So…here we go. My first shot at writing Zoro and Luffy! This will be a two part fic. Yes it's yaoi. I dun care. Dont read it if you don't like it, don't comment if you don't like it. This is for the people that like it and/or are openminded about such things.
So, here is Pt. One! There will be some lovely smut in the second part, I can assure you! (Behind spoiler cuts, naturally)
Also, this is a working title, and the fic has not been beta'd. So be kind!
Straightforward and Honest
By Youshi Semenjyu
Disclaimer: Eiichiro Oda, you are a God. I am a plebian. I own these characters not.
Warnings: Very much a relationship fic. ZoroxLuffy. Smut in later parts. Cuteness and silliness make appearances as well.
A ship like the Going Merry was not a sight this island saw often. It was rare for a vessel of any sort to land on these long deserted shores, not to mention a pirate ship of all things. But there she was, sitting cheerily in the broad, natural harbor, her sails drawn and flag lowered. Her masthead gazed pleasantly inland with its placid, lamblike smile, looking towards the line of deep green palms that lined the white sandy beaches. The waves bubbled up along the curve of the coast, kissing the edge of the shore fleetingly before hurrying back to the safety of the open sea. All in all, the scene was quite peaceful considering that for the past several days, this small caravel had braved numerous squalls and one small typhoon; merely just a sampling of the ferocious weather the Grand Line could concoct.
Thus, the pirates had sailed in early in the morning, her sails ragged and several beams splintered from the heavy storms. Pieces of the railing were broken off completely, and even the mast had fractured under the force of the sheer gale winds. It had been nothing but dumb luck that they’d found the safety of this cove amidst the tempests of the unpredictable ocean.
For the entire day, the normally still island breeze had been filled with the sounds of manual labor. The solid ringing of hammers against nails and steel plates, the rugged masculine grunts of men living heavy ballast, and the shouts and calls of a dysfunctional but good-natured pirate crew sang up into the clear blue skies above. Now, as the sun was setting and casting a vermillion glow across the endless waves, the noise was dying down and the sounds of play and relaxation were heard onboard the small vessel.
“Whew! What a workout!” cried Usopp as he finished placing the last few nails into the large piece of sheet metal that held the mast aloft. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and looked up towards the crows’ nest of their beloved ship, and patted it fondly with a gentle hand. “That should hold you for a little while at least.”
“I’m going to take a swim,” Zoro murmured to himself as he dropped the rope and hammer he’d been using near a small stack of planks, stretching his toned arms and yawning a bit. Calmly, he walked towards the newly repaired railing and began to kick off his boots, leaning back against the patched wood easily.
“I’m going to go make dinner,” murmured Sanji as he turned and headed for the galley, hands in his pockets and cigarette dangling carelessly from his lips. “Requests, anyone?”
“Yahoo! Lots of meat, Sanji! Meat!!!” cried their captain enthusiastically, throwing his arms out excitedly and tossing his mallet behind him. His youthful face was joyous and excited, the prospect of several platefuls of food after a long day of hard work casting aside any feelings of exhaustion.
The hammer sailed through the air effortlessly, propelled by Luffy’s powerful throw, and only narrowly missed Zoro, who was barely able to dodge the projectile before it nailed him in the back of the head. He turned and scowled at Luffy, who had forgotten completely about it by this point.
“LUFFY! Watch where you throw things!” the swordsman barked, his furrowed brow dotted with sweat. Luffy turned and looked at him innocently, genuinely confused. But at the sight of his first mate in the midst of removing his boots, a wide grin playing on his boyish face.
“Ooh, Zoro! Are you going to jump in?”
For a moment, Zoro thought he heard an almost…hopeful tone in his captain’s voice, which he found a bit odd, but quickly waved it aside. Luffy ALWAYS sounded hopeful. The glare on the swordsman’s face faded in the wake of such charming, unassuming innocence, and he smiled a bit as he began to tug the hem of his shirt free of his haramaki. It was just too damn hard to stay mad at his old friend, and he long ago gave up trying.
“Yeah. It’ll be nice to cool off before my pre-dinner nap,” he commented idly as he pulled the sweaty shirt from over his head and tossed it aside. The action caused his cropped green hair to ruffle slightly, and he turned, stepping onto the rail.
