Usopp stood on the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex, hands tucked warmly in his coat pockets as he waited. He glanced up into the gray sky, his breath misting in the cold air, and frowned at all the clouds. The weather forecast had been calling for snow for weeks, but so far they hadn't seen more than a few flurries and it was frustrating; winter was his favorite part of the year, but it was nothing without sledding and snowmen and hot cocoa.

He was yanked abruptly from his thoughts by a familiar laugh and two arms wrapping firmly around him from behind. "Hi!" came the happy chirp by his ear, and he grinned, disentangling himself and turning around to hug him properly.

Luffy was probably his favorite person in the world; sure, he liked his girlfriend, Kaya, and he loved his sister (even if she was impossible to be around most of the time) but Luffy was- well, Luffy. Anybody who knew him would say the same thing.

Luffy seemed content to cuddle, possibly because he was dressed in nothing but jeans and a hoodie and it was absolutely freezing, but they had somewhere to be. Usopp pulled back and, ignoring the consequent pout, reminded Luffy of the day's adventure.

Those big brown eyes warmed immediately; taking Usopp's gloved hand in his own, he led the way to the train station at a run.

The city was their getaway, even if it wasn't a very special one. It was a little over an hour away, which was enough to make it feel special, at least to them, and that was more than enough.

And now, it was also where Luffy's boyfriend lived.

It wasn't noon yet by the time they arrived, and Zoro was waiting for them at the station. Leaned against the wall of the terminal, still in his work uniform, he glanced up as they stepped off the train, and his face eased into a smile. Usopp knew he'd pulled a lot of double shifts to get the whole weekend off, could see it in the pale, tired angles of his face.

But Luffy ran to meet him, and Zoro caught him up in strong arms and pressed a kiss to his hair, and none of that fatigue so much as touched those sharp green eyes. Luffy was giggling, and Usopp would always, no matter what, appreciate the smile Zoro could put on his friend's scarred face.

"Lunch first or the movies?" Zoro asked, snagging the hood of Luffy's sweatshirt before he could caper off, and shrugging out of his jacket to wrap it around the boy's thin shoulders.

Usopp frowned. "What about the surprise you keep talking about?"

Luffy huffed as he pulled his arms through the long sleeves, knowing better than to argue, and smiled cheekily at Usopp. "That's later, silly."

And it was later, much later, that Zoro finally hailed a cab and Usopp's mouth dropped open when it pulled into the front drive of an absolutely grand mansion. Zoro paid the fare, and they all piled out.

"Who's house is this?" Usopp asked nervously as the taxi pulled away.

"You'll see!"

The way up the drive seemed to stretch into forever, and Usopp was sort of one hundred percent certain a vicious pack of dogs or a team of security guards would bear down upon them before they made it to the veranda.

Neither of those things happened, but still.

"Luffy- are you sure- "

The scarred boy was already beating on the front door, Zoro at his side with his arms crossed like a bodyguard, and Usopp scrambled to hide behind Zoro with a startled squeak when someone from inside yelled, "Who the hell is that?"

The door was yanked open with ferocity by a tall woman, who scowled at them from a wrinkled face and leaned against the doorjamb. An instant later, recognition dawned in her expression, and she slid round glasses up to grin at them. "Ah, Luffy, Zoro- good to see you boys again, I was wondering when you'd show up. Thought you might have been those dreadful city people again. I tell you, Mayor Wapol is trying to make an enemy out of everyone these days. I take it this is the friend you told me about?"

"Yeah!" Luffy positively beamed at her. "We wanted him to meet- you know!"

She laughed and waved them inside. "Alright, then, come on in out of the cold. Zoro, boy, where is your coat? Honestly."

Usopp couldn't help but stare as she led them through the foyer. The ceiling was high, the walls spaced so far apart the room looked cavernous. There weren't many decorations, either, just bookcases, desks and papers stacked everywhere, along with strange instruments Usopp's curious fingers iched to get ahold of.

"Um...excuse me- "

"Doctorine."

"Oh, so you are a doctor?"

"Of sorts." She directed them down a long hallway, pointing with a long arm. "Third room on the left. I'll be in the kitchen if you lads need anything."

Luffy grabbed his hand again and all but dragged him down the hall. "Luffy, what is going on, seriously- "

"In here!" He threw the door open with grandeur, and whatever Usopp expecting, it certainly wasn't a baby reindeer.

He felt his mouth drop open slightly, and barely registered it when Luffy let go of his hand. The furry little thing was curled up in what looked like a glorified dog basket; when the three of them entered, it raised its head and blinked at them.

