Chapter 7: Green Eye's Day
*_+_*
The man known as Green Eyes woke up at six and was sleepily glaring at his doctor/landlord. "Why the hell do you have me up at this hour?" He said. "I gave you blood the other day!"
"This is for a test for a possible donor."
"Huh? The guy wants to commit suicide or something?"
"That's what I thought as well, but that's not the case."
He yawned. "Must realize he doesn't have long to live or something." He said as he got onto the table with a mat on it and laid down, have the needle stuck onto the opposite arm that was used last time.
"It's a good thing you have an unusual tolerance to blood lost."
"Maybe that's the reason I'm still alive."
"You know the process." She said as she went to the small fridge and took out orange juice and some breakfast bars.
When he was done he waited until he was unhooked , bandaged, and took the small snack/breakfast and waited for a few minutes before going back up to his apartment to gain back some lost sleep.
_/\/\/\_
Luffy had to work that day so he woke up and stared at the dull grey wall for a few minutes before getting up and going into the living room to watch some television before deeming it useless to watch something he wasn't interested in.
He looked around his plain, lifeless apartment and thought back what he usually do on days like this when the other wasn't in here yapping away like there's no tomorrow. He thought about the questions he would like to ask the other the next time they meet up, he went over his chakra exercise which helped him become a bit focused on himself, and he ate his lunch that was warmed up in the microwave.
He looked outside the balcony window, which he couldn't open in the first place due to some patients committing suicide by jumping off the balcony, and saw that it was a beautiful sunny day. A kind of day his sort of friend would gladly enjoy. He went up to the glass pane and felt that the glass was warm when he placed his hand on it. He decided then that it wouldn't kill him to take a stroll in the park.
_/\/\/\_
He usually wouldn't go out to the park unless it was dark, and there were less people around, but the day was nice and everyone was mostly at work at the moment and the kids at school. So the only thing he expected to see were mothers and their children that were not at the age where they can go to school for many hours. And that's what he mostly saw as well as some dogs with their owners and old women feeding birds.
He had been walking around the park for some time and started to feel sleepy. He found an isolated grassy spot where he can take a nap and not be bothered by anyone. And it was a sunny spot as well, so he will enjoy a warm cat nap.
About an hour later he woke up and saw that the sun has moved into a different position, leaving him in the shade of the trees, and he got up to go back to his apartment.
_/\/\/\_
When he got there, he saw the young man with a sack and looking really worried as he continued to knock on the door.
"Luffy?" He said as he walked up to the other.
"Oh! Green Eyes! There you are!" Luffy said while not even hiding the fact that he was really happy to see the man before him. "Did you go out?"
"I walked around the park, took a nap, and came back here to see you."
Luffy sighed a relief. "Man… I really thought something might've happened and no one was going to tell me."
"You were worried?"
Luffy pouted. "Of course I was! Why wouldn't I worry about my friends?"
"Okay, okay, you made your point." He said as he pointed to the sack. "What's that?"
"Oh! I figured you would like something different for dinner. So I made something and came here to share it with you."
"You cook?"
"No, not really."
"This your first time?"
"Yep!"
"What is it?"
"Uh…" Luffy said as he looked into the sack, which didn't make the other man feel comfortable. "Well… I put in a lot of noodles and some of that white, creamy sauce… and there are some vegetables I warmed up and put in, and those bacon bits that are used on salads, which I thought it was kinda stupid…"
The man sighed as he opened the door to his apartment. "If I die from your cooking, you're paying for my funeral."
"Oi! I taste tested it myself! It's good!"
"You eat off the floor and still say it's good."
"I also ate raw meat once."
"And you didn't get sick?"
"Nope."
"You're not human…" He said as he took out some plates. "But you did go through the trouble of cooking. I bet your kitchen looks like a storm hit."
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Lucky guess…" He said as the other brought out a huge plastic bowl with a lid, which was opened to show the over cooked noodles, thick cream sauce, and vegetables that looked like they've been in boiling water for too long. 'Is it really edible?' He thought as the other put some on his plate. 'Why did I agree to eat this?' He stared at the mass on his plate, grabbed his chopsticks, thanked the meal and took a bite.
Luffy watched in anticipation of the other's reaction to his cooking. He was no chef like his ex had been, but he thought he did pretty well.
The man chewed for a good ten seconds before swallowing. "Needs a bit more salt and some kind of seasoning." He said. "Plus the noodles needs less time in the water, easy on the sauce, and the same goes for the vegetables. But other than that it's not bad."
Luffy smiled, liking the sound of it. "That's great to hear!" He said as he chowed down on his portion, cleaned his plate, and started to talk about his day and asked about the other's day.
The man noticed the change in atmosphere since the other arrived. It was a nice change to him as the other continued to talk about so many crazy things he has done with the kids.
"Oh! Today is your day to ask questions Green Eyes!" Luffy said happily.
"That it is, but I'm not in the mood."
Luffy pouted. "Come on! I like the question game!"
"Game?"
"I see it as a game, because we take turns and we learn things from one another." Luffy said with a smile. "Sure, some questions are a bit tough to answer than others, but it's a good way to get over things and enjoy things that we're able to look forward to now. Right?"
"How so?"
"Well, I'm still getting over Sanji and Usopp, which is actually getting easier now."
"Really?"
"Not to the point of forgiving them, but to the point where I don't have to run away anymore."
"That's good."
"Yeah! And I feel that, because we have this game, I'm able to enjoy things that I know Sanji would completely be put off by. And with that I'm able to heal in a way that I can talk about him without feeling so hurt and still enjoy the moment."
The man watched and did see that the other changed for the good since the first time he saw him.
"You did look better the last few days." He admitted.
"And I think you got some good out of it as well!"
"Huh?"
"You were so used to be alone before you helped me out, then I wouldn't leave you alone, and here we are!"
"And here we are." He said with a small smile.
"You're smiling again."
The smile disappeared once more. "Huh?"
Luffy smiled. "Definitely worth it."
"You're strange."
"And proud of it!"
"I bet the kids love you when you come."
"Practically bulldozed over by them!" He said with a laugh that made the other smile. "Smile!"
"Would you quit doing that?" He said, but the smile was still there.
Luffy smiled as he quit pointing it out. "So, what questions do you have for me?"
"I've been asking you questions since you got here."
"Really?" He said as he thought about it, which he looked surprised when he thought about it. "You have!"
"Baka…" He said as he finished his meal. "You have work tomorrow?"
"Yep, I got in for a late shift this time."
"So you won't be home until late?"
"About nine, but it's all good. I get the day off the next day."
"That's good to know."
Luffy nodded as he gathered the items he brought with him while the other got the dishes and placed them in the sink.
"I better get going if I want to go to work early." Luffy said as he and the other were walking towards the door.
"Thanks for the meal, Luffy."
Luffy nodded. "You're welcome. I'll try to get better next time. Later Green Eyes!"
He nodded as he watched the other heading towards the elevator, only to stop him. "Oi Luffy! One last question!"
Luffy turned to face the other. "Yeah?"
"Would you like to know my real name? Or are you comfortable just calling me 'Green Eyes'?"
Luffy walked up to the man and held out his hand. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, age twenty-five, blood-type AB positive."
The man picked up on it and grabbed the other's hand. "Roronoa Zoro, age twenty-seven, blood-type AB positive."
With a single shake the young man laughed while the other smiled.
_/\/\/\_
Back in Dr. K's lab, she had got the blood from the young man not too long ago and was now testing to see how the small sample of the two bloods are mixed together.
After midnight, she had came up with a conclusion.
"This might just work…" She said with a sigh. "Now it's just a matter of time…"