I do not own One Piece or any of the characters.

A/N: This does not apply to this chapter very much, but it will to future chapters, so I will explain. Something has come to my realization and one of my friend's attention that I'm quite sure others may have noticed. If it looks like I'm abandoning writing a lot of Zoro in this fic and writing tons about Luffy, that would be absolutely correct. Zoro is very hard for me to write for some reason. I had not planned for this story to turn out that way, but it did. Also, Ace is my favorite character and I love writing scenes with him in them. ANYWAY. So, I've decided to try and work on writing Zoro into the story more, so that he isn't left out all the time. Mostly, I want to focus more on his thoughts, rather than Luffy's like I've been doing. This chapter still applies more to Luffy than Zoro, but I'm hoping that next chapter I can change that. So, sorry for the huge note, but I thought I would say something about that. Now, please go on and read!

"So, Luffy, are you still planning on coming over after school today?" Usopp had been the one to ask this from next to the boy.

He, Usopp, Nami, and Vivi had decided that whenever they had the chance during class, they would all move to sit together so they could talk about things while doing their work that Miss Robin assigned. Luffy hadn't forgotten about Usopp's offer. In fact, he'd told Ace last night and reminded him this morning that he wouldn't need him to pick him up from school today. Ace planned on picking him up from Usopp's house at around six, because Luffy couldn't stay there for the rest of the day. He needed time to do any homework he had, eat, things like that. Six sounded reasonable enough for him, so he agreed on it.

Luffy nodded, quite excited about being able to go to the other's house. "I told Ace. He said I could stay until six."

Usopp brought his hand to his chin and pondered. "Then, that gives us about three hours from the time school lets out. We'll have to walk to my house, but it's not that far away, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Oh, we get to walk? That's even better!"

"Don't you two ever get out to other places? Like the mall or the park or something?" Nami asked from her seat across from Luffy.

"Ace doesn't let me go by myself."

"I'm too busy doing other important things than to go somewhere like the mall!"

Nami sighed. "You two need lives, I swear." Then, she remembered Luffy's comment. So, Ace was kind of overprotective and doesn't let Luffy go out on his own? "Ne, Luffy. Do you want to go shopping with me and Vivi some time?"

Usopp frowned. "What about me?.!"

Nami glared at him. "I thought you said you had more important things to do."

"Oh, well, yes, I do. Not like I want to go shopping with some girls anyway." He crossed his arms and turned his nose up.

Luffy thought about Nami's offer. He wouldn't mind going with them, but he kind of wanted Zoro to be there too if he went. "Could Zoro come too?"

Nami blinked and Vivi gave a knowing smile. "Uh, sure, I guess. If he wants to, but he'll have to bring his own money!"

"Great! Then, I'll ask!"

"If Mr. Bushido says yes, then when should we do it?" Vivi asked Nami and Luffy.

Luffy didn't mind when, so he allowed Nami to answer. "How about this Saturday? Does that sound good?"

"I don't know." Luffy spoke up. "Zoro works, and I don't know what days he has off."

"Find out today." Nami stated.

Luffy grinned. "Will do!"

Second period was one of the worst. Luffy hated it. But, only because it was math and he never understood it. The only reason he made it through the period without passing out because of how boring it actually was, is because Zoro has that class with him. And, since he sits right next to Luffy, he always made sure the other at least tried to pay attention some, so he wouldn't be totally clueless and fail the class because he didn't know anything.

Why Zoro did this, he wasn't sure himself. He guessed it just happened to do with the whole 'becoming friend's with Luffy' thing. Which wasn't as bad as he expected it to be. Luffy was a nice kid, and the fact that he could become Zoro's friend so easily was enough for Zoro to appreciate being the younger's friend. Luffy seemed to like him a lot as well, in a friendly way that is, and that made him feel grateful toward the other. Not too many people cared enough to associate with him.

