A.N: Hey guys! Bet you forgot about this piece of junk? Well, I do apologise for not updating. In truth, this was ready to upload like a month ago…but I forgot…and it also needed to be improved more than just a bit.
Hopefully you're not as dissatisfied with this chapter as my beta was.
Which leads me on to thank my awesome beta, xXxAngel_vxXx, who has beta'd every single chapter I've asked her to beta, and she has made them beta! (hehe.)
Warning: This chapter is a load of cheese. I tried to make it less like soft cheese…but it stank so much that I had to give in and just publish it before it passed it's 'best published before' date :P
If you didn't understand that, then you must be way too young to be reading this story …(just kidding. I know why you didn't understand it…the joke was simply too cheesy.)
I'm such a cheese cracker!
Now let chapter 5 commence (fingers crossed).
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When you're the one catching flames from Zoro's fiery glare, you react like a boiling water particle. Some can withstand it, but Chopper was one of those who couldn't.
"Gomen! Don't damage my room!" He begged, or rather screamed, and then sighed in relief when Zoro marched out, leaving the door to slam behind him.
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Luffy vaguely heard the door creaking open before being attacked by the coldness of the wind. He immediately awoke and clutched Zoro's shirt, pulling as much of the fabric as he could over himself.
Zoro stared down and watched the boy shiver in his arms. Understanding why he turned the other way, deciding to do his journey backwards so that he could shield Luffy from the supposed northern breeze. He drew the boy closer to him, trying to make him feel as warm as he did.
"Zwowo...yaw a...aw wet." (Zoro, you're a...all wet) Luffy stuttered. Nevertheless he accepted the gesture, wriggling himself into an even more comfortable position.
"That's true." Zoro sighed. This was all his fault...him and his damn carelessness.
...wait a second...wasn't he the one who saved the day?
They reached another door, the bathroom door.
Luffy watched as Zoro wordlessly opened the it, entering the steamy room unflinchingly as moisture filled every single one of his own senses.
He slid out of Zoro's hold and sat himself down on the nearest furniture. He heard the door close behind him and looked up to see the other occupant of the room staring down at him from where he was. Luffy rose an eyebrow slightly at Zoro's outstretched hand.
"Ah, could you pass me those sandals" Zoro said with an instructive tone. The boy's response was a simple grumble.
"Fine." Zoro went down on one knee, ignoring the cold wetness making it's way to the skin on his joint. He carefully lifted Luffy's foot, curling his hand around the heel, and unbuckled the straps of the seemingly fragile footwear; they looked knackered but were not entirely broken- they must have been more sturdy than they appeared to be. Being owned by Luffy, it was a surprise to see that they had not yet been destroyed. He almost felt like congratulating them.
God, he must be tired! What would he analyse next? A fingernail?
He freed both of the straps and pulled at it's heels. "Damn it Luffy! Buy a new pair of shoes."
"Why?" Luffy asked innocently enough to make Zoro sigh. "I like my sandals."
"Because during all this time this foot…" he said, pinching one of Luffy's toes, "has grown." Zoro shook his head and picked up Luffy's foot once again, and yanked at the shoe. He was having a hard time because as he pulled one way Luffy seemed to follow him.
"Keep still will ya? You're making this more difficult than it has to be," Zoro complained. He pulled again, but Luffy made no attempt at making it easier for him.
"Just stay still damn it!" Zoro growled, tugging heavily at the battered piece of crap and almost pulling it's owner to the ground. He caught the falling boy not long after he was removed from the bench.
Luffy's eyes clasped his own for the longest split second he had ever undertaken. His captain gave him a pathetic look, then quickly turned away mumbling a quick and quiet: 'sorry'.
The guilt that had once tainted Zoro's very being returned and hit him at full force. He painfully tore his eyes away from the scene. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. All this isn't really your fault," Zoro said.
He sat himself behind Luffy on the bench- swinging a leg over so that he was facing the length. He leaned over him to grasp his foot from behind. Carefully he slid off the first shoe, putting an arm around Luffy's waist so that he could hold him to his chest. The next shoe followed the first to the ground.
