A/N: ZareEraz here! I bet you're happy that I got this one out so fast :3 We've returned to form by having just a short little vignette for this chapter instead of the monsters that have been coming out of me lately. But don't get too excited...the next chapter will be a monster (literally in some cases because uh, Thriller Bark) and so that won't be out for a while. But anyway, enjoy! And P.S.: In the anime, Nami and Usopp imagine what Luffy would say if he was going to scold the crew for losing their flag, and he literally says "Geez, you guys are helpless. You disgust me!" in English, and "Geez, you guys really can't be helped!" in Japanese, so if it sounds a little out of character, I just really wanted to hammer home Nami and Usopp's nightmare. Anyway, have fun!

Chapter 24: Taken for a Fool

Chopper looked down at his unconscious patient, and carefully arranged his extensively bandaged arms on the bed before hopping off of the chair he'd been standing on. Luffy snored away, resting in the infirmary after his fight with Don Accino. The Straw Hats had finally made it out of the Frozen Highway, in part due to Don Accino activating the undersea volcano below Lovely Land with his Hot-Hot Fruit and melting many of the glaciers that had blocked their way. The Hot-Hot Fruit had also done quite a number on Luffy as the rubber man was forced to fight Don Accino barehanded, which was why he was now passed out in Chopper's sickbay. The little doctor had done what he could for his captain: his hands, feet, and stomach were badly burned and had required lots of soothing ointment to help the healing process. Luffy had punched the hot man, been rammed in the stomach with a hot head, and had his feet burned from standing on ice that the Don had heated up to extreme degrees. Chopper was actually quite surprised that Luffy had managed to keep his skin but now the consequences of that fight had turned Luffy into a mummy with white bandages running down his arms and covering his hands, completely obscuring his stomach, and wrapping around his feet and calves. It hadn't been a particularly tough fight by Luffy standards, but the reindeer sighed at the toll it had exacted. Once all the bandages and medicines were put away, the little doctor opened the sick bay's door and walked into the kitchen where the rest of the crew was waiting. They'd all taken seats around the table except Sanji, who was cooking, clearly anticipating their captain's awakening once he'd rested.

"How's Luffy?" Zoro asked immediately, his eyes drawn to the sickbay door.

"He's resting now. He's got a few burns, but they should heal up in a week at most," Chopper answered. "I'm actually surprised that he isn't burned more but that might be due to his rubber body. It appears to be more resistant to burns than normal bodies." Chopper paused in his observations when Zoro pointed to the door, his eyes holding a question. The reindeer nodded knowingly, "You can check on him if you want but don't wake him."

The swordsman quietly walked into the room and sat down on the swivel chair that Chopper had been using to stand on moments before. Zoro looked his snoring boyfriend over, noting that while bandaged and passed out, he looked pretty good for a man who's just gone up against a 10,000-degree human. He gently reached out to hold Luffy's bandaged hand, careful to put as little pressure on it as possible. Once he was satisfied that Luffy was going to be alright, Zoro stood up and turned towards the door and found Robin, Nami, Usopp, and Franky peeking in to check on their captain. The green-haired man nodded at them and everyone quietly backed out of the room. The crew sat down at the table and ate the light meal that Sanji had provided. They'd been on the go since they'd wandered into the Frozen Highway, so the break was much appreciated.

"Ug," Nami sighed as she slid back into her chair. "All of that was a mess."

"You're telling me," Usopp agreed, munching on some snacks.

"I don't want to see another glacier for a while," Zoro added.

Sanji snorted, instantly making Zoro grumpy and glary. "That's because you got lost on top of one, dumbass!"

"Hey! I did not get lost and those damn icebergs kept moving!" The swordsman retorted, baring his fangs.

"Excuses, excuses. You got lost and you know it!"

"You're the ones that got lost!"

"Did not! You asshole!"

"Shut up or I'll make you shut up!"

"Ssssshhhhhh!" Chopper quieted the two down before they could really start fighting, pointing a hoof at the sickbay door and giving them both a pointed stare. They mumbled apologies and Sanji went back to cooking while Zoro grabbed some food for himself, but not before the cook smacked his head with a spatula. Zoro was about to punch the daylights out of the blond but a noise from a stern Chopper reined him in. Sanji did get a fork tossed at him though.

