wow, three chapters this week. Truly an accomplishment. Hope it's enough to satiate your appetites for a bit. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9: On the road again

Zoro was quickly getting sick and tired of Sanji, Nami and Usopp bursting into frantic giggles every time they looked at him. It was when Sanji walked past and muttered 'marimo' that he finally cracked.

"Dumb blonde!" he retaliated. Sanji paused, his arms filled with utensils that he was carrying to the car. Why? Who knew.

"Grass head!" Sanji replied.

"Dartboard eyebrow!" Zoro yelled. Hey, this actually felt… good. He was way to stressed lately, and the ability to yell at someone and have a good fight was actually loosening him up.

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Dickhead!"

"Shitty cook!" Zoro yelled back. Where the hell these insults were coming from he didn't know but at least he had something to come back with.

"Wimp!"

"I'll show you who's a wimp!" Zoro yelled and he launched forward, swinging at Sanji with one of his swords. Sanji jumped back, still managing to keep the box in his arms and then he swung around and aimed a kick at Zoro's stomach, which he then dodged and brought his sword up to slice at Sanji but the cook jumped out of the way and swung his leg up in a powerful front upper cut.

"Enough!" Nami's voice yelled and then both men lay on the floor, large lumps rising from the spots on their heads where Nami had hit them. Zoro could hear Luffy and Usopp chuckling and he frowned as the three walked past and disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Jerk." he muttered.

"Bastard." Sanji returned. Oh yeah, these two were getting along great.

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As it turned out, they did get a bigger car. Nami gave Sanji some money and he went out and bought a large four wheel drive that had seats in the boot that you could lift and therefore allowed the car to be a seven seater.

Not that they needed that many, but Luffy insisted he would be the first one to sit in the back. No one told him otherwise so now they were speeding along the highway towards a town called… Drum. Actually, the town's full name was Drum Island… why they called it an island, who knew but apparently it got really cold there.

Zoro was in the back seat, Usopp sitting on the other side of the car and Sanji driving, Nami in the front passenger seat beside him.

"This is so cool." Luffy squeaked from the back. Usopp looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

"I don't get it. What's so cool about being in the back?" he asked Zoro, who simply shrugged and kept his eyes fixed out the window. The car still had a weird, new smell and Zoro didn't like it. Not to mention that Sanji smoked, and every time a gust of wind blew in Zoro's face, he got a nose full of smoke.

"I'll swap you places Usopp." he coughed. The long nose shook his head.

"Last time I swapped places with somebody, I ended up being a sacrifice for a dragon." Usopp began.

"Really?" Luffy asked leaning forward as far as he could go.

"Uh huh. But the dragon, when he saw me he said 'Oh great Usopp! I can't eat you, your coolness is just to amazing!' and I said 'I understand dragon, but you do realise I have to kill you now.'"

"Did you?"

"Of course not. I spared him with my mercy and told him that if he ever threatened the townsfolk again, I would come back and rip him limb from limb." Usopp replied. Luffy grinned.

"Cool! Did the dragon do as it was told?" he asked eagerly. Usopp nodded.

"Absolutely. And then I travelled into the west where…" and so he continued, blabbering on about how he defeated the great Hibberkicky of nostra. As if the place even existed. As if any of the story was even true. Zoro coughed again.

"Bloody hell." he muttered and undoing his seatbelt, he climbed over the back seat and got into the one beside Luffy, who, by the way, had stopped listening to Usopp to stare interestedly at a butterfly that had somehow got caught inside the car.

It was fluttering around the window, trying to escape. Luffy leaned over and gently opened the window, and using his hand he herded the butterfly towards the opening and then it flew out, pulled back in the slipstream. Luffy smiled and closed the window again before turning to see Zoro watching him, a strange smile on his face.

"What?" Luffy asked, a little freaked. Zoro started.

"Nothing. Just wondering how the butterfly got in is all." he hurriedly said before turning to look out the window on his side. Luffy tilted his head and then shrugged.

