-Tangled Web-
A role-play/joint-fic by Digitaldreamer and Constable Remington
Chapter Twenty-Five: Surprises
Aiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee! I know, I know, I haven't updated in awhile! A thousand pardons and all that.
Seriously though, I'm running out of chapters, after this I only have one left and then we have to wait for Constable. She's been feeling horrible lately and hasn't felt like writing for undisclosed reasons, so please send her well-wishings and praise, maybe that will help her feel better.
Everyone who gave ideas: Thank you very much for your ideas. We've got everything sorted out now, Constable just needs to get her spirit back. Thank you for all your support!
Well…anyway, this chapter is one of my favorites simply because it has one of my favorite little gags in it. I hope you enjoy it.
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The store was tiny and cramped. The owner must have forgotten that customers needed a way to get around, because most of what looked as if it should be walkway was barely navigatable because it had been cluttered with mounds of useless junk. The whole shop gave off an insufferable smell of age and antiques, and as the young boy moved in, an energetic man in his mid-thirties looking up from behind the counter when he heard the tinkle of the bell. There was a young, blond baby dressed in a frilly pink onesie sitting on the counter, smacking a worn and chipped antique rattle on the hard wooden surface.
"No, no, Mandie, honey, you mustn't break that," the man cooed, but the baby only giggled, smacking it harder. Sighing a bit, the clerk gave up with a shrug, eyes moving back to Luffy. "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"
Luffy cocked his head to the side as he looked at the man, then he grinned. "Nah, I'm just looking!" he said, looking around.
Everything was pretty dusty and a lot of the stuff looked like it hadn't seen the light of day in ages. There were all sorts of things, old wooden furniture, orinate lamps, old dolls with faded smiles, stuffed animals with their fur worn away…
One thing happened to catch Luffy's eye, however. Or rather, two things.
It was a pair of necklaces hanging haphazardly off of the corner of one of the couches, one half of a yin and yang symbol hanging from each orinate chain.
Luffy blinked curiously and walked up to the necklaces, picking them up. He stared down at his reflection in the obsidian surface of the yang necklace, fingers tracing over the gleaming white of the ying one.
He clicked the necklaces together and grinned down at the shape they formed, flipping the pendent in his fingers. The boy glanced over the back, which seemed to be inscribed with something.
It was a pair of small angel wings, and beneath these wings was a single word.
"Destati," Luffy read aloud, brow furrowing. He swore he had heard that word before…
…Ah well, it was just some meaningless inscription anyway, Who cared what it meant, it looked cool! He could give Zoro one necklace and he could keep the other, and then they'd always be connected.
It was the coolest idea ever.
Luffy immediately rushed up to the store counter, nearly tripping over several things on the way there. "Mister! Mister! How much are these?" he cried when he reached the counter, waving the necklaces in the air.
Looking up again from tending his child as Luffy rushed up, the clerk cried out and grabbed the baby around the waist, pulling her from the counter and to his chest as he stumbled backwards, a horrified look on his face.
"O- o- oh," he gasped, chest heaving, eyes wide and panicky. The baby giggled. "Those... that..." He shook a bit. "Li-Listen kid... those necklaces, they're very... er, very special. Yeah, that's right!" His face seemed to gain a little more courage and light at this. "Those are quite, ah, special necklaces." He lifted a hand to pat the baby's back, now smiling. "So I'll tell you what? Since I like you so much, and since that's such a, well, wonderful piece of jewelry, I'll give it to you for any price you name! Anything, you can have those!"
Luffy frowned. "Any price?" he repeated. He didn't have any money, and he doubted the man would just let him have the necklaces…WAIT!
The boy reached into his pocket and dug around for a few seconds before pulling out the change that Zoro had given him the other day. He pouted down at it for a moment, he didn't really want to give up his pirate treasure…
…but it was for Zoro's birthday present…
He dropped the coins onto the counter. "Is this enough?" he asked with a grin.
The man frowned, leaning forward to examine the coins for a moment. It was hardly anything but a couple of simple light-weight one yen pieces...
