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dethoratsTitle: Convergence
Rating: G for this part
Pairing: LuZoLu
Word Count: 2674
Topic: Hugging
Part 1
Quiet snores filled the men’s’ cabin, a peaceful harmony that normally would have found the ship’s captain either as a participant or smiling as he listened and let the sound of his nakama at rest carry him off to sleep. That night, though, Luffy lay in his hammock, eyelids anything but heavy, and stared up through the darkness to the deck above him. Topside, Merry’s wood was rougher, weathered by salt spray and exposure to the elements, a patina of loving wear as opposed to the more polished side he could barely see over his head. Two halves of the same planks, two surfaces to the same boards, and wasn’t that kind of like people, with the masks they wore and the emotions they kept locked up within. There was, Luffy thought, some kind of truth to be found in there, in Merry’s bones, but he was avoiding his present reality in losing himself in speculation. There was one set of snores missing aside from his own, softer and deeper than the whistling from his sniper’s long nose or the thicker, smoker’s lungs rasps from his chef. Zoro was gone, up on deck all alone, and he was the reason why Luffy couldn’t sleep.
Mistakes were something that happened over the course of a life. Luffy had made his share and would make more in the future. Usually they were small and harmless and even the big ones he generally managed to find his way free from but he’d made a mistake of truly epic proportions that night and he didn’t know how to fix it. All he could picture on the back of his eyelids when he shut them was the shock of pain and betrayal in green eyes that had finally narrowed and gone hard. That should have been enough to convince him of the truth but somehow he’d compounded his mistake and struck instead, a fist flying out determinedly at the face of his friend. It had been the bodies, so many of them, and his mind had been cloudy with sleep and satiation and probably laced with whatever drugs had been in the meat to keep them docile. That was the only reason he could come up with, to even try to justify it to just himself, and it wasn’t good enough. He hadn’t just been wrong. He’d been cruel and unfair and blinded with a rage that he still couldn’t reconcile; those bodies making his blood boil with the act of seeming betrayal by a man he had claimed as a nakama. Instead he’d been the betrayer and he had no words of explanation, of comfort to give to the man he’d hurt. Zoro’s current absence spoke louder than the words he’d left unuttered, than the flats of his blades as he had deflected fists and feet and unthinking ire.
There was only one other person Luffy could remember hurting in the same way, of shouting accusations while full of a righteous, and misplaced, anger. Ace had pulled his share of tricks in the past, had been a typically good elder brother who caused his sibling a fair amount of grief by virtue of being older, taller, quicker, smarter. Still, when his precious hat had gone missing that one time, vanished from their house, he should have known better than to accuse his brother, who had turned rooms inside out with him in a frantic search for his treasure. Luffy had said some pretty mean things in the heat of the moment, not noticing as Ace had stiffened, a scowl growing on his face until finally the freckled boy had clenched his fists and left the house. It had taken three whole days of silence and of finally finding his hat squirreled away by his grandfather for Luffy to realize what he had done and by then all he could do was apologize and hope that his brother would forgive him. And of course Ace had, but Ace was his brother and it was kind of required of him. Of Zoro, against whom he had committed a far greater sin by calling him not a thief but a murderer, Luffy could only hope to receive such mercy. Still if he didn’t try at all, it would probably only make matters linger if not take a turn for the worse. Too, his conscience wouldn’t give him any peace. He owed Zoro an apology.
Somehow the moonlight on the Grand Line was brighter and more silvery than it had been in East Blue. Luffy stepped out into the cool night air and cocked his head at the sight. It was a curious phenomenon and it almost seemed like daylight on Merry’s deck but for the way the beams frosted Zoro’s green head and painted a pale hush over waves and ship alike. Zoro stood near the figurehead, swords at his side and his hands resting on the railing as he stared ahead. Luffy saw the slightest tilt to the swordsman’s head as he took his first steps on deck but beyond that there was no reaction to his presence. It wasn’t exactly reassuring but at least he hadn’t been ordered away either. Watching the stiff line of Zoro’s back, the tautness of his shoulders beneath his shirt as he seemed to almost hunch beneath Luffy’s gaze, the captain threw all of his half-formed thoughts of apologies and words overboard. Zoro looked so lonely and sad and he should have been asleep in his warm hammock but he wasn’t and it was all Luffy’s fault. Rubber arms acted without conscious thought, flying forward further than should have been humanly possible to wrap around a solid stomach and over the soft folds of Zoro’s worn haramaki. Luffy, for once conscious of his momentum, let elasticity reel him in, coming to a gentle stop at his swordsman’s back. He pressed his cheek against Zoro’s shoulder and breathed out softly.