Luffy cheered weakly and looked up to see Zoro's lips curve into a smirk. 'Success' he mouthed inaudibly, allowing the serene atmosphere to linger on.
Luffy's eyes grew as wide as saucepans for a second. He felt like he had had the wind knocked out of him…or more like 'gently pushed' out of him because instead of having a dull pain throbbing through him, he felt a warm sort of fuzz fill his stomach. It was identical to the feeling he got after eating a tenderly cooked piece of seasoned meat.
"What now?" he suddenly asked, startling himself even though his voice was quiet. Luffy found himself trying really hard to stop shivering before Zoro noticed, but he was pretty sure it was too late; the damage had been done. Why was he shivering anyway? He wasn't that cold…
"You're gonna sit yourself in that bath. I know you hate 'em but it'll do you a world of good." Zoro replied. He then started to rub Luffy's shoulders, "God you must be cold…let's get you in there then."
Luffy, who refused service from then on, hauled himself from Zoro's grasp. When Luffy found himself on his own two feet he commenced in the unbuttoning of his favourite red waist coat.
Zoro closed his mouth…which had been traitorously hanging open…
Luffy, eyes half lidded and panting slightly, struggled to undo the first button under Zoro's curious gaze. Not much later, but for what seemed like a teasing eternity to Zoro, he moved on to the second.
Zoro stood up and took a step forward in one fluid movement. Almost too quickly, his chest was nearly pressed up against Luffy's face. He towered over him, waiting for the boy to notice his presence. Luffy stopped ignoring him when he finished working on his second button. His arms dropped down by his sides and he looked up with a jaded but still irritated expression while Zoro's eyes shone with …determination? Strength? Luffy felt himself grow nervous.
"May I?" the sound of Zoro's voice caught him off guard, as did the feeling of Zoro touching what was left exposed of his upper chest. His finger traced down the line, provided between Luffy's two defined pectoral muscles, until it could not travel any further- reaching the third button. Zoro's unwavering gaze never broke with Luffy's reluctant one; it froze every muscle in the younger's body.
"If you have to." Luffy replied. He was frowning with embarrassment when Zoro quickly undid the rest of his buttons and quietly asked him to raise his arms. Luffy didn't comply, instead he slid the red material off his shoulders himself and dropped it on the bench.
"Thanks Zoro, I'll take it from here." Luffy insisted.
"Alright, I'll go get us some towels then- I'll be back in a sec." Zoro made his way to the exit and opened it, but turned back saying: " Make sure you don't do anything stupid," before disappearing behind the door.
Luffy, for the first time that day, really felt his weight, his height, his build, his temperature, the amount of energy that had been sapped out of him and the upset filled pit in his stomach. Being weak was just so…boring. He was in a really hot kettle of fish.(1)
He scratched his head and sighed.
Reality dawned on him like a crescendo and there was a loud ringing in his ears. He made out the words, through the thick sonorous timbre, "May I?"
The scene replayed in his head perfectly; Zoro's eyes shining with a mysterious luminous glint, drowning him in a pit of confusion and locking their gazes as if by magic. "May I?" Zoro had asked so caringly. His chest was on fire when Zoro touched him. He didn't once remember breathing through any of that.
Why had he looked away from those eyes? He wished he hadn't- it showed weakness.
Wait a second. Why had he looked away? For what reason?
He folded his arms across his chest, hugging himself loosely. "Zoro" he sighed, his voice was filled with raw emotion but naturally he was oblivious. He remembered Ace telling him something when he was younger. When he had told Ace that he would get a bigger crew than him, his brother explained to him why it wasn't the size of the crew that made a crew strong- it was the strength their bonds.
"…And the bond of trust a Captain shares with his first mate has to be unbreakable. Once you gain that, Luffy, you'll be unstoppable."
Luffy smiled to himself. He now felt warmth in the furious butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Nothing was strange about any of this. He snapped out of his trance and quickly made his way to the bathtub. A few quick steps had him leaning across the tub and turning the knob that released hot water. He then turned on the cold water tap to mix both hot and cold together. He brought his hand under the running water, feeling satisfied with the temperature of the warm liquid.
