[challenge] The Very, Very, Very Strongest (One Piece, Zoro/Luffy)
Somebody on onepieceyaoi posted one of these things for Chaka/Pell that was amazingly written, so I decided to take a stab at doing Zoro/Luffy!
Hooray for 50 one-sentence snatches of Zoro/Luffy goodness! You can tell through the gratuitous abuse of punctuation that brevity is not one of my strong points. ...I think this is why I suck so badly at writing Zoro/Luffy.
Title: The Very, Very, Very Strongest
Series: One Piece
Pairing: Zoro/Luffy
Warnings: spoilers up to halfway through the Impel Down arc
for 1sentence, set epsilon
PRE-GRANDLINE
07 One
He tells himself that the month is almost up--there's but a few days left--he looks up at the voice addressing him, but doesn't recognize that the boy standing in front of him is the man who will change his life forever.
39 Torn
Luffy grips the edge of the small longboat and watches in silence as Zoro takes the blow, blood pouring forth from his chest; for some reason, Luffy feels as if he's been torn in two.
01 Motion
Luffy rockets himself forward with a cry of, "ZORO!" and delightedly he and first mate fly together to the other end of the Merry, landing with a happy, loud crash.
17 Vision
Luffy is perched on the edge of the crow's nest, Zoro watching his hair blow in the breeze; he wonders what future his captain sees for all of them when he gazes silently into the horizon.
49 Hunger
Luffy's been eyeing his plate for the past five minutes, and all it look was a single glance away for Zoro to return to find the rest of his dinner inside someone else.
***
35 Sudden
It's almost sudden--Luffy slings an arm around his neck and smiles, a touch and a look that recalls the reason for all his recent sleepness nights on the ship.
42 Bother
Luffy leans against Zoro, an innocent smile on his face--privately, Zoro realizes that the feelings he's been harboring for his captain all this time don't bother him at all.
08 Thousand
Luffy slides into his embrace, naturally, easily, as if this was the thousandth, not the first time they've done something like this.
15 Hold
Zoro's arms tighten around his captain, and he is not surprised when he cranes his neck toward Luffy and two wet, rubbery lips meet his.
24 Now
Now that he knows what holding Luffy feels like, he realizes that he will never be able to let go.
***
38 Wash
Sanji kicks the laundry basket in his direction, and Zoro looks inside, bewildered--those aren't his clothes--"Yours and the captain's," Sanji says with a knowing smirk.
LOGUE TOWN TO WHISKEY PEAK
36 Stop
Zoro stops, freezes, his gaze riveted by Luffy in the stocks atop the execution tower; he calls out them, and apologizes for dying.
31 Book
Luffy stares curiously over his shoulder at the book and tries sounding out a word--that's when Zoro realizes that Luffy can barely read, so he sits his captain on his lap and starts to teach him.
47 Harm
"I want something big like this too someday," Luffy says, running his fingers along the scar across Zoro's chest, "something so I know what this must have felt like."
20 Picture
Luffy shows the drawing to him proudly; he wouldn't have recognized anything about that haphazard collection of lines had it not been for the green, distinctly round shape of a marimo.
22 Mad
He knows there's no reasoning with Luffy when he's mad, so he pulls out his swords--it's time to see which of the two of them is the strongest.
ARABASTA TO ASUKA ISLAND
10 Learn
All is silent except for the breathing of all around him--stone, earth, Mr. 1, Luffy somewhere faraway--Zoro sheaths the Wadou Ichimonji, he's learned it--how to cut through metal.
33 Never
Zoro watches as Luffy sleeps, his skin flushed pink from the fever; "Never scare me like that again," Zoro says quietly, ruffling Luffy's sweat-dampened hair.
23 Child
Luffy lifts the bowl and dumps its entire contents down his mouth; it's not too much of a stretch for Zoro to imagine a younger, smaller Luffy doing exactly the same thing.
19 Soul
"He's the man who'll be the world's greatest swordsman!" shouts Luffy as he stares at Zoro's silhouette against the red moon, and he knows his words to be true from somewhere in the depths of his soul.
48 Precious
They've already ruled out treasure, but Zoro can't help the throbbing vein in his forehead as Luffy takes forever to decide which is most precious to him--his first mate, or that steak that Sanji just laid on the table.
SKYPEIA TO OMATSURI ISLAND
14 Command
Bottles fly and smash, laughter echoes around the room, and he stands firm with blood running down his face from a cut in his forehead, blood running into his shirt from cuts on his neck and back; he will not fight, because his captain has given the command.