Zoro glanced boredly over at said boy. He hated this class just as much as Luffy. And, the kid was sleeping. Again. How would he understand anything if he wasn't awake to listen to it? Zoro sighed. He used the pencil he was taking notes with and poked Luffy in the face with it several times. This wasn't the first time Luffy fell asleep during class, and he was now well aware of how difficult it was to wake the other up. At least he was sleeping quietly though. That still didn't mean he could sleep through class. Zoro would love to be asleep as well at the moment, but he valued his education a little more than Luffy apparently did.

Luffy didn't budge. Hm. Now, how was he to wake Luffy up without the teacher noticing them? He leaned over his desk to Luffy's and prodded the other's cheek some more with the eraser of his pencil. "Luffy." He spoke low, so that the teacher wouldn't be able to hear him. Still nothing. The teacher turned around and Zoro pulled back fast. Hopefully their teacher wouldn't notice Luffy. He was working on getting him awake, he just hadn't figured out how to do so yet. They were in back, so it was less likely that the teacher would notice. He poked Luffy's ear with the pencil and that, for some strange reason, prompted a small reaction.

Luffy swatted Zoro's hand away, but he still remained asleep. He poked it again and this time Luffy made a small noise. Kay, so there was something going on with Luffy's ear. Maybe they were sensitive or something? It sounded weird, but plausible. He checked to see if the teacher was looking their way, and when he noticed that they weren't, he leaned over his desk again. An idea had popped into his head. He didn't know if it would work or not, but there was no harm in trying. He rubbed the pencil over the outer cartilage of Luffy's ear, just to see if this really was prompting reactions on purpose. Luffy's fingers twitched. Yep, his ears must have been sensitive. This might just work.

Zoro checked for the teacher one last time, before bringing himself closer to Luffy's ear. He paused for a few seconds, and then blew into it slowly. He heard Luffy mumble something, and tried again, but harder. "Luffy."

At the sound of his name being called right next to his ear, in an eerily familiar voice, Luffy bolted upright, forgetting where he was for a brief moment. "So, you're finally awake." A voice whispered next to him. Luffy turned his face, only for Zoro's own face to be right there in front of his own. Luffy squeaked unintentionally and jerked his head back, his face turning slightly red.

Perhaps he shouldn't have reacted that way, because Zoro was looking at him oddly now. What was up with that reaction? Luffy turned away and looked to the front of the classroom to see what exactly he'd missed. Zoro left it alone at that. At least he'd gotten the boy awake.

"Luffy, did you ever ask Zoro about what we talked about first period?" Nami asked the other at lunch later that day.

Zoro had heard the question and was curious. "Ask me what?"

He'd actually forgotten to mention it in second period. Well, for the most part, he fell asleep, and then when we was woken up by Zoro of all people, he hadn't said much to the other for the rest of the period. He looked to Zoro who was staring at him, awaiting an answer. "Nami asked if I wanted to go shopping, but I wanted to ask you if you'd go too." If Zoro decided not to go, Luffy wasn't so sure if the trip would be worth it.

Zoro didn't think when he gave Luffy his response. "Why would I want to do something like that?"

Okay, so he hadn't thought about if Zoro actually said no, and he found himself feeling slightly saddened by the other's response. He couldn't let Zoro see that he was hoping the older teen would go as much as he had wanted, so he grinned. "I don't know. But, you probably have to work anyway on Saturday, so it doesn't matter."

Zoro frowned at Luffy's words. It was true that he had work on Saturday, but something like that wouldn't stop him from going, he had the first half of the day to do nothing. He was sure he didn't have work until four. But, he honestly didn't want to hang around Nami. He watched as Luffy lowered his head slightly and began pulling at pieces of grass. The kid looked disappointed. But, why? Then, it hit him. Luffy really wanted him to go. He wasn't sure why, but that had to be the reason.

His question before hinted that he was refusing the offer, yet he hadn't out right said no to it. He sighed. The only reason he was going to go through with this is because Luffy wanted him to go. And, he couldn't stand to see the other looking disappointed like that, it didn't suit him. Also, he felt slightly guilty for being the one who'd caused that disappointment. "Look," Luffy stopped what he was doing to give Zoro his attention. "I don't have work until four Saturday, so I'll go." The younger suddenly brightened. "But, only because I can't stand that face you were making! So, don't do that anymore." Zoro glanced away from the other. He wasn't good at admitting things like that, and he could feel his face starting to burn.