A few minutes and a few thoughts later Luffy turned off the tap, stripped himself of his pants and stepped into the bath, sitting down just in time to see Zoro appear in the now visible door frame.
Zoro closed the door behind him and put one of the clean towels on the towel rack by the entrance. "I brought some other stuff too," Zoro said, approaching the bath as he waved two sachets of something in front of his nose. "I think it's menthol again. I bumped into Chopper, he said it would do you a world of good. He went nuts and blabbed on about precautions to take to avoid catching pneumonia or something."
Luffy laughed as he thanked him, but quickly looked to the other side of the room as Zoro sat on the bench next to the tub and ripped the sachets, sprinkling them over the water he sat in. He felt it compulsory to hold his breath as Zoro mixed that very same water with his hand, creating a mass of bubbles.
"He didn't need to do this. I feel fine…and I really don't like the smell of this stuff."
He turned to Zoro again when he heard a muffled chuckle …and a sight that should have not made him gasp, made him gasp. He quickly put a hand across his mouth and thought of a way to get out of the situation he had put himself in.
Zoro, now bearing his powerfully built chest, quickly helped his head escape from his t-shirt and looked at the boy with concern. He folded the white material unconsciously, putting it on the rack beside him. "What's wrong?"
"Argh! The soap! It burns!" Luffy yelled dramatically. He even squeezed both of his eyes shut for the effect. Proud of his comeback, he sighed in relief inwardly, but gasped again as he felt Zoro take his face into his hands.
"Come on, don't be such a girl. Open them for me." Zoro laughed. Luffy opened his eyes slowly, peering into the cheerful man's face. His eyes were forced closed as Zoro ran his arm over them firmly. "All better now?" He asked.
"No." Luffy pouted, trying to hide his face. It felt incredibly warm, so much that he wondered if Zoro could see that. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll just keep my eyes closed," Luffy insisted. Ah, he was so clever he scared himself sometimes.
"No, we can't have that now can we? I know what you're really trying to do." Luffy could hear Zoro smirk. He panicked. "You just want to sleep. Well sorry, I'm not going to let you drown here, of all places."
Luffy's breathing straightened out again. His, for some unknown reason, outstretched arms were filled with a rough material. A towel.
"Come on, dry your face." Zoro instructed.
Luffy complied and soon reluctantly opened his eyes. So much for his plan- he was now focusing as hard as he could on Zoro's face, resisting the strange temptation to look down. He returned the towel and Zoro took it and stood up, wrapping the white material around his waist. Luffy started to feel a sudden urge of unexplainable hunger as he accidentally caught sight of Zoro's hips. He was happy he was able to peel his eyes away before Zoro rose any higher.
He ducked under the water, also effectively washing away the unfelt drool that was already dripping down his chin. There was something wrong with him, and he knew the excuse of the bond between first mate and captain did not explain his situation .
"Zoro…," Luffy began almost inaudibly. Some part of him wished Zoro hadn't heard him.
"Luffy?" Zoro looked down at him in concentration.
"Um…who do you like more. Usopp, or…me?" Luffy asked, battering himself about in his mind. Captains weren't supposed to ask questions like that! And what sort of question was that anyway?!
Zoro frowned, he didn't like being put on a spot. Luffy sure wasn't acting himself today…no…that wasn't true. This was the sort of thing he would say, depending on what was on his mind. "Why do you ask?"
Luffy gave him a sideways look. "It's just that…Usopp relies on you all the time, but I'm relying on you now." Luffy struggled with his words and god, how wrong that had sounded. He looked to Zoro, who gave him a hopeless smile.
Had he understood?
"Luffy, I know you feel weak but it's only temporary and you know that. And nobody minds looking after you or Usopp. The only person who doesn't have the strength or the generosity to look after anyone but herself is that sword stealing, money eating bitch." Zoro shook his head momentarily, staring up at the blank ceiling. Brushing away his memories, he turned back to his comrade.
