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. LuSan, a bit, later. Whoo!
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own OP, of course. More like Oda-sensei owns me. (laugh)
Chapter: 2!
Author Comments: This is where I try to force plot into this thing. Like some demented CPR.
"Oi," A rough shove. Zoro murmured something, a vague threat, and snored loudly.
Sanji pursed his lips into an unhappy frown and stood up, eyeing the swordsman with annoyance. "Hey," He tried again, this time allowing himself a sharp kick to the man's side, feeling a bit triumphant when Zoro blinked blearily. "Good morning, sunshine." His fingers itched for a cigarette; he shoved them into his pocket and tongued nervously at the corner of his mouth.
"Uh," Zoro said intelligently. His eyebrows knit together and his body creaked wearily as he shifted, struggling to sit up. "Whattya want?"
Sanji regarded him a moment, calmly, feeling quite bare in his pajamas. "I just took out some dumb-ass robbers. On your watch." He hid a shiver, eye trained on the dim, red morning sun stretched over the horizon as he rubbed at his arms.
"And?" Zoro was semi-awake now, leaning back on his arms and regarding Sanji with a scowl, hair spiked and matted every which way from his sleep. "No reason to wake me up." He muzzily smoothed his arm over his eyes, shirt riding past his ribs and goose bumps visible over the taut flash of his stomach. Sanji didn't stare, not long.
"And I need you to help me filch their supplies," Sanji sniped, face prickling, unshaved. "Their boat is moored to the side of ours. At the rate we're going, we won't have enough for a good breakfast." As an afterthought, his eyes slid across the deck, landing upon the prone form of his captain. "He slept out here?"
Zoro nodded, standing up. His previous sleepiness fell off of him like a blanket as the brisk morning wind hit him, and he took a second to paw at his shirt, pulling it down. "Where's the ship?"
Sanji yawned tiredly and proceeded to brush past Zoro, shuffling across deck. Zoro took notice of Sanji's trailing shoestrings; the shoes probably thrown off quickly in the heat of a fight, no time to tie them and felt a little disappointed it hadn't been his fight.
Sanji led him to where a ladder had been hastily and clumsily tied to the railing on the side of the ship. Zoro leaned over the railing, whistling at the scatter of still bodies piled neatly on the small ship below them. With a differential shrug, he lifted himself over the side and descended the ladder, Sanji close behind, both silent.
When Zoro set foot on the tiny boat, he instantly felt a little uneasy, the hairs on his neck standing up and his mind traveling to where his swords were- on the deck, next to Luffy. "Sure you took them all out?" He called, Sanji swinging into view and onto the ship in the corner of his vision. His fingers clenched, tense and he stared at the prone bodies Sanji had laid out. None of them moved, none of them breathed, yet something was still off.
Sanji kicked open a hatch on the deck, staring into the bleak darkness of the storage, frown deep and eyes serious. "Yeah. Didn't put of much a fight, any of them." He commented offhandedly, lowering himself down into the ship. Zoro stared at the pale hands clenching the sides of the hole, all that remained in sight of Sanji.
A loud, sickening cracking noise, and Zoro was at the hatch, staring down.
"Well, I thought I had gotten all of them," Sanji muttered, a body hitting the floor with a thump. He reached down and grabbed at a large sack of flour. "Catch," He warned, tossing it at Zoro's gawking face. He proceeded to ransack the meager supply of food the robber crew had kept, throwing it into a convenient sack. He began to hoist himself back onto deck, when Zoro held his hand up.
"You forgot something." He said, pointing.
Sanji turned around, edging the sack onto deck with his extra hand. "I don't see anything." He pulled himself up fully and unfolded himself, standing level with Zoro. He squinted into the meager sunlight lighting the hull. "I definitely don't see anything, moss-head."
Zoro gave a 'ch', stooping to look closer. He dropped ungracefully into the lower level, grunting as he hit the floor. Something small and round- his hand closed around it. He brought it up to the meager streams of light pouring in around Sanji's figure, which was craning above the hatch, nosy.
"Well, what is it?" The blonde questioned testily, shoeing at the bag of pilfered goods, eager to get back on the Going Merry.
Zoro shrugged. "I think it's a piece of fruit." He replied, sniffing at it and rolling it between his fingers. The fleshy skin reeked of sweetness and he grimaced and pulled it away from his face.
Sanji scowled down at him, meanwhile stooping down to shoulder the bag of flour. "Congratulations. You found a piece of fruit. Now pick up the rest of this shit and let's get back, okay?" He hurriedly boarded the ladder, eager to get off the little boat. Little did he want to admit, but dead bodied did creep him out a little, especially before his coffee. "God, I would kill for a smoke right now," He muttered, climbing slowly, weighed down.
From below, Zoro gave a grunt, holding the rope ladder steady for him. "It's not usual to see you without them," He remarked lowly, surprising Sanji a bit.
"Fell overboard," Sanji confided, making a grab for Merry's rail and jerking himself up with one arm, the flour making his movements awkward and jerky. "They fell overboard this morning, during the commotion, and it's been weeks since the last town... It was my last pack." His tone was mournful as he regarded Zoro's ascent up the ladder. His eyebrows furrowed. "You still got that fruit?"
Zoro pulled himself on deck with one long, strangely graceful movement, and cut the rope ladder with another. He pulled the fruit from his mouth, where he had held it while climbing. He regarded it for a minute, wiping juice absently from the teeth marks he had made. "I thought Luffy might eat it." He said distantly, frowning. "I mean, it's not much..." He strongly remembered Luffy giving him his sandwich, the way he looked spread out on the deck, content. A grin spread across his face.
Sanji looked concerned. "Oi, don't get sentimental." He snapped. "Luffy will eat anything. I doubt a measly piece of fruit will make a dent in that bottomless pit."
Zoro laughed. :"You would know." He pulled his arms behind his neck and worked his head one way, then the other, cracking it effectively. "Ah, it's almost sunrise." He noted, seriously, contemplating the lightening sky.
"Time to make breakfast," Sanji said offhandedly, heading his separate way from Zoro. "You owe me one, asshole."
Zoro shrugged and began his morning work out.
End Chapter Two
Author: Plot! It's appearing! Whoo! And I suppose I lied when I said there was gay about in this chapter. False advertisement, so sue me! Okay, so the real story starts next chapter. Haha, that Zoro. Always working out. What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!