45 Naked
He brings a sponge across his back, leaning forward slowly to wrap his arms around the rubbery body and slather it with kisses; Luffy laughs, returning his swordsman's embrace--he loves being naked, wet, and soapy in the bathtub.
29 Safe
"What happened with Baron Omatsuri?" he asks, but instead of receiving an answer, Luffy only holds him tighter.
46 Drive
Zoro eyes Luffy's back, his captain's fishing rod dangled over the side of the ship; he goes back to his training, grunting with exertion as he counts three hundred lunges--he's strong, but still not strong enough, not strong enough until he knows for sure that he has the strength to make all of Luffy's dreams come true.
16 Need
Unable to sleep, Luffy presses an ear against Zoro's chest, listening to his first mate's heartbeat--he needs to be stronger if he's going to protect all his nakama from here on out.
WATER 7 to ENIES LOBBY
26 Goodbye
He stands next to Luffy as he cries, as Usopp disappears into the shadows of the city and the crew makes ready to pack up and leave the Merry behind forever; slowly, Zoro reaches a hand forward and places it on Luffy's shoulder--it's cold comfort he knows, but all he's allowed to offer.
44 Wall
All they can see in the darkness ahead of them is the tidal wave of Aqua Laguna, so Luffy folds his arms across his chest and turns to Zoro, "Hey, how much is two times 108?"
41 Power
Their 300 pound cannon shoots into the solid tidal wave; it is dark, cold, raining, and they are racing against time...and just for one moment, as Rocket Man hurtles them in the hole they have created, they turn to each other and smile--together, they feel like the most powerful men in the world.
12 Wait
He is lying amidst the rubble of Enies Lobby; Usopp shouts at him to get up and on his feet--his nakama are waiting for him--he strains, closes his eyes and tries with all his might, but his body won't move.
02 Cool
"That is so cool!" exclaims Luffy at the end of Zoro's story detailing his fight with Kaku; when he looks into his captain's eyes, they're practically sparkling with admiration.
21 Fool
"I knew I shouldn't have followed you," Luffy protests, crossing his arms across his chest as he and Zoro stare over the roofs of a part of Water 7 that they swear they just saw fifteen minutes ago.
28 Fortune
Robin flips to a new page in her book, "We're all very fortunate we've crossed paths with Luffy," with a quiet smile she looks up from her reading, straight at Zoro, and says, "Especially you."
06 Gentle
Even though he has a 300 million beli bounty on his head, when he sleeps in Zoro's arms, Zoro can't help but to ruffle his hair--gently.
THRILLER BARK
25 Shadow
The giant body of Oz fills his vision--he talks like Luffy, even feels like him--and that leaves him with only one thought in his mind: take back Luffy's shadow!
11 Blur
Zoro watches Luffy fight, his captain a blur as he starts about the rubble of Thriller Bark, the steam of his sweat trailing him as he throws himself at the giant, shadow-swollen Moria.
03 Young
Zoro takes one last look at the figure of his unconscious captain--he's too young to die--and he takes a deep breath and steps out toward the forest, the bubble that is the sum of the suffering Luffy endured in his battles on this island ship moving with him.
09 King
He puts his both hands forward, pushing past the memory of the small fraction of Luffy's pain that Kuma had let him taste; this task is his and his alone to suffer, for Luffy must be the Pirate King.
34 Sing
The singing goes on, but quietly Luffy slips away from the group dancing on the tables and pulls up a chair beside the bed and watches Zoro sleep, completely unaware of how close he came to losing him.
05 Wrong
Luffy peers at him, knowing that something is amiss and asks simply, "What's wrong, Zoro?"
27 Hide
"Nothing," Zoro replies, silently grateful that the shitty cook hasn't said a word to Luffy about what transpired between him and the Paw-Paw Shichibukai on Thriller Bark.
30 Ghost
Zoro knows that Luffy's not afraid of ghosts, so he knows that when he dies, he might be able to haunt the ship so that he and Luffy can still be together, in whatever strange way that would be.
32 Eye
Luffy's eyes close slowly and he drifts off to sleep, murmuring to himself as he slumps to the side against Zoro's shoulder.
43 God
Zoro doesn't believe in God--he's been to a sky island and seen one felled--but with Luffy quietly snoring in his arms, there's something to him that almost seems...divine.
SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO TO IMPEL DOWN
37 Time
Zoro watches soundlessly as Luffy send the World Noble flying with a punch, sliding the blade of Shuushui free from its sheath--Luffy's done it again this time.