"Come on Luffy, I don't know what you're worried about but let it go for now. You just concentrate on recovering. How about you think about the amazing dish that's being prepared for you right now by that stupid fish frying fool."
Luffy laughed. That wasn't really the answer he was looking for…but he guessed things like that really weren't supposed to be answered. Oh well.
His joy froze and once again Luffy turned into a stiff statue. Zoro was touching him again. Oh god, he really did have a problem.
"Loosen up a little." Zoro said, but Luffy stayed still, refusing to even breathe. The man took his hand off the others shoulder and watched how they slumped. What was going on…? He slowly, still eyeing Luffy, reached out for the bar of soap sitting in the soap dish. He rubbed around it, bringing out lather from the block. When he was satisfied with the amount of soap on his hands, he dipped his palms quickly into the warm water and then slapped them back on Luffy's shoulders. He growled inwardly at the sudden stillness of the boy's hard body. He didn't bother searching for an explanation as to why Luffy stiffened at his touch, but instead he focused on breaking through Luffy's resistance.
Did Luffy feel like he was intruding on his personal space? Then why hadn't he expressed that audibly? Did he think it was…strange? People did this normally didn't they…washing their friend's back…
Of course, Zoro assured himself, it was normal. But why was he so concerned that it might not be normal. If he was doing it, then it must have been a normal thing to do, right?
Somehow he wasn't so sure.
Keeping his hand clamped down on the boy's shoulders, Zoro rubbed his thumbs over what was reachable of Luffy's trapezius. He moved them slowly in a circular motion- from Luffy's neck and down to the section between his shoulder blades. Luffy's head rolled back as he mumbled something.
"In a few minutes, you'll be completely relaxed," Zoro lent down slightly to say smoothly.
Luffy's head nodded in agreement and he looked down again. He had to admit that the swordsman really was good with his hands. Of course someone like Chopper would also know that. Zoro, being the mother hen that he was, would always take care of the reindeer when they visited public baths on the islands they stopped to rest at. Chopper hated washing, but Zoro would always find ways to get him in there. He would have to scrub his little fur coat for him because poor little Choppers little hooves couldn't reach his stupid little head-
An angry pit in Luffy's stomach began to fizzle away. He wrapped his arms around himself feeling like he was going to be sick. "Zoro…I feel angry." Luffy said, which made it Zoro's turn to tense.
Was giving a massage to his friend really that odd?! "Um…why?" Zoro asked nervously.
Luffy frowned. He crossed his arms and looked up to his first mate, who had paused his skilful actions. "I don't know. I've been thinking negatively about stuff recently." Luffy said, his mind appearing to wander off.
"Think about something else then. How about the training we're going to do once you're up and running?"
Adrenaline started to flow through Luffy's veins. He would soon be training with Zoro. A moist, shirtless, breathless Zoro…Oh dear. "I can't wait. I really want to get stronger." Luffy laughed, nervously. Could he tell Zoro about his thoughts? No…Zoro would think he was disgusting.
"And you will; I'm not going to go easy on you. How about we try coming up with a few new moves. I've mostly been improving my muscular strength and endurance… maybe, while your training with me, we could mainly concentrate on technique." Zoro began to work with his mental schedule.
"I've decided! I'm going to invent the move of all moves! One that will improve every single one of my attacks instantly!" Luffy proclaimed, trying his best to feel normal.
"That's the spirit." Zoro laughed. "But I won't lose to you, so I guess I'll have to come up with a deadly move myself," he warned.
"Oh, I'm so scared," Luffy teased. His shoulders began to give into Zoro's forceful hands and he leaned his back on the wall of the tub. The swordsman now had to use his hands elsewhere- they slid down to Luffy's arms.
"Sounds like a challenge." Zoro smirked, somewhat pleased with the soft sigh that had escaped Luffy's lips. His lips…oh God. He had pressed his own lips against them a few hours ago. Images flashed in his mind: Under the sea, Luffy looking detached from life and incredibly serene but …he looked so inhumanly beautiful. He cringed at the thought but the memories did not discontinue pouring out. Luffy, with his dark hair in curled waves against the deck, panting and coughing and looking at him with pleading eyes. He had never felt so scared in his life; he had been shaking uncontrollably.