Zoro sure has been acting weird lately. Makes me nervous when he stares at me too. He's always staring at me. Maybe he's checking to make sure I don't have any… what did Sanji call those things when I scratched my head? Fleas! That was it! I don't have fleas. Luffy thought as he watched the trees on his side of the road flash past. What are fleas anyway?

"Zoro?" he asked suddenly, turning towards the now green haired man, "What are fleas?" Zoro paused.

"They're little bugs that bite you and make you itchy. Why?" Zoro replied, a little disconcerted.

"Sanji said I had fleas when I scratched my head." Luffy replied and then his face became stricken, "Do I have bugs?" and he began scrubbing at his hair, his hat falling to rest at his feet.

"No, Luffy, no." Zoro grunted as he tried to stop the frantically scrubbing boy. Luffy paused to look at him, Zoro's hands wrapped around his own. "You don't have fleas, alright? Sanji was just being a bastard." he said slowly and he head Sanji snort from the driver's seat. Zoro sent a glare at him in the rear view mirror.

"Ah, Zoro. Can I have my hands back now?" Luffy asked, his cheekbones lightly tinged pink. Zoro looked around and noticed his fingers were still intertwined with Luffy's and he jumped before quickly withdrawing his hands and blushing all different shades of pink.

"S-sorry." he said as he placed his hands in his lap.

"Ah, no... no problem." Luffy replied before snatching his hat off the floor, giving it a quick flick to get any dirt off of it, and then putting it back on his head.

Damnit. This is ridiculous! I'm getting to the point where it's becoming hard to even be near him. Why does he bother me this way? I'm not in love with him, that's impossible! Luffy's Luffy, and that's all there is to it. Damn Nami for putting that idea into my head. Zoro thought as he gazed out the window, his eyebrows beetled together as he thought.

"Hey Zoro. You alright? You look kind of sick." Usopp said from in front of him. Zoro glared and the long nose paled before turning to face the front again. Luffy was too busy counting the guide posts outside to listen to what anyone in the car was saying.

Unless it involved food… then his eyes would be upon them and you could almost see the drool… wait, you could see the drool when Luffy wanted something to eat. But instead, Nami turned in her seat and mouthed 'lovesick' at him, causing Zoro to stiffen and then blush while he glared at her. Nami just chuckled and turned to face the road again.

I wish I could go back and pick another car to hijack. One that didn't involve her. Zoro thought bitterly. Sanji pulled up outside a small rest station. There was a small hut, a set of toilets, a small playground and a river. Luffy bounded out of the car as Sanji pulled some stuff from the back. Walking over to the campfire lighting area, he lit a small fire and then set up a pan over it.

Nami watched the swordsman carefully from where she was still sitting in the car. She had noticed all the signs. She frowned. Dumb bastard. Doesn't know how much him and Luffy seem to click and he should. Idiot. He's gonna scare Luffy off more than win him. Wonder if he's even realised he's in love? Guess I'll just have to keep pinching. She thought and then a smile spread across her face and she got out of the car. At least it was entertaining.

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"Oh, so all that junk wasn't pointless after all." Zoro muttered as he strolled over, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Sanji raised his curly eyebrow.

"First of all, my cooking gear is not junk and second of all, you're tiny mind wouldn't work out the significance of the gear anyway. If you're a fugitive, then we are going to need a means of cooking food, as such, I brought along a gas stove, a box of plates, knives and forks and some pots and pans." Sanji explained. Zoro blinked and then a slow smile spread across his face.

"What are you going to wash them with when you're done?" he asked and then strolled away, chuckling at the look of horror that passed over the chef's face. Luffy had run over to the small hut, and Usopp had hurried after him, saying something about the killer tweeties he had met here.

"…and then I threw out some magic bird food that turned them into mini chickens and then I sold them as pets." the liar finished just as Zoro reached them.

"What rubbish are you filling Luffy's head with now?" he asked as he leant against the door frame. Luffy turned and grinned.

"Hey Zoro!" he called. Usopp frowned.

"It's not rubbish." the long nose responded before stalking out of the hut and back up the hill towards where Sanji was preparing lunch.

"Come and look in here Zoro. It's really cool." Luffy called. Zoro sighed and walked inside.