Zoro was going to go? That was great! Luffy launched himself at the other teen unexpectedly. "You said yes! I can't wait; it's going to be so fun! Especially with Zoro there too!" Zoro tried, effortlessly, to push the smaller teen off of him. He wasn't used to being touched, let alone hugged like this. He could have tugged the boy off in a matter of seconds, but something was keeping him from doing so. Luffy held on tight, grinning widely. He loved touching Zoro, and hugging him more, since he didn't get to do that much. Zoro was really warm, and the contact made the warm feeling inside of his chest grow even more.

Zoro pushed at Luffy's shoulder again. "Okay, that's enough." He felt awkward in this position, even more so when there were other people around.

"Hey, lovebirds, what time should we go this Saturday?" Nami called out casually from next to Vivi and Sanji. Luffy pulled back at that, feeling embarrassed for doing such a thing. Zoro ignored her comment.

Vivi thought about it. "If Mr. Bushido has work at four, then how about twelve? That way we'll have a few hours."

Usopp looked over at Luffy. "Are you really going to go shopping with those two? That's so girly!" Zoro shot the younger a glare, but Usopp had grown to ignore them over the past few weeks. "What? It is!"

"I wouldn't mind accompanying the ladies.

"Sanji, you aren't coming. It's just me, Vivi, Luffy, and Zoro here."

"Yes, Nami-swan."

Luffy turned back to Zoro and smiled. "Will Zoro pick me up Saturday again?"

"Who else would but me?"

It was the second day of volleyball in gym class, and this time Sanji ended up on some team that wasn't Zoro's team, nor was competing against Zoro's. Luffy ended up on the team that did happen to be competing against Zoro's. Zoro only hoped that today Luffy wouldn't end up getting hurt again. It was Luffy's team that served first, Luffy being the one who was serving. He hit the ball over in the direction of Zoro.

The ball went in the general direction of Zoro, but didn't make it all the way to him, so he ran forward and hit it back. Even though the direction Zoro sent the ball flying in wasn't even near Luffy, the younger decided he wanted to make the game a bit more fun and competitive for the both of them. He raced over to it, hitting the ball back instead of letting the guy who was actually ready for it hit it instead. The guy raised his eyebrow at Luffy's actions. Luffy only laughed running back over to his original position.

Zoro was wondering why Luffy had done that as well. He looked across the net at the boy who was looking back at him. Luffy's smile turned into a slight smirk, and he nodded his head in the direction of the ball, trying to give Zoro a hint. Zoro looked from Luffy to the ball, understanding clearly what it was Luffy wanted. If it was a challenge that he wanted, Zoro would gladly give it to him. Zoro dashed over and hit the ball back, making sure it went in a totally different direction from Luffy.

It was very obvious to the rest of the members on each team that these two were looking to compete against each other only. Right when someone other than Luffy or Zoro would try to go to hit the ball, one of the other two would end up jumping in front of them at the last second. It became more entertaining to watch than anything.

This continued for quite some time, and at one point had even caught the other two team's attention playing at the separate net. Neither Zoro nor Luffy had missed one hit so far. Every time they would hit, they tried to hit it as far away as they could without it going out of bounds, lest they wanted to end their little game sooner.

Luffy's hands were beginning to sting more and more with each hit to the ball, but he ignore them. This was just too much fun. He'd never been competitive with Zoro before, and Zoro was proving to be a good opponent.

When the ball was back to Zoro's side, the older teen hit it back with more force. The ball went soaring over Luffy's head, and he hurriedly ran to it, getting to it at the last second. His feet slid when he tried to stop, and he managed to knock the ball back, but tripped and fell. Did Luffy hurt himself again? Zoro ran forward, hitting the ball back once again, but worried about that fall more than anything.

He was caught by surprise when Luffy suddenly sprang from his position on the ground to jump at the ball, and hit it as hard as he could. He didn't realize the ball had made it over the net until it was a bit too late. Even though he tried diving at it to hit it back, he didn't make it, and the ball hit the ground, rolling to a stop by some guy's foot.

