Chapter 5: Park Talk
*_+_*
"How's your idiot so far?" The doctor/landlord asked the man as she looked at the blood bag from the donated blood he gave out that day.
He sighed as he took a gulp of his orange juice that the woman had out. "He's still around."
"Really? I figured you shook him off about a month ago."
He rolled his eyes. "That guy is not easy to shake off. But then he's also going through a shit load from the asshole."
"I never thought of you as the pity type."
"It's not pity. I give him advice to get over it, which I don't even think it's helping one bit. And he comes to me like a lost puppy!"
"Sounds like you like having him around."
He sighed. "I don't like the look he has when he's kicked back to square one in the getting over process."
The woman looked at her patient for a moment. "Why is this boy different from the others from the past?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
He sighed again as he laid back down on the cot. "I've been asking myself that damn question since day one."
"You know that if you get too attached to him…"
"I'm not… But I can't say the same for him though."
"What are you going to do about it? This… odd friendship you two have can't be good for either of you. With your heart condition, there's so much stress that it could handle before you give yourself a heart attack and possibly instant death. And if that were to happen, then the brat will become a patient here due to mental disorder."
"You don't know that…"
"I've been a doctor longer than you've been alive."
"Are you the reason why the dinosaurs were wiped out then?"
There was a moment of pausing silence before the doctor pointed at him. "You're damn lucky that you got that damn condition. Otherwise you would be hospitalized once I'm done with you."
"Am I free to go now?"
"About five minutes ago."
He got up and left the clinic room, only to see that the other was just heading towards the door.
_/\/\/\_
"Hi Green Eyes!" Luffy said happily when he saw the bandage on the other's arm. "Donate blood?"
"Yeah…" He said. "No work today?"
"Nope, they got enough help today."
"Oh."
"I was thinking we could walk around the park. We haven't done that in a while."
He shrugged. "Didn't kill me the first time."
"Oi!" Luffy said as he pouted.
"You sure you're twenty-five?"
"You sure you're twenty-seven?"
The man sighed. "Come on before we start arguing."
"Since when did we ever argue?"
He shook his head. "Forget it. Let's go."
Luffy smiled as he skipped at the man's side before just walking.
"Whose turn is it to ask questions?"
"Oh! My turn! I didn't get a chance to the other day."
"Right…"
"Okay, the easy questions first!" Luffy said happily as they walked all around the park, not realizing that there were two females who saw them together.
_/\/\/\_
"Nami? Isn't that Luffy?" Vivi asked as she pointed to where the two were.
Nami looked and confirmed that it was indeed their friend with a different man, and seemed really happy about it. "It is… That must be the guy that had Luffy's cell phone for a bit."
"Huh?"
"Remember when I told you about Luffy moving out of the apartment."
"Oh yeah, you told me that." She said as she looked at the two men. "Nami… doesn't Luffy seem a bit… settle?"
Nami looked as well and saw that the other was indeed a bit different. 'He's usually a bit clingy and dragging just about everyone everywhere. Not to mention he loves to run and chase. But he's just walking and actually talking and listening to another individual.' She looked at her girlfriend with a 'let's be evil' look.
Vivi, knowing the look too well, whined as she was dragged by the other woman as they tailed the other two, hiding behind the bushes as they did so.
_/\/\/\_
"Okay… So, your favorite color is green, you like to drink sake, you don't smoke, you used to ride motorcycles, you really don't like women, you had a boyfriend before, you like the fall season the best, and you used to do kendo." Luffy listed out what he learned so far.
"Anymore questions?"
"Well…"
"What? Not sure this time?"
"I'm thinking up some difficult questions here!"
"Don't hurt yourself."
"What does that suppose to mean?"
At this point the two girls were close enough to listen in on the two's conversation.
"I mean that being a simpleton like you, coming up with something like a difficult question may hurt that head of yours."
Luffy stuck his tongue out.
"Again, that's mature."
Luffy pouted as they stopped by a bench and sat down. "Well… what can you tell me about the guy you used to date?"
The two girls looked at each other, surprised to hear such a bold question.
"I guess it's only fair. Since I hear enough about the bastard from you." The man said as he took a pill and swallowed it whole and dry.
"Well, his name is Saga. He used to be my best friend growing up and it branched out a bit more when we entered middle school. We were never fully serious, you know… going 'all the way'. But we did have our moments together. But after the accident and learning about my condition…"
'Condition?' The girls were thinking the same thing as they listened to the mystery man's story.
"I told him every horrible thing to him that would make him go away and find someone else. The look on his face… I hated to see that, but it had to be done."
"Do you know what happened to him?"
"I heard he got himself a girl and he's happily married. And he still doesn't know about it."
"Do you still think of him?"