“I’m sorry.”
The stiff line of Zoro’s spine sagged as soon as the heartfelt whisper reached the swordsman’s pierced ear and Luffy took it as permission to nuzzle deeper into sturdy strength.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated it again, because he was and because it bore repeating. “I won’t mistake Zoro for anything but nakama again.”
Hands rough with calluses left their grip on Merry’s rail and came to rest instead over Luffy’s wrists. They didn’t pry his hands away, as he had briefly feared, and thumbs stroked lightly over his pulse.
“Sorry,” Luffy murmured again and Zoro answered him with a shift, twisting in the circle of Luffy’s arms until he could gaze down the scant inch of height that separated them. The brim of the captain’s hat ceased to shield him as Zoro tilted it back and met Luffy’s somewhat tremulous face.
“I know,” Zoro said finally and tugged Luffy closer, warm arms curling around the captain’s back and pulling him until they stood chest to chest.
Warmth bubbled in Luffy’s stomach, the tension he’d been feeling suddenly gone and replaced with relief and the comfort that the swordsman’s simple reply had brought.
“Idiot,” Zoro added affectionately and Luffy couldn’t help but laugh against the worn smoothness of Zoro’s shirt. It felt good to be close to Zoro like that, tight against him so that he could feel the steady thrum of the swordsman’s heart echoed in his own breast. Luffy was a natural hugger but it had been far too long since someone had embraced him in return. He’d missed it and it seemed somehow fitting that Zoro should be the one to remind him. Finally Zoro patted him gently on the back and let his arms drop, the warm smile on his face visible in the moonlight.
“Let’s go wake up that crappy cook to stand watch so we can get some sleep.”
That was a wonderful idea and Luffy, the bounce back in his step, dashed ahead to be the first to tickle Sanji awake.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The trip back to the Going Merry was a nice contrast to the rest of their hectic stay on Little Garden. It seemed as though the giant lizards and toothy felines that roamed the jungles had realized that the Straw Hats were not food after all. With Nami leading the way, the band of pirates were practically on a pleasant stroll as they headed in the direction of their ship. Luffy walked along in the middle of the pack, carefully turning the eternal post Sanji had gotten over in his hands. It was a precious item and he didn’t miss the way Vivi’s eyes kept glancing over at him from her position on the other side of Carue. Luffy wasn’t going to drop it. He just wanted to see it. The log posts were just so weird and hard for him to understand. That made them really neat.
It was far simpler to understand the argument being carried on behind him as Zoro and Sanji each claimed that their kills from earlier in the day were the biggest. Those two were so funny, always trying to outdo each other. It was weird to see Zoro get so flustered and angry. He had always been so easy going before Sanji arrived. But it was good too. Somebody needed to remind Zoro to be stupid sometimes and Sanji seemed to have an innate knack for it. Really, their debate was pretty pointless. The biggest things on Little Garden were Dory and Broggy and certainly the Straw Hats weren’t going to be fighting their friends. Still, the promise of so much meat had Luffy’s stomach rumbling and he patted it gently as he handed the eternal post to Alabasta back to Vivi.
There was a lull in the argument as Sanji noticed the hand-off, hearts shimmering in his eyes as he darted forward, seeing a chance for more praise from the lovely princess. Luffy let him have his spot, dropping back to walk next to the swordsman. Zoro was limping and trying not to show it, leaving an odd trail of reddish prints behind him, just the heels of his boots showing against the grass and clumping the soil. His shirt was gone, torn in two so as to bind up the wounds but blood still leaked steadily into his boots and trailed over the leather towards the ground. It was just a little scary to think how close Zoro had come to slicing off his own feet. Oh, Luffy didn’t doubt that Zoro would have fought on. It seemed as if nothing could stop his swordsman when he was determined but having both of his feet was probably better for the long run. It was good that he and Usopp and Carue had arrived when they had because Zoro should have his feet and, although he’d posed quite heroically in Luffy’s opinion, a breathing Zoro was far better than a wax statue.
Luffy watched Zoro falter for half a second, caught the wince that flashed over the swordsman’s face. Pride was a tricky thing, as Luffy knew despite treating his a bit differently than the rest of his crew. He’d have to be careful. He timed it well, waiting until Zoro took ten firm steps before he tapped Zoro on the shoulder, bringing the swordsman to a halt as the rest of their nakama moved onward.
