Title: Switching Gears
Summary: Losing Luffy wasn't something anyone was prepared for., nor was it anything the Going Merry crew was willing to let happen. Bonds are strengthened and loyalty tested as the search for a mystery cure begins. Shounen-ai.
Pairings: LuZo, SanZo, SanUso main.
Rating: T
Chapter: 1/ ten, or so.
Disclaimer: I don't own OP, of course. More like Oda-sensei owns me. (laugh)
Author Comments: I'm definitely a bit rusty at writing, but after starting the Water 7 arc I had to write /something/. That and this fic, along with twenty others, is being written on a very competitive challenge. This chapter, to warn you, is mainly LuZo, to make me happy. Plot starts next chapter.
Night watch was Zoro's favorite watch, if only for the fact that no one was awake to make any noise why he slept. He gave a satisfied grunt and stretched, comfortable, against the wall of the kitchen, ears faintly picking up on the snores stretching their way from the sleeping quarters. He scratched absently at his stomach, a yawn unhinging his jaw. He offhandedly entertained the notion of slipping some of Sanji's dessert wine, but dropped it as he remembered the large, foot shaped bruise tattooed across his back from last time. Oh well. He yawned again, drooling a bit and wiping it off with his hand.
Footsteps.
Zoro's was always thankful for his ability to go from comatose to alert at the drop of a hat, as it probably saved him a lot of hell for falling asleep on nights like these when they were attacked by Marines or whatever decided to show up. His legs tensed, muscles bunching in preparation to spring, his hand falling to wrap around the hilt of a katana-
"Oi, Zoro!" Bright eyes scoped around the corner, straw-hat silhouette backlit by smooth, moonlit waves. "Heehee, calm down." Luffy ambled, shirtless and sleep-mussed, towards his first mate, smiling broadly.
Zoro relaxed fully, eyeing Luffy with mock resentment for making him waste precious energy. "You were five seconds away from being tomorrow's breakfast."
Luffy palmed his hat, other hand scratching at his head, hair flying every which way in the breeze. "That's stupid. Sanji wouldn't cook human." Luffy said, nose scrunching as he yawned. "Though we'd have a lot more meat if he did." He considered that notion and smiled, teeth gleaming white, sharp.
With a laugh, Zoro raised his eyes to his captain's face and felt his gaze lock up, like when he saw a particularly shiny, sharp object and couldn't look away for a moment. He blinked, Luffy's toned-down night face, more sober than his genki-genki day face, etched on the underside of his eyelids, sticking to him. He scratched awkwardly at his thigh, turning his gaze quickly towards the prow. "Why are you up so late, anyway? You should be tired, it was a long day." His voice was gentle and it struck him odd, so he coughed in a deep, manly manner to shake the weird mood.
Luffy patted the kitchen door fondly, toeing his foot in and out of his sandal. "I was tired!" He stated, obvious tone in his voice. "But I'm hungrier now, so I woke up to eat." He laughed, too loud for such a late hour. "I was even hungry in my dreams." He opened the kitchen door, looking expectantly at Zoro.
Zoro felt the silence fall heavy upon him, and he looked up at Luffy once again, bothered. "What?" Now he just wanted to go to sleep and forget the weird pitfall in his stomach that had formed with Luffy looking so... strangely inviting and sleep-soft, happy and touchable. He wanted to go to sleep and then wake up early and fend any remaining hormones away with a few hundred sets of cleansing weight lifts. But now Luffy was staring at him like that, and he felt himself go pliable to his captain's whims, just like that. "What do you want?" Damn.
"Sanji locked the refrigerator." Luffy said, super-serious and stomach growling. His arm extended, grasping for the switch to the kitchen light. He turned to Zoro, the warm, yellow light flooding across the deck, and there it was again, the weird hole in Zoro's stomach, eating away. "And now I can't get in it. I tried to break the chain, but I made too much noise and Sanji caught me." His tone turned pleading. "Please?"
Zoro was already standing up, arm sweeping to collect his swords. "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, nudging Luffy into the kitchen, closing the door lightly behind them. The kitchen at night, without Sanji, seemed like a totally different entity from its bustling daytime counterpart. It was quiet and orderly, not a dish out of place, the entire room somehow still conveying the promise a hard kick to the head if anything were to out of order in the morning. It sent a prickle of goose bumps up Zoro's neck, not that he was afraid of that bastard cook or anything. He glanced towards the refrigerator, humming quietly in the corner. A thick chain was wound through the handles, a thick padlock hanging from it.
Luffy's stomach gave a loud roar at the prospect of food.