He shrugged. "Very faintly now, but it was hell for the first year and a half. I kept getting into the ER because I would think of him and my stupid heart would act up."
"But it's different with me?"
He sighed. "I don't know what to think of you." He said as he looked at the other. "I helped you out of the bar that night, gave you advice to teach that asshole a lesson, and still come to me when things get bad for you because you're not ready to forgive but may be in danger of giving in."
Luffy sighed as well. "Yeah… I do that. But that's because I trust you."
"You shouldn't."
"You're not too bad of an advisor."
"That's not what I mean." He said. "I mean you shouldn't trust me so much that I'm the only one that you can talk to these things about with. Don't you have friends to talk to these things with? Or your brother?"
"They know about my relationship to send a bounty on both their heads, especially Sanji's."
He sighed. "I can't really shake you off easily, can I?"
"Nope!"
"You didn't have to answer right away you know…"
"Huh? Why?"
"You could just think about it at least."
"What's there to think about? I like being around you. Like it or not!"
He sighed as he rubbed his temple. "Why do I bother?"
Luffy smiled as if he won the conversation.
The two girls were plain lost in the whole thing.
'So that mystery guy has a heart condition?' Nami thought. 'Why would Luffy hang out with someone that could die on him any minute?'
'What on earth did he mean by condition?' Vivi thought, thinking that conditions were usually serious enough to be bedridden at a hospital.
"Green Eyes…"
"Hm?"
"Never mind."
"Oi, this is your day to ask questions."
"Well…" Luffy said as he looked up at the sky. "It's about what you did this morning."
"Oh, that? Did it bother you?"
"No I liked it, but… why?"
He shrugged. "I hated the way you looked then."
"Huh?"
"The look you usually get when you get upset over something." He said as he swallowed another pill. "I just had enough of it."
Luffy blushed.
"Why? You enjoyed it that much?"
Luffy pouted as he stared at the clouds. "I did have a damn hard on!"
'NANI!?' The two women thought, both thinking about the same lines of hentai.
"Jeeze, all I did was lightly touch your face and told you some stupid crap that was suppose to make you feel better." He said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're way too sensitive."
Luffy looked at the other with a pout. "I can't help it! Sanji never did that to me!"
"Then he's the lousiest ex-boyfriend in history if he can't even turn you on for something so little."
The girls were shocked to hear this. 'Who the hell is this guy?!' Both thought.
"I guess… we weren't that intiment, but we did kiss and cuddle."
"Anyone can do that." He said as he looked at the other. "Like I told you many times, I don't know crap about this kind of thing, but if one is going to make a relationship work then it will take a lot of energy. But this energy can be spared if one finds that one, little thing that turns the other on."
"Huh?"
He sighed. "I can't believe I'm telling you this crap." He said. "Okay, some couples are turned on by one ironing a shirt."
"But that's stupid."
"To you yes, but to someone else it's the hottest thing since going to the beach."
"Really?"
He nodded. "Sometimes it's the stupid little things that get the other. They just have to find what it is."
"How do they know that's what turns them on?"
"When one has the urge to kiss their significant other senseless."
"Oh! That makes sense!"
'And he's says he sucks at it.' The two girls thought.
"So… What do you see me as anyway?"
He took a deep breath as he thought about it. "Well… Considering that I'm unable to shake you off for months now, and that as long as you're still a wreak with this asshole… I guess we're kinda friends, but still acquaintances… Did that make any sense?"
Luffy smiled and nodded. "Yep!"
'That didn't make sense at all!' Nami thought, wanting to whack the man on the head.
"So you do like company."
"You're the only one who was dumb enough to seek me out."
"Oi!"
Then the man smiled a bit, and the other caught it.
"You're smiling!"
The smile disappeared. "What?"
"You were smiling! I saw it!"
"All that over something like that?"
Luffy smiled. "You look good with a smile!"
The man blinked. "Where are you getting at?"
Luffy smiled as he got off of the bench. "I just found my 'turn on' from you."
"Oi, we're not in a relationship."
Luffy stuck out his tongue. "So? I still like to see that smile again one of these days." He said as he placed his hands on his hips. "But until then, you're just going to have to deal with me for quite some time."
'There's the old Luffy.' The two girls thought.
"Don't get cocky with me, there's still a chance I may die tomorrow."
"Then I'm making sure I enjoy every second today." He said with a confident smile on his face.
He sighed as he got up as well. "Oh well, may as well enjoy the ride as well."
_/\/\/\_
As the two walked towards the exit of the park, the two girls got out from the bushes and stared at the two.
"Vivi… It looks like we're going to have a chat with Luffy." Nami said.
"Are you sure Nami?"
"He can't handle another heartbreak, you know that."
"Yeah, but it seems like he already knows."
"We'll just see…"