“What?”
It was just a little waspish but Luffy wrote it off on account of Zoro’s legs and his argument with Sanji.
“I’m glad Zoro didn’t get turned into a statue, even though he did pose really cool.”
That was all it took, with just the slightest hint of a hitch in his voice and when Luffy stretched out his arms for a hug, Zoro moved into them. Sweat dripped between them, made their hug somewhat clammy but it still felt good to Luffy. The furrow of Zoro’s scar rested beneath his cheek as he laid his head on the swordsman’s shoulder and he held on tight until Zoro gently dropped his hands.
“I looked cool, huh?”
“Yeah!” Luffy slung an arm around Zoro’s waist in his enthusiasm, inwardly pleased as Zoro returned the gesture and draped an arm across his shoulders. The swordsman’s weight leaned into Luffy’s support ever so slightly and the rubber pirate grinned. “Really cool. Just like a hero or something.”
“Oh?”
And they continued like that until Nami’s path ran into Zoro’s kill and then there was no keeping him and Sanji from their manly debate about whose was bigger. Later that night, Luffy gorged himself on dinosaur meat and, to their mutual dissatisfaction, proclaimed them both the winners.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nami was sick and Vivi was crying and Usopp’s eyes were red. Sanji made pot after pot of tea and endless bowls of steaming soup and still Nami coughed and lay feverishly on her bed. There was nothing Luffy could do, not even in the middle of the night when he crept into her room and put a new cool cloth on her sweaty brow. His navigator’s eyes stayed closed and she muttered something incoherent. Vivi stirred from her slump against the mattress and Luffy stole away, something hurting inside.
The deck was cold, the first flakes of promised snow finally falling from the steel-gray clouds that had blotted out the sun and now hid the moon and stars. Carue was a ball of fluffed feathers and sleepy duck noises as Luffy slipped past and he could hear the muffled duet of snores coming from the galley. Luffy turned his eyes skyward, into the swirls of white. Just the top of a green head could be seen as a dark shadow against the night. His hands found the slippery rim of the crow’s nest and Luffy hurtled into the air, landing neatly in the wooden basket. Zoro looked up at him from his seat, a blanket across his knees and a warm coat covering his arms. Whatever he saw made him shove the blanket aside and open his coat, the invitation wordless but clear.
Luffy burrowed into warmth, not noticing how his shivering stopped as the blanket was draped over him. Zoro was strong and steady against his cheek and arms that had never failed the captain yet curled gently over Luffy’s back. They never said a word and Zoro never loosened his hold, even after Luffy began to snore quietly against his chest.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Snow crunched beneath Luffy’s feet as he ran around the castle’s roof, eyes scanning the endless white for a patch of brown and red. That reindeer just had to come with him and Luffy was going to catch him and make him see that. As he rounded another corner, following what he thought was a hint of antler, a strange contraption rattled to a stop at the edge of the castle’s plateau. A familiar figure stepped out, an equally recognizable one clutching at the first individual’s knees. The coat wasn’t the same but there was no mistaking Zoro’s green hair.
Trajectory changing, and with the thought that it might be easier to see his quarry on the ground, Luffy rocketed off the roof and right into the swordsman, knocking them into a snow bank in a tangle of limbs. Zoro wheezed beneath him, his air forced out, but he wrapped his arms around Luffy for a quick, fierce hug before he pushed the captain off and began haranguing him.
Luffy, warmed through by the sight of the rest of his nakama and by the proof that he’d been equally missed, just laughed and brushed snow off of his bare arms and legs. Usopp was saying something about an avalanche and that sounded cool but for once Luffy had a better story. Before he had a chance to tell, though, the sniper spotted the reindeer and the chase was on once more.
Behind him in the snow, Zoro shook his head with a grin and wondered just how long it would take for their newest nakama to give in to the inevitable.
A/N: It was my intention to make hugging slowly become natural and common between them. I hope it worked.