Damn. He'd been too distracted by Luffy that he lost focus on their little competition they had going on. And, now he had lost.

Luffy jumped up in excitement. "Whoo! I beat Zoro! Hey, Zoro! You wanna try again?.! I bet I'll beat you this time too!"

Zoro smirked, and grabbed the ball from the ground. He turned to Luffy. "We'll just see about that."

School had let out for the day. Luffy and Usopp were walking together from the giant building, Usopp rambling on and on about something that he had supposedly done, that sounded too good to be true. It was just him being typical Usopp.

Usopp really didn't live too far away from the school, so it took them no time at all to get to his house. Luffy figured this was why the other never took the bus or car. There wasn't much of a point if you lived so close to the school. Usopp let them both inside, taking off his shoes as he went. Luffy did as well since that was the polite thing to do. "Dad! I'm home!" Usopp called out.

A man with long, blond hair, styled in dreadlocks appeared before them. Luffy didn't even have to look that closely at his face to see how much Usopp resembled his father. "Heya, kid."

Usopp grabbed Luffy by the shoulders and pushed him forward. "Dad, this is Luffy. Luffy, this is my dad."

Luffy grinned and waved. "Nice to meet you, Usopp's dad!"

"The name's Yasopp." Usopp's father tilted his head. "So, you're this Luffy Usopp mentioned. It feels like I've heard that name before."

"Of course you have! I've told you about him, remember?" Usopp asked.

"The very first time you said his name, it sounded familiar. Hm." Yasopp put a hand to his chin as he thought back on where he could have heard such a name. It's not like Luffy was a very common name anyway. "You know what? I remember now. My old buddy, Shanks, mentioned that name to me once or twice. But, you couldn't be that same Luffy."

Luffy's eyes widened as well as his smile. "You know Shanks?.!"

"You are that Luffy then!" Yasopp exclaimed. His gaze traveled to the hat Luffy wore. "Actually, I should've known sooner. That was Shanks' hat, am I right?"

Luffy gripped the sides of the hat and nodded. "He gave it to me when I was younger. Back when I lived in the city he lives now!"

Yasopp smirked. "That red-haired bastard. How's he doing? I haven't seen him in years. I bet he hasn't changed at all."

"Nope! Shanks is still the same Shanks he's always been, but older! It's funny because even though he keeps getting older, he still hasn't turned grey yet."

Yasopp chuckled and Usopp frowned. "You never told me about this guy before!"

"Maybe Luffy can. They're close. From what I remember, this is the kid that followed that guy around everywhere he went."

Usopp looked to Luffy. "How'd you meet this Shanks guy anyway?"

"It was so long ago, but I still remember! Shanks saved me from drowning. I ran away from Ace this one day and I found this really cool lake. There was this little deck on it, and even though it looked really old, I went out on it. But, it broke and I fell in the lake. I can't swim, but it was okay because Shanks was the one who saved me! After that, I followed him around until he found Ace for me. Then, I told him that he had to come back and visit me because I liked him and wanted to be his friend." Luffy laughed. "Kinda of hard to believe he kept a promise like that to a seven year old. I guess he liked me too! It's so cool that your dad knows Shanks, Usopp!"

The other teen crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "Well, my dad is the best, after all. Of course he knows people like that!"

"Damn right, I'm the best. Now, why don't you and Luffy go to your room or something?"

"I want to see your room, Usopp!"

Usopp turned to the stairs. "Okay, but be prepared because I assure you, you have never seen a room such as mine before!"

"Is it that awesome?.!"

"You bet it is! Come on!" Usopp ran up the stairs, and Luffy followed. Usopp led Luffy to his room, throwing open the door, and holding his arm out. "This is my room! I have the best stuff in here! Check it out!" He ran over to a computer sitting on the floor. "I found this a week ago, but it wouldn't work, so I fixed it and put some software on it. Now, it's as good as new!" Luffy dropped down next to Usopp on his knees. Usopp turned the computer on. "See?"