...But he really did want that damn piece of jewelry out of the store.
"Sure, kid, that's plenty!" he laughed, and the baby laughed with him, gurgling a bit and hitting the rattle against her father's head. The clerk ignored her, pulling a small plastic bag from the counter before he looked down at the necklace. Holding out the bag, he smiled to Luffy. "There you go. Just slide it on in here," hoping it didn't actually touch him, "and you can be on your merry little way."
"Okie dokie!" Luffy chirped, picking up the necklace and dropping it into the bag. The store guy sure did seem enthusiastic about Luffy buying this necklace. Maybe he knew what it was going to be for and he was excited too? That must be it!
He took the bag and waved at the man as he turned to leave, a bounce in his step as he left the store. "Thank you mister! Have a nice night!"
"Yeah..." The man sat his little girl back down on the counter to escape her rattle-beatings, so she instead took to smacking his elbows. "You too, kid."
Zoro looked up as the bell tinkled again, sighing and shifting his feet. "About time," he said, holding the yipping box out. "What do you have there?"
"Ummm…….nothing important. Just a candy bar!" Luffy insisted, stuffing the bag into his jacket pocket while inside he was squealing with glee. He found Zoro a birthday present, yay!
Now he just had to find some place to celebrate until it was time for the party that Zoro didn't know about.
He glanced up at Zoro, grinning as an idea came to him. "Wanna go to the park? I don't think Chopper likes being in this box," he said as he took Chopper's box from the swordsman.
Zoro sighed but nodded. The park was just a short walk down that street, so he turned and began to walk; glancing back to make sure Luffy was following. "You have to be careful and make sure he doesn't run off when we get there," he said finally, as the park began to be seen in the distance.
Luffy beamed and nodded, hugging Chopper's box to his chest. "He won't! I'll make sure of it!" he said, peeking through the holes at the puppy. "Don't worry Chopper, we'll be there soon!"
The moment they reached the park Luffy tugged the box open and gently pulled Chopper out, giving him a hug before placing him on the grass and standing upright once more. "RUN CHOPPER! RUN FREEEE!" he crowed
Chopper just stared up at him, then barked and wagged his tail.
Zoro frowned a bit, sliding down into the grass and watching the tiny puppy as it yipped up at Luffy, then took to running circles around the boy.
"I think he really likes you," Zoro commented with a smirk. He had to admit, the damn thing was pretty cute.
Luffy laughed, reaching down to scratch behind the puppy's ear. "You think so? Chopper, do you like me?"
The puppy barked again and Luffy laughed once more, nudging him towards Zoro. "What about Zoro, huh?"
Chopper glanced up at Zoro for a moment, then shuffled over to the swordsman and sniffed his shoes. The puppy then looked up at Zoro again, wagging his tail and barking.
Luffy chuckled, plopping down in the grass and shrugging off his backpack as he reached over to scratch Chopper's ears again. "He likes you too! That's so great! See, he knows when I ask him things! He's SUPER SMART!"
"Mmn..." Zoro reached over to stroke against the puppy's soft fur, smiling a little. It was his birthday, Zoro was reminded, and right now this moment made the day seem worthwhile. Zoro had never cared for his birthday before, but... now if felt like something special, just because Luffy was around.
Luffy laughed, petting Chopper for a little while, but suddenly Chopper jumped up and ran away. Luffy blinked in confusion, getting to his feet. "Chopper?" the puppy ran across the park, where there sat a large pile of leaves. Chopper dove into them, barking.
The boy grinned, immediately chasing after the puppy. "HA! Leaves! Great idea, Chopper!" he cried, flinging himself into the leaves with a cry of glee, sending them everywhere.
Chopper barked again and Luffy laughed, sitting up and tossing leaves into the air. The puppy jumped, trying to catch the leaves as they fell.
"Yatta! This is so fun! Come on Zoro!" Luffy called, waving as a leaf fell onto his head and stayed there.