"Hey, Chopper," Luffy said cheerfully, and the reindeer was on its feet immediately, stumbling clumsily forward to him. Kneeling, Luffy stroked its head between its antlers; one of which, Usopp noticed, was taped up. There were bandages wrapped around its middle, too. "This is Usopp. He's our friend from back home, he came to meet you!"

Usopp took that as his cue and knelt slowly, offering his hand. It nuzzled him and he grinned.

"Where did you...?"

Luffy sat back, resting his weight on his hands. "Remember last week, when we didn't have school that day, and I said I was going to meet Zoro at work? Well, I got there just as he got off, and the next train was late, so we started walking around- "

"And this idiot," Zoro said with no inflection, patiently allowing the reindeer to inspect his earrings, "almost got himself killed."

Usopp stared hard at Luffy, who looked as unrepentent as ever. "He was limping along the side of the road- "

"Interstate," Zoro corrected dangerously. "You ran across an interstate, Luffy. Not a road."

Usopp put his face in his hands as Luffy continued, "Well, anyway, I went to get him so he wouldn't get hit- "

"Luffy," Usopp muttered.

"We didn't know where he came from." The scarred boy seemed pretty adamant about ignoring his concern, and he tried to will it away. "And we didn't know where to take him, but that's when that old lady found us. He belonged to a friend of her's who died. I guess Chopper must have been trying to find him when he wandered off on his own."

Usopp felt his heart swell for the tiny creature nuzzling in to Zoro's shirt. "So what happens to him now?"

Zoro and Luffy grinned at the same time, and Usopp immediately felt a little nervous. Far from being a "good influence" on his somewhat wayward friend, Zoro only seemed to encourage Luffy's whims the same way Ace and Sanji always had, spoiling him with indulgence.

How does Luffy find these people?

"She can't have him here, 'cause animals like him aren't allowed in city limits," Luffy all but sang. "But there aren't any rules about that back where we live, since there are lots of farms and people have cows and goats and stuff."

What. "Uhh...wait a minute- "

"Ace already said it was okay!" Luffy seized it- and he must have been careful even if he didn't look it, because the reindeer seemed perfectly comfortable in his arms- and cuddled it close. "As soon as he's healed up, Doctorine will drop him off so we don't have to smuggle him onto the train."

Before Usopp could rain on their parade, he noticed something he'd somehow missed before. "Is...his nose blue?"

Zoro looked at him like he'd issued some sort of challenge. "Yeah?"

"Oh. Uhh, nothing. Forget I mentioned it."

Luffy brushed his face against Chopper's fur, smiling. "We can't stay for long- Zoro's tired. But get better fast, and you can come home." Chopper looked up at him with dark round eyes, and licked his face just under his scar.

Weirdly, Usopp kind of thought Chopper understood.

Doctorine called them another cab, and they left calling goodbyes over their shoulders. She waved them off with a smile and a half-empty bottle of vodka and Usopp barely caught the murmured, "Thank god for kind fools, eh, Hililuk," as the doctor of sorts closed the door.

I wonder if she'll be lonely when Chopper is well enough to leave.

"We didn't have to leave that soon, Luffy," Zoro said as they walked down the yard to the sidewalk. He was frowning, and looking down at Luffy sidelong. "I'm not tired."

Luffy smiled at him, and took his hand. "Yeah you are. But it's okay, you can sleep when we get home. You have the weekend off! Sleep all you want, I won't even wake you up for breakfast, okay?"

Zoro's eyes warmed and gentled; he reached over and hauled Luffy straight off the ground in arms like steel, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and said, "You better."

The night air was cold, and Usopp shivered bone-deep; but Luffy was laughing, and Zoro didn't put him down, and the sight of them made him smile.

The train was about to leave when they got to the station; they sprinted to the door, all but throwing their passes at the amused conductor, and piled past the grate just as the whistle blew. They lay in an undignified heap for a moment, collecting good-humored chuckles from various other passengers.

Zoro stood, and hauled the two of them up with him, tossing them in an empty compartment and sliding the door shut behind him. Luffy landed on his seat with a neat bounce, smiling over at Usopp who landed a little awkwardly next to him. Zoro stretched out in the two seats across from them, arms folded behind his head.

Luffy tilted his head, eyes soft and serious, and Usopp could see for an instant, just like before, just how tired Zoro looked, with his pale face and the dark circles like bruises under his eyes. And Luffy could see it, too.

As if feeling their stares, one green eye opened and Zoro sneered at them, breaking the stillness of the moment entirely; Luffy giggled, and Usopp relaxed with a sigh.

The train had just jerked into motion when Luffy yawned, and his head tipped over onto Usopp's shoulder. Overcome with love, Usopp shifted to wrap an arm around him, smiling into that dark hair. Within minutes, they were sleeping, under Zoro's watchful gaze; and the train pushed on through the darkness and the cold, and the light snow that began to fall.