Rating: G for this part
Pairing: LuZoLu
Word Count: 2674
Topic: Hugging
Part 1
Quiet snores filled the men’s’ cabin, a peaceful harmony that normally would have found the ship’s captain either as a participant or smiling as he listened and let the sound of his nakama at rest carry him off to sleep. That night, though, Luffy lay in his hammock, eyelids anything but heavy, and stared up through the darkness to the deck above him. Topside, Merry’s wood was rougher, weathered by salt spray and exposure to the elements, a patina of loving wear as opposed to the more polished side he could barely see over his head. Two halves of the same planks, two surfaces to the same boards, and wasn’t that kind of like people, with the masks they wore and the emotions they kept locked up within. There was, Luffy thought, some kind of truth to be found in there, in Merry’s bones, but he was avoiding his present reality in losing himself in speculation. There was one set of snores missing aside from his own, softer and deeper than the whistling from his sniper’s long nose or the thicker, smoker’s lungs rasps from his chef. Zoro was gone, up on deck all alone, and he was the reason why Luffy couldn’t sleep.
Mistakes were something that happened over the course of a life. Luffy had made his share and would make more in the future. Usually they were small and harmless and even the big ones he generally managed to find his way free from but he’d made a mistake of truly epic proportions that night and he didn’t know how to fix it. All he could picture on the back of his eyelids when he shut them was the shock of pain and betrayal in green eyes that had finally narrowed and gone hard. That should have been enough to convince him of the truth but somehow he’d compounded his mistake and struck instead, a fist flying out determinedly at the face of his friend. It had been the bodies, so many of them, and his mind had been cloudy with sleep and satiation and probably laced with whatever drugs had been in the meat to keep them docile. That was the only reason he could come up with, to even try to justify it to just himself, and it wasn’t good enough. He hadn’t just been wrong. He’d been cruel and unfair and blinded with a rage that he still couldn’t reconcile; those bodies making his blood boil with the act of seeming betrayal by a man he had claimed as a nakama. Instead he’d been the betrayer and he had no words of explanation, of comfort to give to the man he’d hurt. Zoro’s current absence spoke louder than the words he’d left unuttered, than the flats of his blades as he had deflected fists and feet and unthinking ire.
There was only one other person Luffy could remember hurting in the same way, of shouting accusations while full of a righteous, and misplaced, anger. Ace had pulled his share of tricks in the past, had been a typically good elder brother who caused his sibling a fair amount of grief by virtue of being older, taller, quicker, smarter. Still, when his precious hat had gone missing that one time, vanished from their house, he should have known better than to accuse his brother, who had turned rooms inside out with him in a frantic search for his treasure. Luffy had said some pretty mean things in the heat of the moment, not noticing as Ace had stiffened, a scowl growing on his face until finally the freckled boy had clenched his fists and left the house. It had taken three whole days of silence and of finally finding his hat squirreled away by his grandfather for Luffy to realize what he had done and by then all he could do was apologize and hope that his brother would forgive him. And of course Ace had, but Ace was his brother and it was kind of required of him. Of Zoro, against whom he had committed a far greater sin by calling him not a thief but a murderer, Luffy could only hope to receive such mercy. Still if he didn’t try at all, it would probably only make matters linger if not take a turn for the worse. Too, his conscience wouldn’t give him any peace. He owed Zoro an apology.
Somehow the moonlight on the Grand Line was brighter and more silvery than it had been in East Blue. Luffy stepped out into the cool night air and cocked his head at the sight. It was a curious phenomenon and it almost seemed like daylight on Merry’s deck but for the way the beams frosted Zoro’s green head and painted a pale hush over waves and ship alike. Zoro stood near the figurehead, swords at his side and his hands resting on the railing as he stared ahead. Luffy saw the slightest tilt to the swordsman’s head as he took his first steps on deck but beyond that there was no reaction to his presence. It wasn’t exactly reassuring but at least he hadn’t been ordered away either. Watching the stiff line of Zoro’s back, the tautness of his shoulders beneath his shirt as he seemed to almost hunch beneath Luffy’s gaze, the captain threw all of his half-formed thoughts of apologies and words overboard. Zoro looked so lonely and sad and he should have been asleep in his warm hammock but he wasn’t and it was all Luffy’s fault. Rubber arms acted without conscious thought, flying forward further than should have been humanly possible to wrap around a solid stomach and over the soft folds of Zoro’s worn haramaki. Luffy, for once conscious of his momentum, let elasticity reel him in, coming to a gentle stop at his swordsman’s back. He pressed his cheek against Zoro’s shoulder and breathed out softly.
“I’m sorry.”
The stiff line of Zoro’s spine sagged as soon as the heartfelt whisper reached the swordsman’s pierced ear and Luffy took it as permission to nuzzle deeper into sturdy strength.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated it again, because he was and because it bore repeating. “I won’t mistake Zoro for anything but nakama again.”