Watching Luffy with a sort of bored amusement, Zoro gave a lazy nod. He sighed, hoisting himself to his feet and stretching a bit, beginning to move across the park.
However, before he could get there a piece of canvas was suddenly thrust into his face. The canvas had a very well done, detailed water color painting of Luffy and Zoro sitting in the grass with Chopper between them.
"I painted you," a young girls voice came from somewhere behind the canvas.
Blinking, Zoro stopped, bending down a bit with a bewildered look to examine the painting closer.
"Ah... thank you," he said finally, blinking a bit and reaching down the take the picture from the young girl.
"You're welcome." The girl gave a small smile, her long brown braids swinging from underneath her pink hat with green swirls on it. She reached into her bag and pulled out four rice crackers, offering three to Zoro and biting into the last one. One could just barely see the corner of a white envelope sticking from between the crackers.
Taking the crackers carefully, he paused only a moment longer to watch the girl before moving on towards Luffy awkwardly, sitting himself on a bench and hiding the envelope in his pocket, tossing the crackers into the nearby garbage. He didn't trust anything.
Luffy stopped playing in the leaves as Zoro sat down, blinking in confusion. "What was that all about?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as Chopper kicked up a few leaves. These leaves joined the rest that were tangled in the boy's hair.
Zoro shrugged, holding up the picture. "Some little girl painted a picture of us, I guess," he muttered softly.
"A picture of us? OHHH, I wanna see!" Luffy cried, jumping out of the leaves and sending them flying as he rushed over to the bench and plopped down next to Zoro. Chopper followed him, flopping down on the grass next to the bench as he gnawed on a stick he had found in the leaf pile.
Zoro handed it to him, leaning back in the bench for a moment before suddenly shifting forward and scooping up Chopper, stick and all, into his lap.
Chopper yipped in surprise, nearly dropping his stick, but he soon settled down in the swordsman's lap and continued to gnaw on the stick.
Luffy gazed down at the picture, his mouth forming into an "O".
"…Woooooooooooow! This is really good! It looks just like us! It's so cool!" He then glanced over at Zoro. "Maybe the girl knew it was your birthday today and decided to give it to you!"
Zoro paused for a moment, blinking towards Luffy. He hadn't told anyone of his birthday, so how in the world did Luffy know? "...Maybe," he said slowly, suspicion rising in his voice. "It is good," he noted, taking the picture and sitting, for a moment, in silence, before he smirked a bit. "Luffy," he said softly, "how did you know it was my birthday?"
The boy sat there blinking for a moment before his eyes widened. ACK! I just let it out…gotta cover it up somehow...oh, what would Usopp do? I don't know…
"Um….I have ESPN?" He suggested with a nervous laugh.
Unsure how to respond, Zoro just sighed. "C'mon, let's get home," he said suddenly. "I've got homework, and besides, everyone's going to want to see the puppy."
Luffy's eyes widened. "BUT WE CAN'T LEAVE YET!" he cried, latching onto Zoro's arm.
Zoro raised an eyebrow, looking down at the young boy as Chopper whined right along with Luffy. "Why not?" he asked.
"...um…..because…um…" Luffy's grip on Zoro's arm loosened as he attempted to think of a reason. Come on, think of something…wait, what about that thing that one lady said on Nami's weird show? That made people stay in the room…and stare…
"I'M PREGNANT!" Luffy shouted dramatically.
"You're WHAT!" Zoro pulled his arm away, scooting away from Luffy on the bench. He hadn't seen Luffy naked, but he had seen him shirtless, and he was pretty damn sure he hadn't missed anything. Luffy was a boy, definitely, right? "Luffy, I don't think..."
"Don't think what?" Luffy asked, cocking his head to the side. He honestly had no idea what he just said. But hey, at least it kept Zoro from leaving.
Zoro was silent for a few seconds.
"Luffy, only girls can be pregnant," he finally said, irritated. "Now, come on. We're going home."
