Chapter 11 - Fear The Birdle

BodyI cleaned my house!! Aren't you proud? What do you mean I should have been writing instead?? How rude. You should just be happy for a chapter this soon. Jeebus, I just updated last night!Uhh, anyway, I suppose I'll start the chapter now. *Shifty eyes* I may or may not incorporate an idea suggested by Chakenmo, even if she did forbid me from allowing her to influence this fic. ^^;We all know I don't own One Piece. Sometimes that cold fact makes me cry at night.-o-Chapter Eleven-o-"Waitress!"Zoro almost felt sorry for the woman who was serving them. This would be the seventeenth time Luffy had called for more food. He only hoped the boy had enough money to pay for it all."What can I get you this time, sir?" The young woman asked nervously."Uhh..." The captain looked as if he was in deep thought. "How 'bout some more chicken? Oh! And another one of those plates of beef!"The girl scribbled the order down on a pad of paper and turned to Zoro. "Did you need anything else, sir?"Since his (sixth) plate wasn't quite empty yet, Zoro took the last swig of his drink. "I could use a refill.""Yes, of course!" The girl bowed and escaped to the kitchen to bring the pair what they had asked.Luffy rubbed his belly and grinned. "This food is really good!""Yeah. Their drinks are pretty good too." Zoro couldn't wait for the waitress to return. He wanted his cup full so he could continue drinking. A new part of his confession plan involved getting really drunk.The waitress reappeared with a pitcher of alcohol, filling Zoro's empty mug. "Here you go, sir. Just call me when you need more, okay?"The pirate stopped her hand as she was pulling the pitcher away. "Don't bother taking that with you.""R-right..." She laughed extremely nervously."Is my food ready yet?" Luffy asked her impatiently."Uh, no... It'll be a few minutes until-""Shut up, Luffy," Zoro scolded, cutting the girl off. "You can have some of mine until it's done.""Really?? Thanks, Zoro!" Luffy beamed at his now blushing friend and began shoveling food into his mouth.If she hadn't been equally terrified of the pair of them, the waitress might have thanked Zoro as well. However, she chose to run away to the kitchen once again after giving them another quick bow."Hey, I didn't say you could have all of it!" Zoro protested."Awww..." Luffy somehow managed to look cute, even with food hanging from his very full mouth.The first-mate scowled. "Forget it, you can have it. It's already got your drool all over it, anyway...""Yay!" The boy inhaled the plate of food.Not even Zoro, who was infatuated with the boy, could say the display wasn't disgusting."Mmmm~!! That was good!""I bet..."A half-an-hour later, the two emerged from the restaurant. Luffy had come up a little short when the got the bill. Fortunately, Zoro had enough belli on him to cover what was left. Sadly, he didn't leave a tip for the poor, terrified, waitress."Ahh! That was delicious!" Luffy stretched as he walked. It didn't bother him a bit that he was walking down the street with his pants unbuttoned. How could anyone expect him to keep them buttoned after eating such a meal?"Yeah.." Zoro was angry at himself. He had been planning on letting the secret out during the meal, but he had told himself that the restaurant had been too crowded. He knew that wasn't why, though. He had been too afraid.Dammit! I haven't been afraid of anything in my life! Why the hell did I have to start now??"Zoro, stop spacing out!" Luffy waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "You kept doing that the whole time we ate!"Roronoa snapped out of it. "Well, that's 'cause I was getting bored watching you eat. I was done way before you were.""That's 'cause you don't eat enough," Luffy playfully poked his friend in the belly."If you think the amount you eat is enough, the rest of the world must be anorexic.""What's that?" Luffy asked with a face."You know... Anorexic. People who purposely don't eat.""WHAT??" The expression on the boy's face suggested he had just seen someone light a puppy on fire. "Why would someone not eat on purpose?? That's just stupid!"Zoro couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it is."Luffy suddenly stopped walking and looked around. "Where are we going?""Huh? I don't know. I was following you."Luffy laughed. "That was a dumb thing to do."Zoro stared at his friend. "You do know you just insulted yourself, right?""Hey, look at that!" Luffy exclaimed, running toward what seemed to be an animal.Zoro sighed and followed, a bit irritated about being ignored."What's wrong with this dog??" Luffy grinned and reached out to pet what looked like a cross between a rooster and a turtle."In what way does that look like a dog to you?""Ouch!! Hey, leggo of me!!" Luffy was now trying to shake the creature off his arm.Zoro ran up and grabbed the 'dog' by the feet, trying to yank it off. "Idiot! This is what you get for trying to touch it!""Owww~!! Get it off me, Zoro!""GWAK!!" The creature let out a yelp when the swordsman finally pried it's beak loose and chucked it away from his friend. When the thing stood up again and faced the pair with fire in it's eyes, Luffy grabbed his first-mate by the arm."Run away~!!"The pair took off down an alley way, hoping the creature wouldn't follow. Unfortunately, it not only followed, but it was much faster than it looked. Zoro groaned inwardly. I can't believe we're running from a chic.. tur.. What the hell is that thing, anyway??Luffy made a sharp turn, taking Zoro with him. The pair ran into a dead end."What now, Captain?" Zoro's hand went to his sword. "Should I just take care of it?" Without answering, Luffy wrapped his arm around Zoro's waist and sent the other flying over the wall. The boy had obviously grabbed onto something, and let the natural elasticity of his body pull them over. The two of them landed in a pile of pirate on the other side."Ouch..." The captain groaned as he attempted to sit up.Roronoa straightened himself and tried to dust off his clothes. He could hear the creature gwaking from the other side of the wall. He only hoped it wouldn't find a way around it. The two exchanged looks at each other. Zoro was amused to find a feather in Luffy's hair. He reached out and plucked it from the boy's head and showed it to him. The two of them laughed out loud."I can't believe we just got chased by that thing!" Luffy