Hands rough with calluses left their grip on Merry’s rail and came to rest instead over Luffy’s wrists. They didn’t pry his hands away, as he had briefly feared, and thumbs stroked lightly over his pulse.
“Sorry,” Luffy murmured again and Zoro answered him with a shift, twisting in the circle of Luffy’s arms until he could gaze down the scant inch of height that separated them. The brim of the captain’s hat ceased to shield him as Zoro tilted it back and met Luffy’s somewhat tremulous face.
“I know,” Zoro said finally and tugged Luffy closer, warm arms curling around the captain’s back and pulling him until they stood chest to chest.
Warmth bubbled in Luffy’s stomach, the tension he’d been feeling suddenly gone and replaced with relief and the comfort that the swordsman’s simple reply had brought.
“Idiot,” Zoro added affectionately and Luffy couldn’t help but laugh against the worn smoothness of Zoro’s shirt. It felt good to be close to Zoro like that, tight against him so that he could feel the steady thrum of the swordsman’s heart echoed in his own breast. Luffy was a natural hugger but it had been far too long since someone had embraced him in return. He’d missed it and it seemed somehow fitting that Zoro should be the one to remind him. Finally Zoro patted him gently on the back and let his arms drop, the warm smile on his face visible in the moonlight.
“Let’s go wake up that crappy cook to stand watch so we can get some sleep.”
That was a wonderful idea and Luffy, the bounce back in his step, dashed ahead to be the first to tickle Sanji awake.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The trip back to the Going Merry was a nice contrast to the rest of their hectic stay on Little Garden. It seemed as though the giant lizards and toothy felines that roamed the jungles had realized that the Straw Hats were not food after all. With Nami leading the way, the band of pirates were practically on a pleasant stroll as they headed in the direction of their ship. Luffy walked along in the middle of the pack, carefully turning the eternal post Sanji had gotten over in his hands. It was a precious item and he didn’t miss the way Vivi’s eyes kept glancing over at him from her position on the other side of Carue. Luffy wasn’t going to drop it. He just wanted to see it. The log posts were just so weird and hard for him to understand. That made them really neat.
It was far simpler to understand the argument being carried on behind him as Zoro and Sanji each claimed that their kills from earlier in the day were the biggest. Those two were so funny, always trying to outdo each other. It was weird to see Zoro get so flustered and angry. He had always been so easy going before Sanji arrived. But it was good too. Somebody needed to remind Zoro to be stupid sometimes and Sanji seemed to have an innate knack for it. Really, their debate was pretty pointless. The biggest things on Little Garden were Dory and Broggy and certainly the Straw Hats weren’t going to be fighting their friends. Still, the promise of so much meat had Luffy’s stomach rumbling and he patted it gently as he handed the eternal post to Alabasta back to Vivi.
There was a lull in the argument as Sanji noticed the hand-off, hearts shimmering in his eyes as he darted forward, seeing a chance for more praise from the lovely princess. Luffy let him have his spot, dropping back to walk next to the swordsman. Zoro was limping and trying not to show it, leaving an odd trail of reddish prints behind him, just the heels of his boots showing against the grass and clumping the soil. His shirt was gone, torn in two so as to bind up the wounds but blood still leaked steadily into his boots and trailed over the leather towards the ground. It was just a little scary to think how close Zoro had come to slicing off his own feet. Oh, Luffy didn’t doubt that Zoro would have fought on. It seemed as if nothing could stop his swordsman when he was determined but having both of his feet was probably better for the long run. It was good that he and Usopp and Carue had arrived when they had because Zoro should have his feet and, although he’d posed quite heroically in Luffy’s opinion, a breathing Zoro was far better than a wax statue.
Luffy watched Zoro falter for half a second, caught the wince that flashed over the swordsman’s face. Pride was a tricky thing, as Luffy knew despite treating his a bit differently than the rest of his crew. He’d have to be careful. He timed it well, waiting until Zoro took ten firm steps before he tapped Zoro on the shoulder, bringing the swordsman to a halt as the rest of their nakama moved onward.
“What?”
It was just a little waspish but Luffy wrote it off on account of Zoro’s legs and his argument with Sanji.
“I’m glad Zoro didn’t get turned into a statue, even though he did pose really cool.”
That was all it took, with just the slightest hint of a hitch in his voice and when Luffy stretched out his arms for a hug, Zoro moved into them. Sweat dripped between them, made their hug somewhat clammy but it still felt good to Luffy. The furrow of Zoro’s scar rested beneath his cheek as he laid his head on the swordsman’s shoulder and he held on tight until Zoro gently dropped his hands.