"ACK! Wait!" Luffy cried, grabbing at his arm again. She he did so he managed to pull up Zoro's jacket to reveal a watch beneath it. Luffy blinked at it, squinting as he tried to read the time.
5:45
His eyes widened. Only fifteen minutes to go? "ACK! RIGHT, LET'S GO!" he cried, jumping up and grabbing Chopper, ushering the puppy back into the carrying box. The puppy whined, but finally complied and got into the box. Luffy snapped it shut and hugged it to this chest.
"LET'S GO!" he repeated, shifting from foot to foot.
Confused and slightly annoyed by Luffy's behavior, Zoro moved from the bench and stood, beginning to cross the park towards the street where he had parked his motorcycle. Luffy was acting awfully strange, and Zoro still wanted to know how Luffy knew it was his birthday. Making a face, he sighed, finally reaching the street and beginning down it with Luffy in-tow, past the pet shop, and to the motorcycle. Zoro slipped on, looking carefully towards Luffy.
"You need to hold on tight to that box," he said finally.
Luffy hopped onto the motorcycle behind Zoro, slipping one arm around Zoro's waist while the other kept Chopper's box firmly against his chest. He was practically bouncing up and down with excitement now, he couldn't wait to see Zoro's reaction when they returned home.
"Don't worry, I will!" He promised.
Without a word, Zoro started up the motorcycle and drove home.
The reached the boarding house right on time, and Zoro parked carefully beside Vivi's car as usual, sliding off the bike and making sure the puppy was alright before beginning towards the door, mind focused dreadfully on the homework he had to do that night.
Luffy followed Zoro to the door, bouncing up and down excitedly on the front step as he waited for Zoro to open the door. His grin was so large that it looked like his face would probably crack if he attempted to smile any wider.
Watching Luffy with a raised eyebrow, Zoro finally swung open the door and stepped inside, of course expecting nothing out of the ordinary.
Interesting enough, all of the lights in the house were off for once. Even the TV was off, it was quite strange.
Luffy followed Zoro into the house and flicked on the lights.
"SURPRISE!" Ussop and Nami both cried as they burst from the hallway closet and charged over to the front door so they could toss green and white confetti all over the swordsman. Both had party hats on and Usopp kept randomly blowing into one of those cheap plastic horns.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZORO!" Luffy cried, tackling Zoro from behind and hugging him.
"What the hell!" Zoro cried, stumbling back just as Luffy's arms latched around his middle. He stared at the group that had formed, looking up as Vivi rushed in with a smile on her face. "What the hell!" he repeated again, a look of incredulous annoyance over his features. How did they find out it was his birthday? Had Luffy told them? But how the hell did he know!
Zoro didn't care for surprises.
Nami laughed, putting her hands on her hips. "Surprised? You couldn't keep it a secret from us forever!"
Usopp nodded in agreement, blowing his horn again.
Luffy grinned, squeezing Zoro's waist. "It's a surprise birthday party for you! Isn't it great?"
The house had apparently been decorated for the occasion. There wasn't much, but there were a few dark green streamers hanging here and there, along with a few balloons and a great big banner with the words "Happy Birthday Zoro!" hanging from the ceiling.
He sighed a bit, feeling a headache coming on.
"Yeah... great," he muttered.
At least it was an excuse not to do homework, and besides which, everyone else seemed to be having a good time, so whatever. He wouldn't make too big of a deal. Luffy looked so happy.
"Sanji-san made a cake," Vivi commented, and Zoro made a face.
"Yosh, cake!" Luffy cheered, releasing Zoro and doing a small dance to show his joy for the sugary thing that was cake. He stopped suddenly, frowning. "Does Chopper get cake too?"
Nami blinked. "Chopper?" she repeated.
"Yeah, my new puppy!" Luffy said, kneeling down so he could open Chopper's box and let the puppy out. Chopper immediately bounded out of the box and barked, then began sniffing the floor, his tail wagging a mile a minute.
"AWWW, HE'S SO CUTE!" Nami cried, immediately kneeling down to pet the puppy. Usopp gave a similar cry, but as he still had the party horn in his mouth it came out in a series of squeaks. Chopper barked happily, wagging his tail.