Luffy watched as the computer came to life. His faced showed a look of awe. "You fixed it yourself?.! That's so cool!"

"I have lots of things I found broken that I've fixed. Like this camera!" Usopp reached over to his desk drawer and pulled out a small digital camera. He held it up and snapped a picture of Luffy with it. "I found it in the street one day, except the screen was broken. It wouldn't show anything on it, but I was able to fix it!" He turned the camera around to show Luffy the screen that now displayed the picture he'd taken of Luffy.

"Aw! I wish I could fix cool stuff like that. Whenever I break something, I always have to get Ace to buy me a new one and he gets mad."

Usopp deleted the image and put the camera aside. "If you break something again, bring it to me. I can always try to fix it."

"Really?.!" Usopp nodded. "What other kinds of things have you fixed?" He asked, curiously.

Usopp looked over inside of the drawer he'd pulled the camera out of. "Nami gave me this MP3 player that she broke because she got a new one." He held up the small device. "I fixed it also!"

Luffy moved to peer inside the drawer as well. "There's some cool stuff in here!" He exclaimed, pulling out what appeared to be a white cd player. "Did you fix this too?"

"I had to fix it once when I dropped it outside."

The other went to put the cd player back and paused when he saw a picture laying at the bottom of the drawer. He blinked and pulled it out, placing the cd player back. It appeared to be a picture of a girl with long, blond hair. She looked really pretty too. He turned it around and held it up to Usopp. "Who's this?"

"Huh?" Usopp turned around from the computer that he had been working on turning off. When he saw the picture, his face turned red and he hurriedly grabbed the picture from Luffy. "Where'd you find this?.!"

Luffy blinked again and pointed at the drawer. "In there." He grinned. "So, who is it?.! Is she your girlfriend?.!"

"N-no! She's not! What makes you think that?.!"

"You do have a picture of her."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

Luffy pointed at Usopp. "But, your face is red! Who is she?.! Do you like her then?.!"

Usopp sighed, knowing that he'd been caught this time and couldn't deny it. He looked at the picture before holding it up to show Luffy again. "Her name's Kaya. And, yeah, I like her. A lot." He mumbled the last part, looking away.

Usopp didn't just like her, he liked her a lot. Did that mean he was in love with her? This stuff was new to Luffy. If Usopp had feelings for someone, would he be able to explain some things to him? "If you like her a lot, does mean you love her?"

The other pulled the picture back, glancing down at it. "I love her, but if you mean 'am I in love?', then I don't know. But, I've known her for a while now, and I just know that I like her a whole lot."

Luffy had never seen her around before. Did she even attend their school? "Does she go to our school or something?"

"She used to, but her family moved a year ago. We still talk to each other online and stuff, but I haven't seen her since then." Usopp put the picture away.

Luffy pulled his backpack off and laid his head on it, getting comfortable on Usopp's floor. He turned on his side toward Usopp. "Do you know if she likes you back?"

"I'm not sure. She told me she liked me once, but I know she meant as in a friend. I never had the courage to tell her I liked her before she moved."

That made Luffy think back to his conversation with Ace about whether he should tell Zoro or not about his own feelings. "Do you regret not saying anything?" He knew he was asking a lot of questions, but he was curious, and maybe Usopp could lend him some advice as well about this kind of thing.

"Kind of."

Hm, did that mean if he didn't tell Zoro, he would also regret not saying anything? He didn't much like having regrets about things. It was silent for several seconds before Luffy broke it with another question. "Say, Usopp, if you like someone, but you don't know if they like you back, how could you make them like you?"

Usopp didn't say anything for minute. Luffy blinked, waiting patiently for the other's response. "I'm sure you can't make someone like you if they don't, but there are things you can do to show that you like them without telling them you do."

"Like what?"

Usopp smirked. "There are many ways. Like, you can always woo a person, and sometimes they'll like you because of that. Or, you can go another route by flirting with them."

Luffy blinked a couple times. He'd heard those words very rarely and he never understood what they meant. "Wooing and flirting?"