"I'm just glad that we got our flag back," Nami started. "It would've been a pain if Luffy had found out that we'd lost it."

"We didn't really lose it," Usopp replied. "It was stolen by that bird-fish thing."

"But the fact of the matter is that it was taken from the ship and we had to get it back before Luffy found out," Franky continued. "I don't even want to know what would've happened if he'd found out."

It was at that moment that the sickbay door creaked ever so slightly, drawing the crew's attention. They stiffened at the sight before them, a pair of dark eyes observing them coldly. There he was: Monkey D. Luffy. And he did not look very happy. The rubber man had been awoken by Zoro's and Sanji's little spat, and by the smell of food, but even food couldn't make him happy at the moment. The combined pain of standing on his tender feet and hearing that his crew had nearly succeeded in duping him made him scowl. Sanji nearly dropped his spatula in alarm, the page Robin had been holding slipped out of her fingers and fluttered back onto her book, and Usopp dropped his fork onto the table with food still on it. The rest of the crew was motionless, watching their captain as he watched them back. Luffy was the first to speak after a pregnant pause.

"Bunch of liars. You guys really did lose the flag."

And then the nightmare came true.

Luffy gave his crew a salty glare, very unhappy that they'd lied to him. "Geez, you guys really can't be helped." Then he slunk back into the sickbay and closed the door. The crew looked pretty much soulless by the time the door had clicked shut as Usopp's and Nami's fantasy scolding came true in real life.

"Nooooooo!" the pair wailed. Everyone else just kinda blushed in embarrassment. It really was horrifying to be scolded by the fool of the crew.

"Luuuufffffffyyyyyyy! We're sorry!" Chopper whined, running over to the door. He opened the door a crack but was met by the disappointed face of his captain just on the other side. The little reindeer quickly shut the door again to spare everyone else from seeing that look. The Straw Hat crew just looked at each other, defeated and cowed by their captain. They felt awful for the way they'd treated Luffy (a good portion of the guilt came only from the fact that they'd been caught, but nonetheless, they felt bad).

"Geez, this is worse than I'd thought it would be," Nami grumbled.

"What have we done?" Usopp asked despondently, putting his forehead on the table.

"I have to agree that Luffy being disappointed is far worse than I was expecting it to be as well," Robin added, calm on the outside but just as ashamed as the rest of her crewmates. "And it's made worse by the fact that he's rarely disappointed by anything."

"Thanks, Robin," Franky huffed. "I feel so much better now." The woman shrugged, having only pointed out the truth. Something had to be done, both to apologize to Luffy for trying (and almost succeeding) to pull the wool over his eyes and to regain their morale. Having come up with at least a temporary solution, Zoro took charge of the situation.

He stood up and walked over to the bar counter and held out his hand. "Sanji. Food." Without argument, the cook handed the man a massive plate piled high with food, which Zoro took over to the infirmary door. He knocked on the door and when he heard an answering grunt, he went inside and shut the door behind him. Several tense minutes passed as the crew awaited the verdict, their eyes trained on the door (except Robin's which had gone back to reading). The few minutes stretched into an eternity and the crew quietly waited for one or both of the men to emerge. When the door did finally open, Zoro emerged with an empty plate in his hand, the other busy cradling Luffy's butt as he piggybacked the rubber man into the room. Luffy had allowed Zoro to carry him since he didn't want to stand on his burned feet and hung onto his boyfriend as the swordsman took the plate back to Sanji. He gave his crew a dramatically discontented look for several moments as Zoro took a seat and placed the rubber man on his lap before opening his mouth. The crew waited in dread anticipation.

"Alright! I forgive you!" he declared. The sighs of relief were audible and Luffy shishishi-ed as his crew relaxed.

"What'd you do?" Sanji asked, curious as to how the Moss Head could've changed Luffy's mind so fast.

"The food helped but I…I had to promise him some things. Don't ask," the swordsman replied, blushing slightly. He didn't elaborate. Luffy just smiled in response and then turned to his friends.

"Don't do it again!" Luffy ordered with a mocking finger-shake, smiling at his grateful crew.

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

"Now…SANJI! FOOD!" And with that, things were back to the way they should be.

To be Continued...

A/N: And there you go! See ya!