"Yay, he's happy!" Luffy cheered, joining Usopp and Nami on the floor. "Maybe he knows its Zoro's birthday!"
"Wonderful." Zoro sidestepped the puppy just as Vivi knelt down to pet it too, moving into the kitchen.
Sanji was, as usual, at the sink, washing dishes with a sigh. He looked up as Zoro entered, and gave a half-hearted shrug.
"Happy Birthday, moss head," he said simply, and Zoro grunted in response, sitting at the table and letting his eyes rest on his cake. It was a simple, round layered cake with green icing, and it read "Happy Birthday" on the top in white icing.
Robin was sitting at the table, sipping coffee. She glanced up at Zoro and gave him a small smile, saying nothing.
And then the chaos began as Luffy and Usopp came charging in, Chopper barking in Usopp's arms. Nami followed shortly behind. "Usopp, you're scaring the poor thing!"
"Am not!" Usopp cried, holding Chopper close. "He likes being held by me, right Chopper? You like me best!"
Chopper barked and wagged his tail.
"He does not like you best!" Luffy cried, scratching Chopper behind the ears. "Right Chopper?"
Chopper cocked his head to the side, then yipped.
"See?" Luffy stuck out his tongue at Usopp, whom stuck his tongue out right back.
Nami scowled, snatching the puppy from Usopp's arms. "I don't think he likes either of you best guys. Besides, it's obvious who he really likes!"
"Who?"
"Me, obviously," she grinned, petting Chopper.
"Nuh uh!"
The party continued on loudly like this well into the night, even long after Zoro had let Luffy eat most of the cake. He had finally decided just to screw homework for now, he could get anything done in class the next day and for now this seemed like too nice of a night to pass up.
Zoro mainly sat back in his chair with a drink, watching the others cause havoc and mayhem and generally be disruptive. It occurred to him that he had never really had a birthday party before, or really have anyone who cared enough to wish him a happy birthday. Though the day hadn't exactly started off as special, it had certainly become something nice, and Zoro had to grudgingly admit to himself that not only did he enjoy the party, but he knew it would be a memory he would cherish. More and more, Luffy was bringing those kinds of memories to him.
Just one more reason why Zoro loved him.
A warm feeling rose up in his heart and he couldn't help but smile.
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To be continued..
Well, that was fun, ne? I hope you all enjoyed that…because now I have some bad news.
Constable has not been feeling well. She's depressed, she's stressed, and she's feeling burnt out. Thus, she cannot write TW, because she's completely burnt out on it. I will not write this fic without her, because we're friends and partners. Thus…
I will not post anything after this chapter until Constable feels better. I don't want to do this, but it can't be helped. We may only be waiting a few days, a few weeks, a month, I'm not sure. But I assure you all this fic WILL continue. Even if it has to go on a hiatus because of this, I promise you all that it will continue! Constable has declared that she plans on finishing it…so surely soon things will be better. Constable and I are going to finish this, we promise, and we're really far off from the end, so you all have a lot to look forward to.
And now, I will answer a few reviews!
Saiyako: Aw, Nami's just being nice because it's Zoro's birthday today. She'll be in full-swing teasing mode again soon enough. X3
silverfangedgoddess09: O.o You check every day to see if this fic has been updated? Um…wow. Well, thanks for backing us up and for the candy, I suppose. o.o
YuugiLover3: O.o In some pet shops you don't have to do all that, Constable just bought her puppy and left, so I guess the pet shop in this fic is like the one Constable's been to.
Aifos: o.O Wait, so you didn't know about Constable before I mentioned her? But I said at the very beginning that this was a joint-fic, didn't you read the authors notes? It says her name right at the top of each chapter!
Next Chapter: We know what Luffy got Zoro, but what did the rest of the house get him? And how will Zoro react to Luffy's gift? More foreshadowing and fluff await in chapter twenty-six of Tangled Web! See you all then.