And then he remembered eyeing his lips…those raw, masculine lips which tasted salty at first, but the third time-
Realisation hit him like a truck. That had definitely counted as a kiss.
He had kissed him three times!
And god, he wanted to do it again.
But, he swore to himself, he wouldn't ever do that to Luffy. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Just to think that yesterday, if he had been thinking like this, he would have felt sick.
But today he didn't. Today…everything that was meant to be wrong felt so right to him. Did he love Luffy more than he did yesterday?
No.
And, as he sat there massaging Luffy's arms with soap that was running out, he finally admitted that he had a "Captain complex" and needed help- which he would have rather killed someone than have accepted (well, it would be the lesser of two evils).
Why was it so hard to be normal with Luffy? He had asked himself that question almost every day under a variety of situations, like whenever Luffy had inconsiderately made him victim to his carefree flinging across the sky. Luffy couldn't possibly care for him as intensely as he did for him. It wasn't in his nature. Not that he minded because Luffy at least seemed to meet him halfway. Besides, even if Luffy returned his apparent feelings, he wouldn't want to start a relationship with him. The thought of it disgusted him, and he was extremely grateful for that.
He looked down at the silly little bugger who had been occupying his thoughts and caught him staring at his chest, eyeing it in awe. His breathing quickened. "Luffy?"
Luffy's head shot up to meet curious but warm eyes. He tried to relax and come up with another excuse for eyeing Zoro's body. "I…uh. Did you know that I'd probably be more muscular than you if it wasn't for my rubbery skin?" Luffy sweat dropped, but some of what he was saying was partially true. That was his theory of why he had arms almost the same size as Usopp's. He should have been beefy and bulky- it wasn't like he didn't eat well. Everything was such a mystery. Beef…meat…"Zoro…if I don't eat now I'm afraid I'm going to die." Luffy whined.
"Ten minutes max, and we'll be out of here." Zoro compromised, which gained a nod from his friend.
As the silent seconds ticked away Zoro grew increasingly more daring to really touch the body in front of him. This was the only chance he was going to get ….and what, in the outcome, could be so bad that it would make him regret it? He had the perfect comeback: "I'm just cleaning all of you. Doctors orders,"- he would say indifferently.
Zoro washed down Luffy's arms and moved his hands up- back to the shoulders, and down again- letting them slide across Luffy's chest; reaching his torso. A colourful foreign sound to the Merry go's bathroom echoed across it's area.
The unfamiliar sound that had been made by his own voice had surprised Luffy so much that he had even forgotten to feel embarrassed. His voice…it sounded so odd- he had never made that noise before. Every part of him felt hot, and the skin covering his entire surface area felt tight- like his face had earlier when he decided to stretch it. But he promised Zoro he would not stretch today…
Meanwhile Zoro inwardly scolded himself whilst trying his best to ignore the thrill of the shockwaves rattling down his spine and the chill that froze the cartilage that allowed mobility- he was scared stiff and still, as if his body had been calcified. He had been, not so long ago, sure that he would not regret doing this… then again, he had not expected Luffy to made that kind of noise. He didn't know anyone could make such a sensational sound. And now…
…now he really had to hear it again.
He resumed the movement of his stilled hands, this time without caution. His fingers freely roamed the rock-hard torso, earning a slight giggle. That sounded amazing too…but he had to hear thatsound again. Could it have just been in his imagination?
No. It was impossible for his human mind to come up with something so heavenly.
His hands slid their way up Luffy's chest and danced across it.
Luffy held his breath now…he could feel an urge again…but he needed to control himself. The way Zoro touched him terrified him; he left fiery trials behind every stroke. He really was a…demon.
Luffy moaned again and Zoro felt himself harden. Oh god, no. How did he even get into this situation?
…How was he going to get out of it?
Luffy felt Zoro pause and took that opportunity to persuade him to do something less incredible with his hands. "My hairs still salty Zoro and you've only got two minutes before I get out of here." Luffy said, almost too calmly.
