Title: The Lucky Ones (5/?)
Author: Chibimono Akuno
Fandom: One Piece
Pairing: Zoro x Luffy, Shanks x Ben
Rating: PG
Word Count: 298
Warnings: Foster-children situation. High school dropout. Gay relatives having custody of a minor. A budding romance between two male friends. If any of this bothers you, please don't read.
Disclaimers: Not mine. Just pretending. I love Oda with all my heart.
A/N: A modern-ish AU. This is unedited/unbeta'ed and was written over a span of time. None of the parts are written in the same exact style. If you see any glaring errors, feel free to point them out.

The Lucky Ones
- Part Five -
by Chibimono Akuno

After the weekend with Luffy and his uncles, the hardest thing Zoro found he could ever do was leave. For just a little while, he was able to hold again the happiness that his only friend ever provided for him, and pretend that, for once, he was actually a part of a family. He was never alone in Shanks' and Ben's house, even in the few moments he spent by himself. They let him realize that he was still young and still had time to grow after he had let himself age too fast.

"You're not nineteen going on thirty, Zoro," Shanks had smiled as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Live moves fast enough. There is no need to rush."

But leaving from Luffy's home meant returning to the daily grind and the three jobs that were part of that reality. And he did not want to go.

Dark, innocent puppy-eyes made it all the worse.

"Now that you know where we are, you'll come back, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Next weekend?"

"Well-"

"Please?"

"Luffy, you're pressing your luck," Ben admonished with a chuckle.

The boy just puffed his cheeks in a pout before continuing on. "Please, Zoro?"

How could he say now? Given a tight friendship and a place to escape to when reality was just a little too much...

"Is it alright?" Zoro just hoped he did not sound too eager.

Shanks smiled. " You're welcome to call this place home whenever you feel like it."

Suddenly, Zoro's weekend job just did not seem so important anymore. He'd quit it when he got home. His other dreams could just wait a little longer, as long as he could hold onto this one more often.

"I guess I'll see you next weekend, Luffy."

- to be concluded -