Luffy’s cheerful grin faltered a bit as he watched his first mate toss his shirt aside. He’d seen Zoro run around without his shirt many times before; it was nothing particularly new to him. But always, in secret, Luffy playfully enjoyed each eye-candylicious minute, hiding his admiration under an inconspicuous guise of simple enthusiasm. Seated on the deck, he watched as Zoro stretched his toned arms, as if shaking away the last remnants of weariness from his overworked muscles. The slowly setting sun overhead kissed angular curves of tan skin, the sweat gleaming slightly on each arc of well-defined muscle. As he took his stand on the railing, the captain caught a lovely glimpse of his well-defined back, the indention of his spine running south until hidden beneath black pants. Luffy caught a glimpse of tell-tale scars around his first mate’s ankles, a reminder that cutting one’s feet off in order to fight was not necessarily the most advantageous of ideas. Then, he saw Zoro pause and quickly turn his head, glancing over his shoulder. He looked suspicious, his brow furrowed slightly. He looked over at his captain, lips turned into a slight frown.
Luffy’s eyes went a little wide as he feigned confusion. Ooooops! Did Zoro feel someone’s eyes on him? He chuckled a bit inwardly, feeling a bit sneaky. It was kinda fun seeing Zoro look all paranoid. Innocently, he waved at Zoro, mouth wide in a big, toothy grin. The ploy seemed to work, and the swordsman dismissed his suspect and turned back to face the water. With a breath, he jumped and dove in, barely making a sound as he vanished below the gentle waves.
Ignoring the bustle around him, Luffy stood and hurried over to the edge, leaning over slightly to watch Zoro surface. Holding his beloved hat on his head, he grinned as his old friend came to the top, tossing his head back slightly. Though it was a good distance between the two, Luffy’s eyes caught the slight glitter of water droplets cascading from mint green hair. Man, this never got old.
But what did get old…was all this secrecy. Luffy was a man of action, and while it had been fun at first, all this sneaking around and watching Zoro was really getting tiresome. He was itching to do something more than just drop subtle hints that never worked! He’d tried watching Sanji interact with Nami to get an idea on how to approach his first mate, but had quickly decided that such lavish tactics were not for him. Besides, they never seemed to work for Sanji. Pouting a bit as he watched Zoro swim, he pursed his lips in thought, annoyed at the situation.
“…Luffy?”
Nami’s voice quickly wrecked his train of thought, and he looked up at his navigator, who was walking towards him with a curious look on her pretty face. As he came to the railing, she leaned against it and tilted her head, ginger hair waving slightly in the breeze.
“You’re acting weird,” she began bluntly, crossing her arms. “I’ve been yelling at you for the past ten minutes trying to get your attention! What is so enrapturing out there anyway?” He turned her head and looked towards the sea. She saw Zoro swimming, but thought nothing of it; Zoro did weird things all the time. Other than that, there was nothing in the water that seemed out of place. “If you’re afraid Zoro is going to drown, I wouldn’t worry. He’s not THAT hopeless at getting lost; I would hope he knows which way is up and down.” She paused however, and looked up at her captain, and then back down to the swordsman, slowly putting the pieces together. After a moment, she slowly grinned, chuckling a bit. “Ah, I think I’m beginning to get the picture!”
“Nami,” Luffy began, and leaned against the bow, grinning a bit. “I don’t want to do what Sanji does to get your attention-“
“Good, because I think Zoro would kick your ass if you tried.”
Luffy laughed. “I’d like to see him try!” The bravado was obviously teasing; he knew as well as Nami that he and Zoro were relatively even matches.
“Well, if you’ve been trying to drop subtle hints, then I can tell you right now that you’ll never get his attention,” the navigator murmured, leaning forward on the railing. “Zoro is a blunt, straightforward kind of guy, just like you. He doesn’t expect you to beat around the bush, and if you do, he won’t see it as anything other than you just being weird. It’s just not how he thinks!” She paused, and frowned. “C’mon, Luffy! He’s your best friend; you should know all of this by now!”
“Blunt…straightforward…” Luffy repeated thoughtfully, tapping his thumb on his chin. The gears were turning inside as a plan began to formulate. Nami’s words were wise and true; he knew he could always trust her when it came down to it!
“Just…try to be open and honest about it. It’s what your best at…almost to a fault.”
“Yeah…yeah! You’re right, Nami! Thanks a million!”
Nami winked at her captain slyly.
“Not a problem. I’ll just tack it onto the rest that you owe me!”
~*~
More to come! Comment, because I'm an attention whore!
more please? =3
