Zoro B-Day Prompt Request
Nov. 13th, 2008 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dethoratsFor velshtein, who requested "Luffy/Zoro: money"
Title: Gold Digger
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Luffy/Zoro
Word Count: 1,371
It’s not often they get left alone together anymore. The rest of the crew has learned their lesson: Zoro can’t be left to his own devices without getting lost and Luffy is more distractible than a crow when it comes to interesting things. They have no sense of time or responsibility and Luffy, that idiot, falls prey to the stupidest and most random forms of hypnosis at the drop of a hat. But on this occasion, the crew is out of luck. The marines arrive and they get separated and Luffy, for whatever reason, follows Zoro as the fight spreads through the town and out to the suburbs. By the time the last of the marines are routed, they’re somewhere positively bucolic and the town – and the harbor – are nowhere in sight.
Luffy only laughs when it gets dark and they still haven’t found their way back. They sleep in a haystack, curled around each other for extra warmth just like in the earliest of days and it’s only the next morning that trouble finally rears its pesky head. There is no Sanji, no ship, and, most devastating of all to Luffy’s stomach, no food. They pluck some barely ripe wild apples off a tree and Zoro manages to catch a rabbit that they eat after it’s been seared beyond recognition but that’s all they can find. The few farmhouses around them have no work and Luffy, despite the fact that Zoro reminds him he’s a pirate, refuses to steal. It reminds him too much of his home, he says, and good people like this don’t need trouble, to gain a worse impression of pirates.
They pass another night, this time under a hedgerow, and in the morning Luffy follows the scent of bacon wafting on the breeze and Zoro follows Luffy. The delicious smell leads them into a clustered circle of gaily painted wagons and for half a second Zoro’s hands hover over his hilts as he looks around for a certain enormous round red nose. But the people they find aren’t pirates at all but a motley troupe of traveling entertainers. One slender tattooed lady laughs as Luffy’s stomach growls and hands him a plate. They wolf down everything that is offered and once the edge is taken off their hunger, Zoro finally thinks to ask just exactly where they are.
Somehow they’ve managed to head in precisely the wrong direction for the town is at least a two days’ journey to their west. Penniless and terrible at directions, Zoro and Luffy swap a glance and the gathered cluster of entertainers begin conferring on just what to do. In ten days’ time they would be back at the city and could Zoro and Luffy wait that long? Nami would gripe, Zoro knew, but Luffy was already laughing and saying yes, the prospect of a new sort of adventure too tempting to resist.
It comes down, then, to the question of how they’ll earn their keep, for the troupe has seen just how much food Luffy can put away. For once Luffy’s rubber limbs and Zoro’s freakish strength and sword skills aren’t enough. “Pah,” the old man with the long white mustache said, absently juggling a teacup, two eggs, and a cleaver. “Devils’ Fruits ain’t that rare around here and we got us a sword swallower already.”
Zoro sighs, slipping off his shirt and wiping his face. They have to figure out something. No doubt they’re already in a world of trouble, and left to their own devices, they’ll likely get in more. Behind him, a cluster of the women falls silent and then breaks out into excited whispers. Luffy watches them, confusion on his face as they keep glancing at Zoro and then giggling. Finally one steps forward. “I know what they can do.”
That night, as the crowd bursts into one last round of applause in the main tent, Zoro and Luffy stand off to the side in another, smaller, darker one. There’s a small scrap of green satin in Zoro’s hand and he eyes it dubiously, looks over at Giselle, the lady who had first made the suggestion.
“You’re sure?” he asks, for about the fiftieth time and Giselle giggles behind her hand and nods. Zoro sighs and shoos her away, stripping out of his clothes. The poor excuse for underwear goes on first and then Luffy wordlessly hands him a vest and a pair of gauzy trousers. Zoro sighs again and shakes his head and then Luffy gently pats him on the back.
“It’s not that hard, Zoro,” he says, completely missing what’s REALLY bothering the swordsman. “You don’t really even have to dance. Just stand there and waggle your eyebrows or something. That’s what Ace used to do.”
“ACE did this?” Zoro asks incredulously, staring at his captain.
“Yeah, the summer before he left. It was easy and good money too. But some people got a little grabby.” Luffy’s brows knit together and he frowns. “Nobody’s allowed to touch you but me, okay?”
“Okay.” Zoro agrees readily enough. He doesn’t want to be doing this in the first place and random women pinching his behind is definitely not something he wants to experience.