"You don't know what those things are, do you?" Usopp asked blankly. Luffy shook his head. He knew he'd have to explain. "To woo a person means to do nice things for them that gets them to like you. Like giving a girl flowers or chocolate. And, flirting is when you do or say things to someone that shows you really like them when they say something to you."

Luffy liked the sound of wooing a person more so than the flirting, but he'd keep that in mind too. But, Zoro was a guy, and he surely wouldn't want flowers. Luffy didn't know if he liked chocolate either. "How else can you woo a person? What if they don't like flowers or chocolate?"

"That can be achieved in lots of ways." Usopp held a finger up. "You could take them somewhere nice, like a restaurant. You can buy them other things too, stuff they like. Or you can just say nice things to them, give them compliments. Those are all a part of wooing someone."

That gave Luffy an idea. Since Zoro would be going shopping with them, he could ask for some money to buy the older teen something. He had to figure out what the other would want first. "Thanks, Usopp! That helps a lot!"

"What do you mean? Wait, do you like someone, Luffy?.!"

Luffy grinned. "Something like that, yeah. I can use some of those tips!"

Yep, he was going to really try to woo Zoro. Perhaps if he could, Zoro would like him back!

Luffy had enjoyed his short stay at Usopp's house. Usopp had tried to pressure him into spilling who he liked after that, but he never did. He didn't want too many people to know, because there would be a bigger chance that Zoro would find out that way. He and Ace had just got back home and Luffy was walking to their apartment door, Ace following behind a bit. He turned the knob, forgetting that Ace usually locked the door when he left, and was surprised to find it wasn't locked. Maybe Ace had forgotten, but it sounded like the television was on the closer he got to the livingroom.

And, it was too. The reason why was currently lounging on their couch. Luffy threw down his bag and launched across the room, throwing himself at the man. "Shanks! What are you doing here?.!" The straw hat was knocked off his head as he hugged the older man, but the string attached prevented it from falling to the floor, only to hang around Luffy's neck instead.

Shanks laughed at the other's obvious excitement. "Felt like stopping in to see my Luffy." He ruffled the younger's hair affectionately. "There something wrong with that?"

Luffy shook his head and pulled back from the red haired man. "No! You can come over any time you want to! But, why are you here so late?"

"I heard you were at a friend's house. There was no point in coming earlier than that because no one would have been home." That made sense.

Then, something occurred to him. "Oh! I was at my friend Usopp's house and his dad said he knows you! He asked how you were, but I told him you were the same, just getting old."

Shanks glared playfully at the younger. "I'm not that old! Just wait; you'll be my age one day."

"Yeah, but you're twenty years older than me, so that means you're old!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at the other man. "Take that, you grandpa!"

Shanks' eyes narrowed, and he pulled Luffy down, locking his arm around the other's neck. He used his fist to rub against Luffy's head in a typical noogie fashion. "Who's old?.!"

"Ow! Shanks, quit it!"

"Not until you take back what you said. Otherwise, I'm not stopping!"

"But, it's true! Ow! Ace!"

"Calling for big brother now, are you?"

"Ace, help me!"

Ace stood back and watched, amused. "You brought this on yourself, Luffy."

"Ooh, big brother's not going to help you this time, kiddo!"

"Stop it! Fine! You're not old! I take it back!"

"I don't believe you."

"But, I mean it!"

"Nope, still don't believe you."

"B-but, Shanks!"

"Hm? What was that? You calling me old again?"

"No! I'm sorry! You're not old!"

Shanks suddenly stopped his torture on Luffy and let go of the kid. "Damn right, I'm not. Do I look old to you?"

Luffy took a step back. "I hate when you do that." He muttered, fixing his hair.

"Oh, you do not."

"Yes, I do! It hurts, you know!"

"If you can't take that much, then you're no man. Only babies whine like that!"

"I'm not a baby!"

"Oh? You look like one to me. A big one at that."

Luffy glared and turned to Ace. He pointed back at Shanks. "Shanks is being mean again."

"You started it by calling me old, kid."

Luffy turned back on the man. "That's because you are!" Then, he proceeded to run away before Shanks could do anything to him again. He chose the best place to hide. Behind Ace.