"Ah, sit over there," Zoro directed, gesturing at the table with his hand. He considered, briefly, picking the lock, but upon further consideration realized he hadn't the first clue as of how. With a shrug, he drew a katana and sliced it easily through the chain, wincing as it snaked to the floor with a series of loud thunks. He'd deal with Sanji's drama tomorrow.
Luffy laughed. "Thanks, Zoro. Make me a sandwich." He commanded easily, lounging against the kitchen table, licking his lips as Zoro opened the fridge.
"Make your own!" Zoro bristled, hand enclosing around a jar of mayo and tossing it to Luffy, followed by a loaf of bread and a few left-over hunks of roast. He scratched his head and returned to the fridge, looking for something to snack on. If he was up and in here, may as well eat. He turned to Luffy. "Hey, have any-" 'Bread left', his mind supplied, as he stopped his sentence short. Of course Luffy didn't have any bread left. He was /Luffy/. He sighed and turned back to rummage again.
"Hey!" Zoro turned to look at Luffy. Luffy smiled and offered something misshapen and smelling of meat towards his first mate, face beaming. The something was dripping mayonnaise and crumbs towards Sanji's pristine floor, smudging onto Luffy's fingers. "I made you a sandwich, too." Luffy looked immensely happy with either himself or with the fact that he had eaten meat within the last sixty seconds.
Zoro gaped, soundless, before raising a heavy hand to take the sandwich. He brought it back towards himself and stared at it long and hard, eyebrows knitted. After a while, he looked back towards Luffy, who was looking at him with great expectance shining in his eyes. "Aren't you hungry?" He managed, hand clenched around the food. For some reason, food from Luffy meant something to him, mainly because it was food from /Luffy/. Luffy didn't give food. He took, inhaled, demolished, and generally did all he could to consume the world's supply of food.
Luffy cocked his head. "I like food, Zoro." He stated in an obvious tone, bringing his legs up under him, perching on the bench. "But I like you more." He licked his palm, catching a stray glob of mayo.
Zoro took a huge bite out of the sandwich; face warming as he considered the smaller boy. "Aa." He uttered, smiling in a large, awkward manner. He leaned heavily against the counter and finished his snack off, aware of Luffy's wide-eyed stare on him. Without really thinking, he pushed himself off the counter, clomping over to where Luffy sat and slumping next to him. "Pretty scarce supplies, you know," He said slowly, staring at the refrigerator. "When do you think we'll hit land next?"
Luffy waved one of his legs out in front of him, watching it, then the other. "Robin said there was supposed to be a little island nearby, and Usopp saw seagulls today..." He replied, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. "So I say soon!" His feet hit the floor solidly and he stood up, strolling to the counter to look out the small window. "I can't see it yet, though."
"It's too dark to see anything anyway, idiot." Zoro said in a fond way, hoisting himself from the table and stretching into an arch of tense muscle. His back gave a few satisfying pops and he gave a grunt of satisfaction. "Well," He said, reaching down to catch his swords with an open palm, glancing at Luffy's back. "I'm going back out." He made for the door and stopped, picking up the cut chain as an afterthought. 'Might as well get rid of the evidence.'
Zoro was followed out the door, the lights flickering out behind him and the door clicking shut. With a flick of his wrist and a subtle splash the chain was thrown overboard. He smiled, a tiny victory. "Are you going back to bed?" He questioned, not bothering to turn around, just looking out at the black waves, transfixed.
Luffy gave a keening, thoughtful noise. "Nah," He finally deliberated, standing besides Zoro, stance easy. Without another word, he flopped onto his back, arms spread wide. "Besides, it's comfortable out here."
Zoro eased backwards, joining Luffy on the deck. He discreetly watched the other boy out of the side of his eye, thinking lightly about what he had said in the kitchen. His palms began to itch so he rubbed them roughly on his legs, turning to look back at the ocean, dropping that train of thought. It was nothing, anyway. Just Luffy being Luffy. Luffy liked everyone.
Zoro chocked the pang in his stomach to hunger and laid down, Luffy's breath audible in his ears, faint but steady. He yawned, back to square one once again.
"Good night," Luffy's voice, not tired at all, in his ear.
Zoro waved his hand vaguely, already mostly asleep. "Night, Luffy."
Then he was asleep.
End Chapter One
Author: Yeah, that was lame, but I just wanted to set the scene a bit... Excuses excuses. Ha. I love me some ZoLu dumb luvin'. Anyway, next chapter Zoro and Sanji go on some crazy early morning trip with a little innuendo! Whoo! After that... the plot will thicken. And the gay too, most likely. Stay tuned!