Zoro twitched. Luffy's voice would never sound the same way to him ever again. "That's seven minutes, baka," he muttered as he leaned over the bath, reaching for the soap bar.
"Whatcha doing?" Luffy asked, musically.
Zoro twitched again. Once you've heard Luffy's incredible version of a moan …you were never EVERgoing to feel clean. He felt like he had done something wrong- something forbidden. "I'm gonna wash your hair," he replied, emotionlessly.
"Not with that you're not." Luffy stated blankly.
Zoro's hazy eyes turned to the back of Luffy's head, seeing as the boy wasn't looking back at him. "And why the hell not?" Zoro demanded, irritated - he had excellent self-control…usually. However, the moans echoing inside of his apparently hollow head were certainly not tightening his grip on himself.
"I never put that thing in my hair. Normal people use shampoo." Luffy stated, pointing out the obvious. He rose his arm to bring back a large pink bottle of shampoo. He tossed it over his head, knowing Zoro would catch it- and it didn't really matter if he didn't.
Zoro did catch it and he held it up to his face, scrutinising the label. "Strawberries and what?…"Zoro half read…and smiled grimly, trying to avoid the images that were making their way to his vivid enough imagination.
"I like the thought of my hair smelling like food. If only we had strawberry scented body wash…or maybe even a meat flavoured bar of soap. That would be amazing." Luffy sighed longingly and was unaware of the increasingly painful struggle that was challenging Zoro.
"Okay fine, I'll use this oh so masculine shampoo." Zoro said slightly angrily, he was feeling light headed for the second time that day.
"Thanks." Luffy said quietly, and started to feel a little selfish. Was Zoro angry at him? He didn't want him to hate him. "I'm sorry."
"What for?" Zoro sighed. He needed to get out of there…his mind wouldn't leave him alone so he admitted that he was going to have to sort himself out.
"For making you mad at me, so please…" Luffy turned to face Zoro, his eyes glistening in the apparently darkened room, "don't hate me," he pleaded softly.
"Okay, okay it's just that I'm…itchy. Yeah, and I need to wash so I …need you out of here. Besides, I thought you were in a rush to eat?" Zoro allowed a big uncharacteristic smile to cover his face. He felt like he wanted to die. Those eyes…oh god those eyes…
…were the death of him. He started to space out as he gave into his imagination and watched his holographic Luffy writhing and moaning that moan underneath him as he let his hands trace the hard muscles of the smooth abdomen. The skin was so soft…and so wet. Steam immerged without a source and Luffy opened his eyes, staring back at him- begging him not to stop.
He quickly snapped out of it and regained control of his senses…
Oh god. What was he thinking? No, he refused to remember that.
Oh god, he really did have it bad for Luffy.
Oh god…Zoro's eyes glanced down quickly to catch sight of what looked like a potential home for campers.
Oh shit!
"I'm ready to eat…" Luffy paused, looking down at Zoro's lap. Zoro's breath hitched in his throat and the panic swelling in his chest made him feel numb.
"But…you're not." Luffy mused, dismay flashing across his eyes.
Zoro couldn't even swallow what had gathered up in his throat. It was all over- everything would change.
TBC
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(1) from the saying: 'kettle of fish'- a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation from which there is no clear or easy way out. - just in case you didn't already know :)
Thanks for reading guys. I love you all because you've read this far :')
Apologies for forcing this hugely weak Luffy upon you all…I just like him like that but in the next chapter he'll be just fit and dandy. I personally seem to be immune to any sense of any emotion for this chapter…so it's up to YOU to tell me what you thought about it.
I know I'm a fat and ill slug of an updater…but:
Excuse No.1: I'm in the midst of preparing for external exams and stuff. However after June (yes…June, the very same month my last exam) I will update so fast your eyes will pop out :D
Excuse No.2: Also, I found this chapter quite boring to read over etc…so it took mighty long to prepare for publishing here.
Now…you know what I'm going to say…
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW ME!!!
Please. Ideas, comments, what you had for breakfast…anything and everything would be superb.
Thank you in advance (isn't my technique of persuasion just amazing?).
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