Giselle comes back and giggles again, openly ogling, and Zoro feels self-conscious for the first time in a while and fights down the urge to cross his arms over his chest. She hands Luffy a ridiculously large-brimmed hat made out of green felt. It has a green peacock feather tucked into the brim too and Luffy shrugs and puts it on his head, his own straw hat safely tucked beneath it. A piece of paper gets shoved into the captain’s hand and then he’s scooted out from behind the curtain into the torchlight.
Zoro can’t hear him but whatever he says sends up an approving feminine roar. A drum starts beating slowly and Giselle kisses his cheek, swats him on the ass, and shoves him out from behind the curtain. Too many pairs of eyes to count lock onto him, alight with an unholy anticipation and Zoro gets an idea of just how Usopp must feel when they’re staring down a pack of monsters or marines. But then Luffy smiles at him and shoots an arm out to shove a rather intoxicated woman back into her seat and Zoro swallows and begins to sway a little to the beat.
Ten minutes later, Zoro can distinctly feel every draft in the tent on his bare skin and there’s quite a pile of money filling Luffy’s new hat. Giselle grins at them and tosses Zoro his regular clothes and they all head out for some food and, in Zoro’s case, a lot of booze. Later, tucked into the back of one wagon, Luffy wraps an arm possessively around Zoro’s waist and tucks his chin into Zoro’s shoulder, his lips just grazing the swordsman’s’ jaw as they drift off to sleep.
The ten days pass in a blur of countryside, embarrassment, a steady drumbeat, and torchlight. Luffy’s as good as his word and no one touches Zoro, although a few come closer than he’d like. The night before they’ll finally be back in the city, Zoro’s final performance, Luffy makes him wait until even Giselle has gone and the torches are guttering. He tosses Zoro the hand drum, makes him beat out a slow rhythm, and then Luffy’s hands undo the top button on his vest, and then the next.
They’re late for drinks and knowing smiles follow them as they head back to their wagon but Zoro can’t be moved out of his good mood enough to care. The troupe drops them off in the harbor and, miracle of miracles, the Thousand Sunny is still there. Nami is livid, until they hand over a hefty chunk of the money they made, and Luffy steadfastly refuses to answer any questions about his new hat. And Zoro could have gotten away scot-free too, if Sanji hadn’t fawned over Giselle and gotten a hastily drawn flier for Zoro’s act in the bargain. It takes nearly a month before the crew experiences a breakfast without being interrupted for a brawl between the swordsman and the chef.
velshtein, who requested "Luffy/Zoro: money"Title: Gold Digger
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Luffy/Zoro
Word Count: 1,371
It’s not often they get left alone together anymore. The rest of the crew has learned their lesson: Zoro can’t be left to his own devices without getting lost and Luffy is more distractible than a crow when it comes to interesting things. They have no sense of time or responsibility and Luffy, that idiot, falls prey to the stupidest and most random forms of hypnosis at the drop of a hat. But on this occasion, the crew is out of luck. The marines arrive and they get separated and Luffy, for whatever reason, follows Zoro as the fight spreads through the town and out to the suburbs. By the time the last of the marines are routed, they’re somewhere positively bucolic and the town – and the harbor – are nowhere in sight.
Luffy only laughs when it gets dark and they still haven’t found their way back. They sleep in a haystack, curled around each other for extra warmth just like in the earliest of days and it’s only the next morning that trouble finally rears its pesky head. There is no Sanji, no ship, and, most devastating of all to Luffy’s stomach, no food. They pluck some barely ripe wild apples off a tree and Zoro manages to catch a rabbit that they eat after it’s been seared beyond recognition but that’s all they can find. The few farmhouses around them have no work and Luffy, despite the fact that Zoro reminds him he’s a pirate, refuses to steal. It reminds him too much of his home, he says, and good people like this don’t need trouble, to gain a worse impression of pirates.
They pass another night, this time under a hedgerow, and in the morning Luffy follows the scent of bacon wafting on the breeze and Zoro follows Luffy. The delicious smell leads them into a clustered circle of gaily painted wagons and for half a second Zoro’s hands hover over his hilts as he looks around for a certain enormous round red nose. But the people they find aren’t pirates at all but a motley troupe of traveling entertainers. One slender tattooed lady laughs as Luffy’s stomach growls and hands him a plate. They wolf down everything that is offered and once the edge is taken off their hunger, Zoro finally thinks to ask just exactly where they are.
Somehow they’ve managed to head in precisely the wrong direction for the town is at least a two days’ journey to their west. Penniless and terrible at directions, Zoro and Luffy swap a glance and the gathered cluster of entertainers begin conferring on just what to do. In ten days’ time they would be back at the city and could Zoro and Luffy wait that long? Nami would gripe, Zoro knew, but Luffy was already laughing and saying yes, the prospect of a new sort of adventure too tempting to resist.
It comes down, then, to the question of how they’ll earn their keep, for the troupe has seen just how much food Luffy can put away. For once Luffy’s rubber limbs and Zoro’s freakish strength and sword skills aren’t enough. “Pah,” the old man with the long white mustache said, absently juggling a teacup, two eggs, and a cleaver. “Devils’ Fruits ain’t that rare around here and we got us a sword swallower already.”
Zoro sighs, slipping off his shirt and wiping his face. They have to figure out something. No doubt they’re already in a world of trouble, and left to their own devices, they’ll likely get in more. Behind him, a cluster of the women falls silent and then breaks out into excited whispers. Luffy watches them, confusion on his face as they keep glancing at Zoro and then giggling. Finally one steps forward. “I know what they can do.”
That night, as the crowd bursts into one last round of applause in the main tent, Zoro and Luffy stand off to the side in another, smaller, darker one. There’s a small scrap of green satin in Zoro’s hand and he eyes it dubiously, looks over at Giselle, the lady who had first made the suggestion.
“You’re sure?” he asks, for about the fiftieth time and Giselle giggles behind her hand and nods. Zoro sighs and shoos her away, stripping out of his clothes. The poor excuse for underwear goes on first and then Luffy wordlessly hands him a vest and a pair of gauzy trousers. Zoro sighs again and shakes his head and then Luffy gently pats him on the back.
“It’s not that hard, Zoro,” he says, completely missing what’s REALLY bothering the swordsman. “You don’t really even have to dance. Just stand there and waggle your eyebrows or something. That’s what Ace used to do.”
“ACE did this?” Zoro asks incredulously, staring at his captain.
“Yeah, the summer before he left. It was easy and good money too. But some people got a little grabby.” Luffy’s brows knit together and he frowns. “Nobody’s allowed to touch you but me, okay?”
“Okay.” Zoro agrees readily enough. He doesn’t want to be doing this in the first place and random women pinching his behind is definitely not something he wants to experience.
Giselle comes back and giggles again, openly ogling, and Zoro feels self-conscious for the first time in a while and fights down the urge to cross his arms over his chest. She hands Luffy a ridiculously large-brimmed hat made out of green felt. It has a green peacock feather tucked into the brim too and Luffy shrugs and puts it on his head, his own straw hat safely tucked beneath it. A piece of paper gets shoved into the captain’s hand and then he’s scooted out from behind the curtain into the torchlight.
Zoro can’t hear him but whatever he says sends up an approving feminine roar. A drum starts beating slowly and Giselle kisses his cheek, swats him on the ass, and shoves him out from behind the curtain. Too many pairs of eyes to count lock onto him, alight with an unholy anticipation and Zoro gets an idea of just how Usopp must feel when they’re staring down a pack of monsters or marines. But then Luffy smiles at him and shoots an arm out to shove a rather intoxicated woman back into her seat and Zoro swallows and begins to sway a little to the beat.
Ten minutes later, Zoro can distinctly feel every draft in the tent on his bare skin and there’s quite a pile of money filling Luffy’s new hat. Giselle grins at them and tosses Zoro his regular clothes and they all head out for some food and, in Zoro’s case, a lot of booze. Later, tucked into the back of one wagon, Luffy wraps an arm possessively around Zoro’s waist and tucks his chin into Zoro’s shoulder, his lips just grazing the swordsman’s’ jaw as they drift off to sleep.
The ten days pass in a blur of countryside, embarrassment, a steady drumbeat, and torchlight. Luffy’s as good as his word and no one touches Zoro, although a few come closer than he’d like. The night before they’ll finally be back in the city, Zoro’s final performance, Luffy makes him wait until even Giselle has gone and the torches are guttering. He tosses Zoro the hand drum, makes him beat out a slow rhythm, and then Luffy’s hands undo the top button on his vest, and then the next.
They’re late for drinks and knowing smiles follow them as they head back to their wagon but Zoro can’t be moved out of his good mood enough to care. The troupe drops them off in the harbor and, miracle of miracles, the Thousand Sunny is still there. Nami is livid, until they hand over a hefty chunk of the money they made, and Luffy steadfastly refuses to answer any questions about his new hat. And Zoro could have gotten away scot-free too, if Sanji hadn’t fawned over Giselle and gotten a hastily drawn flier for Zoro’s act in the bargain. It takes nearly a month before the crew experiences a breakfast without being interrupted for a brawl between the swordsman and the chef.
