps you can forge a greater review than my ONE REVIEW!