said wiping away a tear."I can believe we ran away from it..."Luffy laughed again. "Yeah, why did we run, anyway?"Zoro turned to his friend. "Why are you asking me? You're the one who was pulling me around!"The captain continued cackling like an idiot. Zoro would have been mad, but the laughter was infectious and he couldn't help joining in once more. It seemed like he laughed a whole lot more whenever he was around the boy. The captain wiped more tears from his eyes as he finally stood up. "That was fun."Zoro stood as well. "Only you would say that."Luffy grinned mischievously. "Let's find something else fun to do."The effect those words had on Zoro's mind caused the swordsman's skin to flush slightly. His thoughts were getting dirtier and dirtier lately, and it was getting quite distracting. He blamed Luffy completely."Like what?""I don't know. Let's just find something.""Sounds good to me. You just lead the way."Luffy gladly complied. Taking the lead, he headed toward who-know's-what with a grin. Zoro knew putting the boy in the lead probably wasn't a good idea, but he didn't care. It didn't matter to him where they went, anyway. He was enjoying his friend's company, and that was enough. Plus, he thought, a little bit of walking might make this stupid confession a little easier.They shared a comfortable silence as they walked. Each of them appreciating their company. It was nice. Zoro couldn't stop thinking about how little moments like these would be lost forever if his secret wasn't taken well by his friend. He didn't like the idea of losing his bond with Luffy."Zoro..." Luffy started, breaking the silence. "Yeah?""I really like hanging out with you."Zoro's heart skipped a beat. Even though it was such an innocent statement, Zoro couldn't help but wish there was more behind it. "Well, you'd better. I like hanging out with you too."Luffy slowed a bit, allowing Zoro to walk with him side-by-side. "But I really like hanging out with you," Luffy brought his face closer to his, cupping his had to Zoro's ear. "Don't tell the others, but you're my favorite nakama."Zoro nearly stopped in his tracks. He had always considered Luffy his best friend, but he had never imagined that the boy felt the same. The idea that preferred him over all the other crew mates filled him with idiotic glee. One side of his brain was singing, while the other tried to fill him with doubt. Say something, stupid!! Before he could change his mind, Zoro stopped walking and mimicked his friend, bringing his face close. "You're my favorite, too but you can tell whoever you want." He could help getting a rush from being that close to Luffy.The boy looked surprised at first, but his expression changed to an ear to ear grin. Zoro punched his friend in the arm playfully. "Why are you acting surprised? You're definitely my favorite.""I'm glad.""Hmm?""I'm really glad I'm you're favorite." The earnest smile on Luffy's face nearly melted the man to a puddle of goo."I'm glad you like me best, too." Zoro blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I would have been jealous if it had been someone else..."Luffy laughed."Hey, what's so funny??"Before Zoro knew what was happening, Luffy's face was inches away from his. A stray lock of Luffy's hair tickled Zoro's forehead, almost as if it was teasing him. Luffy had stopped laughing, but the amusement was still there in his eyes. The moment only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like an hour. Just when Zoro was about to lose all control and tackle the object of his affections, a familiar 'gwak' broke the two from their little world."Oh my god, it found us!!" Luffy shouted, eyes wide.The bird... thing was standing a few yards ahead of them. It looked pretty proud of its self for finding it's prey. The creature took a step toward the pair, holding it's beak up high."Why you little..." Zoro's voice was barely a whisper, but it was filled with enough anger and hatred to make a serial killer cry. How dare that thing interrupt us!!The swordsman drew his swords. Mimicking the bird, he took a step. Man and creature stood still, waiting for the other to make their move. Zoro's battle aura was practically visible. Anyone within a mile of Zoro felt a sudden chill. The bird-turtle was suddenly looking a little less brave."Come here, you little piece of shoot!!" Zoro leapt towards the creature with a mad look in his eye. "I'll bring you back with us for dinner!"Without a moments notice, the birdle turned tail and ran. Naturally, Zoro chased after it. "I'll kill you!""Zoro, wait up!" Luffy called, running after his friend.The swordsman was practically foaming at the mouth. He was so close... Who knows what might have happened? I'll tear that thing apart!!"Zoro~!!" Luffy was just behind his friend. In the second Zoro was distracted by the voice, the birdle disappeared."Dammit! Where's it hiding?" He slowed and looked in all directions."Zoro!" Luffy panted, looking around as well. "Where'd it go?""I don't know..." Zoro met Luffy's eyes for a second, then quickly looked away, pretending to search for the creature."Oh well," Luffy adjusted his hat and laughed. "I guess you really scared it."Zoro tried to laugh with his friend, but the sound died before it could leave hi throat. What had just (almost) happened was beginning to sink in. What was Luffy planning on doing?"Luffy...""I'm hungry," Luffy said suddenly, before the other man could finish. "I wonder what Sanji's making for dinner?"Zoro considered continuing his line of thought, but decided to play along. "How could you be hungry? We just ate.""Yeah, but Sanji's cooking's so much better than everyone else's..." Luffy grinned. "Let's go back to the ship now.""...Alright. Whatever you want, Captain."-o-Chapter End-o-Whee-haw! Now was that a fluffy kitten, or was that a fluffy kitten? Do you hate me for interrupting them? Who do you hate more? Me or the birdle? If I were you, I'd blame the birdle. You just can't trust a rooster with a turtle shell. Those things are just plain evil.I'm proud of me, though! This is the first time I've gotten far enough in a fic to start and taste the good stuff. We're so close to the goodness now, you could spit on it. But you better not, because spitting's a nasty habit.If you don't review, the birdle will come back with a vengeance!! Beware~!!

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment