Last chapter was some fun and cute fluff, but now we get into some drama and hopefully suspense (did I make it suspenseful?) Enjoy~
It was night time, close to sunrise, when Luffy was watching all the bears. It was an area very far from the entrance. The park was huge, and this area was quite far away from the town. It had taken hours for him and Zoro to get up here, but it didn't take that long when it was just Luffy. There was still more of the park beyond this, but it was mostly rocks, mountains and cliffs that he knew of since he'd never been up there.
There was orange on the horizon, lighting up the sky, behind Luffy. He assumed it was the sun coming up and continued to watch the bears play and try to catch fish. Then he smelled smoke. Strongly. He looked back behind him and heard a roaring sound. A sound he'd heard once before, over two decades ago. He got up and started to panic. It was a fire. And it was windy today. He started screaming at the bears to run, but they didn't hear him. What got them to run was the smell of the smoke like Luffy.
Luffy ran down the steep rocks that he had climbed up, followed by the hoard of bears. He kept running, tripping over logs and roots in his panic stricken fleeing. Soon he saw deer run ahead of him, with a ton of birds flying away from the fire above him and the animals. Squirrels made noises as they jumped through the branches past Luffy, who was slow in comparison to the animals. Soon there was even a mountain lion running alongside Luffy.
Luffy was only afraid of the fire because, even though he didn't catch on fire and leave permanent damage, he'd learned the hard way that it hurt in the same way going through people felt, only instead of the feeling of ice, it was hot and much more painful.
The fire was following behind them fast, the wind speeding it up. Luffy couldn't think about the fact his precious home was burning. He could hear sirens in the distance, but the fire was fast and big.
He only started to cry when he passed the huge trees he played and relaxed on. They were going to burn. They had been around a long time. It would take thousands of years for any tree in this park to grow that large.
Luffy continued to sprint as tears streamed down his face. There was still a long way to go before he could get out of the park. His park was going to burn behind him as he ran. His home was going to be decimated, and he'd not have anywhere else to go.
Zoro was just waking up when he saw the light in the sky. Just as Luffy had, he thought it was sunrise, until he noticed the pillars of smoke rise in the sky. He gasped and threw clothes on, taking a scarf with him to wrap around his face. He ran in the direction of the fire, positive it was coming from the park, where Luffy was. Luffy, please be okay!
He sprinted down the street and ignored the sirens and wrapped the scarf around his nose and mouth once the smell of smoke got stronger. The wind was insane. He was having trouble just walking straight it was so strong. He got to the park entrance and was almost blinded by the smoke. He knew this was a bad place to stay, but if Luffy was trying to get out of the smoke and fire, he'd run here.
Luffy continued to trip over everything stationary in his way. The smoke wasn't helping him see where he was going. It was being blown downhill from the wind and the fire wasn't too far behind. Most of the park's wildlife had passed him, but every now and again, he'd see a bunny, terrified and jumping as fast as it could. If Luffy could touch it, he'd have picked it up and ran with it. He even saw a house cat running ahead of him.
His tears were stinging his eyes, but the smoke couldn't bother them or make it hard for him to breathe, thank goodness for that. Luffy finally made it down the trail and stumbled out onto the paved road. It was easier to run on a flat surface, but he still couldn't see from the thick smoke so had trouble even finding out the direction he was supposed to go. The only thing Luffy could do to run straight was listen to the roar of the fire behind him. It was soon behind him on to the left, still in the natural trails and plant life, and then passed him. He had to stop once it began to jump across to the other side. He was now surrounded on all sides.
There was no other choice but to run through the path of fire. He took a shuddering breath and ran as fast as he could through the flames. He screamed in pain as it went through him, feeling like he was being burned alive though the flames couldn't physically harm him. He screamed in pain as he continued to run forward.
Zoro freaked out once a hoard of bears and deer ran right past him, going into the parking lot and then the street behind him to get away from the flames. But they paid no attention to him, as did the mountain lion that sprinted past him. Zoro could hear cars swerving to not hit the fleeing wildlife.
Birds followed, then squirrels and a few desperate bunnies. Then nothing else came. No Luffy. But he heard a scream, and he froze in fear because it was obvious who the scream belonged to. He heard sobbing flee right past him, Zoro not being seen through the smoke. The teen saw some bluish smoke and knew it was from Luffy's glow. He couldn't call out Luffy's name as the smoke choked him through the scarf. He held his breath and sprinted faster than he ever had to get away from the smoke and fire. And to get to Luffy.
Luffy was in unbearable pain. He finally made it to the entrance of the park and kept running until he was clear of the smoke, which was the parking lot, a bit protected by the smoke from the large bathroom building. He collapsed as the burning sensation continued to plague him. He turned around, still sitting, to see tall flames spread across the landscape and the air was thick with smoke. He continued to sobb as he watched his home and sanctuary for fifty years burn. He heard cars swerving and people screaming as animals ran through the streets. He hoped the bears and mountain lion wouldn't be shot just because they were scared of the fire.
Luffy heard sirens. He was angry. It had spread so fast that the firefighters couldn't come in time, but he was still mad because all of the park down from the tallest part was in flames. But he couldn't look away, even though it was upsetting him greatly. He continued to cry, not even bothering wiping his eyes because no one was there to see him. He wished Zoro was there.
Zoro ran towards the sobbing and saw Luffy on the ground as he got clear of the thickest part of the smoke. Luffy was sobbing as he watched the park burn. Zoro ran to him and before Luffy even seemed to process that there was another person there, he kneeled and held Luffy, who screamed at the contact. Zoro let him go in panic.
"Luffy, are you hurt?" he asked, but Luffy was inconsolable. He continued to sob, but the smoke was getting closer and, though Luffy wasn't affected, Zoro was. He gently picked Luffy up, not touching his skin, only his clothes, and began the swiftly walk to them home. Luffy's cries were heartbreaking to Zoro. And there was nothing he could do about it.
Ash was raining down on them, making little piles of black on Zoro's head and shoulders. He coughed as his throat felt raw from the smoke. He must have looked strange in the position he was, holding the air, but no one noticed since all the attention was on the fire. It seemed contained in the park for now, not reaching the houses across the street, though the smoke did. Zoro could only imagine how Luffy must have felt. His sanctuary was burning away into ash. Most of his memories from after his death were tied to that place. Zoro honestly didn't know how to comfort his lover.
Luffy had become catatonic as he watched the smoke billow in the distance over Zoro's shoulder. He wanted it to all be a dream, a bad one, but Luffy didn't dream. This was real and his home was gone. He wondered if his cave was still intact. He'd lost the trees, but he couldn't lose the cave.
Zoro was feeling weak from running in the smoke, but Luffy weighed next to nothing, so it was only tiring walking. Zoro's parents were at work, but he didn't know how long they'd be considering the circumstances.
Once again, Zoro had forgoed locking the door; it was amazing he even closed it during his desperate rush. He turned the door handle with difficulty because of Luffy in his arms and kicked the door open,then kicking it shut once the two were inside. Zoro walked up the stairs to his room and sat them both down on the bed,still keeping Luffy in his arms. Zoro sat with him for a long time before Luffy made any sort of movement.
"Hey," Zoro said softly. "Are you hurt?" Luffy shook his head. The burning sensation was gone. Luffy's face contorted in misery when he thought of the fire, but he didn't cry. Zoro pulled Luffy against himself closer and rubbed his back soothingly. "It didn't look like the whole park burned. I saw the cliffs in the distance and they weren't on fire."
"No, it didn't get the whole park… just all my favorite places," Luffy said and buried his face in Zoro's chest and tried not to cry. The creek was probably disgusting, thick and black with ash. "There was a fire twenty years ago… but it wasn't this bad. It got only some of the lower part of the park because there was no wind and the firefighters got to the scene quickly. It took a long time for the trees to grow back. But those really big ones won't come back. At least not until a couple thousand years from now. I hope I'm not around for that long," Luffy finished sadly.
Though he and Luffy clicked, he didn't know how to comfort the ghost teen. He'd lost everything he'd known for decades. All he could think to do was comfort his physically. He rubbed Luffy's back with one hand and ran his fingers through Luffy's hair. They sat like that for a while. Luffy spoke first.
"Can we watch a movie?" he asked, his voice muffled as he still had his face against Zoro's chest.
"What do you want to watch?" Zoro asked softly, still stroking Luffy's soft black hair. Luffy replied with wanting something happy. Zoro put on Toy Story and settled on the bed, his back against the wall with Luffy curled up in a ball in his lap facing the TV.
"I love you, Zoro," Luffy said suddenly, but softly and quietly.
"I love you, Luffy." Luffy smiled and pulled Zoro's arms and wrapped them around his waist. He could forget about his decimated home, not knowing where to go next, and his sadness as long as he sat with Zoro like this. It got darker out, not just because of the smoke dimming the sky in the distance, but it was getting late. Luffy's glow illuminated the dark bedroom. He noticed Zoro was getting sleepy, so he quietly woke Zoro up and told him to go to bed. Zoro grumbled he wasn't tired, but Luffy made him stand up by trying to push him into laying on his bed on his back. Luffy would have put the covers over the person he loved, but he couldn't touch the sheets, so it was impossible.
Zoro fell asleep quickly; it had been an exhausting day and his throat was still raw. He wondered if he should go to the doctor about it. Zoro didn't know Luffy was planning on leaving during the night to go inspect what was left of his home. There would be less people at the scene during the night, and that's what he wanted. He wanted to be able to mourn his home in private. But, as he stuck his head out through Zoro's window, he saw the park was still burning.
He shouldn't have been surprised about it. Wildfires don't go out that fast. He wondered if some of the city would have to evacuate from the smoke like twenty years ago. They must because this fire was even worse.
Luffy was proven correct when he heard some banging on the front door along with the doorbell. Luffy walked through Zoro's door and to the front door, sticking his head through to the other side to see who it was. A firefighter with a mask on rang the doorbell again. Luffy heard Zoro's dad come down the stairs. He and Zoro's mother had come home a few hours after Zoro and he had started the movie. They hadn't bothered the two, though. Luffy was surprised the family hadn't woken up from all the sirens. He moved to the side once he pulled his head back through the door and inside again.
"Hello sir, due to an imminent wildfire, the smoke is too bad to be safe for the citizens of this area and the fire is not contained yet. You need to evacuate as soon as possible. There are some shelters at this address," the firefighter said quickly as he handed Zoro's father an address and a few masks. He thanked the man, who quickly set off to the next home.
Zoro's dad quickly headed up the stairs to tell his wife and instructed her to pack necessities. He then went to Zoro's room and banged on the door.
Zoro woke up to a banging on his door. He first noticed the room was dark. There was no cool glow from Luffy lighting up the room. He got up and hurried to the door, not sure where Luffy went and afraid he went back to the park. He opened to door to his dad telling him to pack necessities because they were evacuating right now. Zoro nodded, but ran downstairs looking for Luffy. He looked out the windows next to the front door and saw Luffy standing outside, watching the fire lick the sky in the distance. He looked like he was in physical pain by his expression.
Zoro hurried and went upstairs to pack a fresh pair of clothes and his phone charger, along with his toiletries.
He ran back downstairs and before his parents noticed, he opened the front door and called for Luffy. Luffy saw Zoro struggling to hold his breath in all the smoke and ran inside so Zoro could close the door behind him. "We're evacuating," Zoro said quietly, not wanting to alert his parents that he was having a conversation with the air.
"I know," Luffy replied. "A guy just came over and told your dad the smoke was too bad and the fire wasn't contained."
"Come with me," Zoro practically begged. He didn't know how long it would take for him to be able to come back safely and didn't want to leave a grieving Luffy by himself. He frowned when Luffy shook his head no.
"I can't. I can't get in your car anyways. Remember, if it moves it goes right through me. I'd just slip out. And I can't leave when my home is like this. I at least have to watch it go in respect. And I want to see how much is left that wasn't burned," Luffy said sadly. He saw Zoro's upset expression, and added, "I'll be here when you get back. Don't worry, I won't go walking into the fire or anything like that."
Zoro gently grabbed Luffy's hand and kissed it. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise," Zoro said, hugging his lover tightly and kissing his head. Zoro let him go as he heard his dad yelling that it was time to go. The three of them, Zoro and his parents, left through the garage door. Luffy walked through the front door and watched from the lawn as they drove away. He gave Zoro one last smile and lost sight of them when they turned the corner.
Luffy stood there for a few moments before he looked back to the fire. He took a deep breath and headed for the park.