Shanks stood from the couch and approached Ace, looking behind him at Luffy. "That again, huh?"

"You can't get me here!"

"Yeah?"

Shanks jumped around behind Ace, and because Luffy was holding on to his big brother's shirt, he tugged Ace around harshly, so that Shanks wouldn't be able to get him. Ace's eye twitched at being manhandled like that. "Luffy…" Shanks reached behind Ace again, and Luffy pulled Ace around. This was his plan. A big brother shield. Yes, it worked quite nicely.

Ace reached behind himself to grab onto Luffy, trying to tug the younger away from him. It was a comical sight to behold actually. Shanks would try to dive behind Ace, and Luffy would pull the other in front of Shanks for protection, while Ace tried to get Luffy off of him. Luffy moved his arms around Ace's neck, and pulled the other around to protect himself against Shanks once again. Ace almost choked from it. He grabbed Luffy arms and pulled at them. "Luffy! L-let go!"

Of course, Luffy wasn't stupid enough to give up his shield and only tugged Ace around more. Ace glared at Shanks' smiling face in front of his own. He did not appreciate being treated in this manner! It was getting to the point where he found it hard to breathe and Luffy was still not letting up. "Luffy! Shanks! S-stop it! N-now! I…c-can't breathe, da-mn y-you." Shanks jumped for Luffy again, leaving Ace to be pulled around roughly some more. He grabbed on to Luffy's arm tight and pulled hard. "Goddamn it! STOP!" He successfully ripped Luffy away from his body and pushed him at Shanks.

"No! Ace, why'd you do that?.!"

Ace glared at Luffy. "I couldn't breathe, asshole. And, I'm not your human shield either!"

Shanks suddenly grabbed Luffy up and slung the boy over his shoulder. He proceeded to throw the other on the couch and sit on his legs. "Hey! Get off me!" Luffy shoved at the other man's arm, but Shanks didn't budge.

"Nope, you can stay there for now. Punishment for calling me old again."

Luffy groaned, but gave up, knowing it was futile to keep trying. Shanks looked over at Luffy and smiled. "So, how was school?"

Luffy glared again, but turned to look at Ace when he remembered the shopping trip. "Ace? Can I have some money for Saturday?"

Ace was currently rubbing his neck. "Why?"

"Because I'm going shopping with Zoro and I need money."

Shanks lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "That your boyfriend, Luffy?"

The younger's eyes widened and his face reddened as he looked away. "No! Why would you ask that?.!"

"A little birdie tells me you like him."

Luffy's glare shot to Ace across the room. "You told him!"

"You never said I couldn't tell, Luffy."

"Yeah, but-"

Ace shrugged. "Besides, it's just Shanks."

"You know Luffy, if you need some tips to bag this boy, I can give you tons of them!"

Luffy's face only darkened at those words. "Shut up! Like I want advice from you."

"Of course you do. So, am I going to get to meet this guy who's stolen our Luffy's heart?"

"No! And, quit saying those things! They're embarrassing!"

Shanks laughed at the boy. "Really now? Well, Luffy and- wait, what's the guy's name?" He asked Ace.

"Zoro."

"Haha, Luffy and Zoro sitting in a tree-"

"Shanks! Quit!"

Shanks stopped and smiled at Luffy. "You know I'm just teasing you."

"I don't like it!" Luffy looked over at Ace once more, his face a dark shade of red still. "Can I have some money or not?"

"You gonna buy your boyfriend something?" Shanks teased.

"No! And, stop calling Zoro that!"

Ace interrupted. "Yeah, I'll give you some money."

Luffy grinned at his brother. "Thanks, Ace!"

"Is Zoro going to pick you up?"

Luffy nodded at Ace. "I asked him, he said yes."

"Aw, Luffy's boyfriend is going to pick him up!"

"I said quit, Shanks!"

Shanks laughed and poked Luffy on the nose. "No. So, where was I? I'll start over. Luffy and Zoro sitti-"

"Shanks!"

A/N: Yes, Shanks has both of his arms in this fic :D I hope you enjoyed his teasing.