“I looked cool, huh?”
“Yeah!” Luffy slung an arm around Zoro’s waist in his enthusiasm, inwardly pleased as Zoro returned the gesture and draped an arm across his shoulders. The swordsman’s weight leaned into Luffy’s support ever so slightly and the rubber pirate grinned. “Really cool. Just like a hero or something.”
“Oh?”
And they continued like that until Nami’s path ran into Zoro’s kill and then there was no keeping him and Sanji from their manly debate about whose was bigger. Later that night, Luffy gorged himself on dinosaur meat and, to their mutual dissatisfaction, proclaimed them both the winners.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nami was sick and Vivi was crying and Usopp’s eyes were red. Sanji made pot after pot of tea and endless bowls of steaming soup and still Nami coughed and lay feverishly on her bed. There was nothing Luffy could do, not even in the middle of the night when he crept into her room and put a new cool cloth on her sweaty brow. His navigator’s eyes stayed closed and she muttered something incoherent. Vivi stirred from her slump against the mattress and Luffy stole away, something hurting inside.
The deck was cold, the first flakes of promised snow finally falling from the steel-gray clouds that had blotted out the sun and now hid the moon and stars. Carue was a ball of fluffed feathers and sleepy duck noises as Luffy slipped past and he could hear the muffled duet of snores coming from the galley. Luffy turned his eyes skyward, into the swirls of white. Just the top of a green head could be seen as a dark shadow against the night. His hands found the slippery rim of the crow’s nest and Luffy hurtled into the air, landing neatly in the wooden basket. Zoro looked up at him from his seat, a blanket across his knees and a warm coat covering his arms. Whatever he saw made him shove the blanket aside and open his coat, the invitation wordless but clear.
Luffy burrowed into warmth, not noticing how his shivering stopped as the blanket was draped over him. Zoro was strong and steady against his cheek and arms that had never failed the captain yet curled gently over Luffy’s back. They never said a word and Zoro never loosened his hold, even after Luffy began to snore quietly against his chest.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Snow crunched beneath Luffy’s feet as he ran around the castle’s roof, eyes scanning the endless white for a patch of brown and red. That reindeer just had to come with him and Luffy was going to catch him and make him see that. As he rounded another corner, following what he thought was a hint of antler, a strange contraption rattled to a stop at the edge of the castle’s plateau. A familiar figure stepped out, an equally recognizable one clutching at the first individual’s knees. The coat wasn’t the same but there was no mistaking Zoro’s green hair.
Trajectory changing, and with the thought that it might be easier to see his quarry on the ground, Luffy rocketed off the roof and right into the swordsman, knocking them into a snow bank in a tangle of limbs. Zoro wheezed beneath him, his air forced out, but he wrapped his arms around Luffy for a quick, fierce hug before he pushed the captain off and began haranguing him.
Luffy, warmed through by the sight of the rest of his nakama and by the proof that he’d been equally missed, just laughed and brushed snow off of his bare arms and legs. Usopp was saying something about an avalanche and that sounded cool but for once Luffy had a better story. Before he had a chance to tell, though, the sniper spotted the reindeer and the chase was on once more.
Behind him in the snow, Zoro shook his head with a grin and wondered just how long it would take for their newest nakama to give in to the inevitable.
A/N: It was my intention to make hugging slowly become natural and common between them. I hope it worked.
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I am a horribe flister who reads all your stuff but never reviews yet I still got a happy b-day! <3
Date: 2008-12-17 12:21 pm (UTC)Um... I'd love a continuation or prequel (like scenes of pregnant Zoro, a concept that fascinates me in the weirdest way) of the mpreg fic you wrote for Zoro's birthday. Because Usopp/Zoro plus babies is adorable.
But please don't feel pressured to write it if inspiration doesn't strike!
Re: I am a horribe flister who reads all your stuff but never reviews yet I still got a happy b-day!
Date: 2008-12-18 09:05 am (UTC)Re: I am a horribe flister who reads all your stuff but never reviews yet I still got a happy b-day!
Date: 2008-12-18 01:51 pm (UTC)And thank you. It was an uneventful birthday, which is just the kind of birthday I like best. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-17 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-18 09:06 am (UTC)zolo mpreg
Date: 2010-04-02 11:37 am (UTC)sincerly tenspot@comcast.net
The warm and fuzzies
Date: 2010-08-06 08:56 pm (UTC)