"Yeah, wow, cool." he muttered. Luffy turned to face him.

"Aw come on Zoro. Stop being silly." he said. Zoro sighed and took a step forward. His toe caught on a piece of cement sticking up out of the floor and he tripped. Luffy turned at the sound of his grunt and Zoro collided with him, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

Zoro felt something soft against his lips and he opened his eyes to see Luffy staring back at him. Zoro pulled away and quickly got to his feet, turning so Luffy wouldn't see the bright shade of red the swordsman's face was. Luffy sat up and blinked.

"S-sorry." Zoro muttered. "I tripped."

"Nah… it's okay. It was an accident… right?" Luffy asked. Zoro nodded, still not facing his friend.

"Sure."

But it felt good…Zoro thought. He shook his head.

Was that an accident? What was he doing anyway? Why did it feel… nice? Luffy thought, his brain working overtime. Luffy had never been kissed before, leastways by a friend. It was a little confusing. Had Zoro meant to do that? Or had it simply been an accident?

"Lunch!" Sanji yelled from up the hill. Luffy promptly forgot his train of thought… and the kiss… as he shot past Zoro and up the side of the hill. Zoro watched him go. That happened a lot. Sanji seemed to have the inate ability to interrupt Luffy's train of thought.

It was true then. Zoro was in love with Luffy… he just had been to stubborn to see it. Sighing, he pushed his hands into his pockets and walked after Luffy up the side of the hill.

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"Come on Sanji, I wanted to play!" Luffy whined as Sanji got in the driver's seat.

"We can't stay here." Sanji replied. "Idiot in the back seat would be seen and then that would be it." Luffy pouted and then jumped into the back seat beside his friend. Zoro was staring determinedly out the window, not wanting to meet the large, innocent eyes that were sure to turn on him any second.

"Are you okay Zoro? You're not complaining as much. In fact, not at all." Nami said from the front, hoping to prompt a response from the swordsman. Zoro just ignored her.

"I think he's sick." Luffy said beside him. Zoro blinked and looked around. "He tripped and fell over in that little hut…" Oh god he wasn't? "…and landed on top of me…" he was, "and accidentally kissed me." Luffy explained as though it were all a big misunderstanding. Nami's eyes widened, Sanji dropped the cigarette he had just been about to put in his mouth, and Usopp's face paled.

"Pay up!" Nami demanded the long nose, waving a hand in front of his face. Zoro's was still in shock.

"You… kissed him?" Sanji asked. Luffy blinked.

"Is that bad?"

"You'll probably get rabies." Usopp commented. Zoro slammed a fist into the liar's head, causing the poor boy to black out immediately.

"Rabies? Does Zoro have rabies?" Luffy screeched. Zoro blushed and then glared at Luffy.

"I do not!" he replied.

"That's what he says." Nami responded, hardly keeping her laughter in. Luffy paused.

"But, what Zoro says is true. He said I didn't have fleas and I haven't scratched since." he reasoned and then his face was lit by a bright smile, "so, what Zoro says is true and he doesn't have rabies!" he said, proud of himself for figuring it all out.

Nami saw it was pointless to try and keep Luffy thinking that Zoro's kiss had been a disease, and instead settled upon giving Zoro sly smiles that said she knew what he was feeling.

Zoro glared back at her, annoyed and with good reason. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience having the person you had accidentally kissed tell the very people who already thought he was gay about it, and then have them annoy the crap out of him while the other little bastard got away with it.

But, as Zoro reflected, the kiss hadn't been that bad really. He shook his head. It was an accident, an accident!

That's what you want to think, but it's not what your heart is telling you. Zoro heard a voice in his head say. He frowned and glared out the window. Why the hell did everything have to get so complicated?

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Muahaha, I like teasers. Well, there you go, their first kiss. Technically, it wasn't really a proper kiss, but hey, it was nice wasn't it... wasn't it? -crickets chirping-

Hey, some personal news that sort of relates to this story, I am now able to get my learners licence, so soon I'll be on the road just like Zoro and Luffy. Look out world! Muahahahahaha!