Straw Hat Christmas Part 3
Disclaimer: Read Straw Hat Christmas Part 1
Author's Note: I am so thankful for the reviews, favorites, and follows. _Flashback is within the lines_. I really went for the tearjerker this chapter so everyone collect some tissues before reading! ;) Enjoy!
Up in the workout room, Zoro stood contemplating his choice of tree. He had already gotten help from the others in hauling it up to the lookout and while setting it up he couldn't help but think of how he had found this tree at all.
Everyone knew that Zoro didn't believe in God. This holiday for him only meant spending time with family and friends and enjoying himself. Family….one of which had been gone for, what it seemed, a long time.
He had been walking through endless green trees when he had seen, out of the corner of his eye, a young woman moving through the forest as well. He made his way in her direction thinking maybe she was lost (Ironic, I know) and found himself simply following her. Following barely seen images of her had led him to a mid-sized white tree.
Once he got closer to the tree he had looked around and found no signs of the girl. No footprints adorned the snow. He turned toward the tree and found that the longer he stared, the more a nostalgic feeling was flooding his being. The strange happenstance was that he felt the very same feeling brimming from the tree itself.
Zoro had felt compelled to take that tree after that. Now, as he applied the first string of garland, he felt the same ache driving through his chest. This tree reminded him of her. Fragile looking on the outside, with its lack of all color, but with a core of strength like steel.
Zoro hadn't noticed as they brought up the tree that Franky, unbeknownst to Franky himself, had bumped the intercom to send out sound from the lookout to the whole ship. So when he felt the urge to sing to the tree his troubles, he had no idea his crew would hear his feelings laid out so bare. His deep voice reverberated through the ship.
· "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same, dear, if you're not here with me
And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That's when those blue memories start calling
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
All around the ship Zoro's crew had been looking upwards from whatever room they were in since hearing that melancholy voice start singing to a friend now gone.
Each person, in that moment, took off running for the climb to the lookout. They all ran into each other and as a group headed upwards. The first thing that Sanji did upon reaching the top was to make his way over and shut off the intercom. Even he knew how the marimo would feel about them hearing him.
They gathered around Zoro and his tree and reached out for decorations to help.
"What are you guys doing here?" Zoro asked while watching them move about. "I thought we were decorating separately."
"We decided we wanted to do one tree at a time." Robin replied.
"Yours is the first one moss-head." Sanji mumbled around his cigarette.
"We wanna help!" Chopper remarked loudly. Then he shyly asked, "Is that okay?"
"Sure," Zoro grunted. He really didn't mind all that much and he couldn't say no to Chopper. He was just thanking his luck that they hadn't come up any earlier and heard his moment of weakness.
The next hour was spent decorating Zoro's tree. When the time came for the top of the tree to be adorned, Zoro walked over and picked up a sizable box and brought it over to the tree. The logo on the box said it was from that last island.
Inside of the box, wrapped liberally in tissue paper, was a gorgeous female angel with dark eyes and hair. Upon her back perched wings of snow white and hanging at her side was a sheath of white that everyone in the crew recognized.
"It's Wado." Zoro murmured, "I had them make it special since it wouldn't take them long to get it done. They took a picture to make sure the sword was right."
Franky, Chopper, and Usopp were holding back tears. They knew that he wouldn't want them to get emotional over something sweet he had done but it was hard seeing their swordsman so emotional. The rest of the crew just kept fairly straight faces with understanding radiating from their eyes.
Luffy came forward and threw his arm over Zoro's shoulder to get a better look at the special topper. "It's so pretty!"
"Thanks." Zoro replied while keeping his eyes on the box.
Robin was nervous about speaking up but asked, "S-Shall I put it up for you swordsman-san?" After receiving a quick nod from Zoro, she took the angel gently and passed it up through her many hands before placing it on the top of the tree. After it was settled into place she motioned to Franky.
Franky turned on the lights to the tree using soda powered technology. Oohs and Ahhs spread around the crew as they saw the angel lit up from behind. She almost seemed like she was glowing from the inside.
The crew members, minus their swordsman, exchanged looks that said, "Our trees won't come close to this one."
They then proceeded to drag Zoro hither and yon across the ship decorating the other trees. They shared lunch and laughs while Luffy got wrapped up in lights and Usopp set his trees nose on fire. And if Zoro happened to fall asleep when he was supposed to be helping, no one said a word. The complaints could never make it past their lips at finally seeing a contented expression on his face.
While they worked on the last tree, Sanji made his getaway so that he could work on cooking dinner. While he was busy setting the table the rest were putting all the gifts under Zoro's tree. They had been busy hauling around large pillows to use in the lookout as seating after they decided that gathering around his tree after dinner to open gifts was the right thing to do. Maybe Zoro's friend would watch on from where she was and laugh along with the rest of them as they celebrated the holiday.
Dinner was, as always, a loud affair. The table was stuffed with several different kinds of meat and fish, potatoes, fruit salads, rolls, rice, and desserts. Drinks ranged from alcohol (Zoro) to coffee and cocoa. Warm conversation abounded and full bellies were left all around.
After cleaning up the table and washing the dishes, they settled themselves in the lookout on the large pillows. More drinks were handed out and they passed the gifts around to their receivers.