04 Last
Luffy falls to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes as he beats his fists against the ground, defeated--he wasn't even able to save a single one of his nakama, not even Zoro.
18 Attention
Luffy turns in the direction of that familiar voice, that familiar figure, his arms thrown up towards the ceiling of the third floor of the great gaol; Zoro shouts, "I'm here to save you!" and Luffy's never been happier in his life to see Zoro safe and sound.
13 Change
Zoro changes into someone else--someone different--but Luffy's disappointment is quickly replaced by relief as he recognizes the figure and cries, "Bon-chan!"
...AND BEYOND
50 Believe
Zoro doesn't know when he started believing, when he knew for sure that Luffy's dream was going to be achieved--maybe it was the first time they kissed, the first time they made love, the first time they fought together--or maybe it was the first time they met.
40 History
It's written in the history books and well-known throughout the world that the Pirate King and his first mate, the greatest swordsman in the world, were not only the closest of friends, but also the very best of lovers.
*~*~*~*~*
crossposted to 1sentence and luffyzoro_yaoi
Hooray for 50 one-sentence snatches of Zoro/Luffy goodness! You can tell through the gratuitous abuse of punctuation that brevity is not one of my strong points. ...I think this is why I suck so badly at writing Zoro/Luffy.
Title: The Very, Very, Very Strongest
Series: One Piece
Pairing: Zoro/Luffy
Warnings: spoilers up to halfway through the Impel Down arc
for 1sentence, set epsilon
PRE-GRANDLINE
07 One
He tells himself that the month is almost up--there's but a few days left--he looks up at the voice addressing him, but doesn't recognize that the boy standing in front of him is the man who will change his life forever.
39 Torn
Luffy grips the edge of the small longboat and watches in silence as Zoro takes the blow, blood pouring forth from his chest; for some reason, Luffy feels as if he's been torn in two.
01 Motion
Luffy rockets himself forward with a cry of, "ZORO!" and delightedly he and first mate fly together to the other end of the Merry, landing with a happy, loud crash.
17 Vision
Luffy is perched on the edge of the crow's nest, Zoro watching his hair blow in the breeze; he wonders what future his captain sees for all of them when he gazes silently into the horizon.
49 Hunger
Luffy's been eyeing his plate for the past five minutes, and all it look was a single glance away for Zoro to return to find the rest of his dinner inside someone else.
***
35 Sudden
It's almost sudden--Luffy slings an arm around his neck and smiles, a touch and a look that recalls the reason for all his recent sleepness nights on the ship.
42 Bother
Luffy leans against Zoro, an innocent smile on his face--privately, Zoro realizes that the feelings he's been harboring for his captain all this time don't bother him at all.
08 Thousand
Luffy slides into his embrace, naturally, easily, as if this was the thousandth, not the first time they've done something like this.
15 Hold
Zoro's arms tighten around his captain, and he is not surprised when he cranes his neck toward Luffy and two wet, rubbery lips meet his.
24 Now
Now that he knows what holding Luffy feels like, he realizes that he will never be able to let go.
***
38 Wash
Sanji kicks the laundry basket in his direction, and Zoro looks inside, bewildered--those aren't his clothes--"Yours and the captain's," Sanji says with a knowing smirk.
LOGUE TOWN TO WHISKEY PEAK
36 Stop
Zoro stops, freezes, his gaze riveted by Luffy in the stocks atop the execution tower; he calls out them, and apologizes for dying.
31 Book
Luffy stares curiously over his shoulder at the book and tries sounding out a word--that's when Zoro realizes that Luffy can barely read, so he sits his captain on his lap and starts to teach him.
47 Harm
"I want something big like this too someday," Luffy says, running his fingers along the scar across Zoro's chest, "something so I know what this must have felt like."
20 Picture
Luffy shows the drawing to him proudly; he wouldn't have recognized anything about that haphazard collection of lines had it not been for the green, distinctly round shape of a marimo.
22 Mad
He knows there's no reasoning with Luffy when he's mad, so he pulls out his swords--it's time to see which of the two of them is the strongest.
ARABASTA TO ASUKA ISLAND
10 Learn
All is silent except for the breathing of all around him--stone, earth, Mr. 1, Luffy somewhere faraway--Zoro sheaths the Wadou Ichimonji, he's learned it--how to cut through metal.
33 Never
Zoro watches as Luffy sleeps, his skin flushed pink from the fever; "Never scare me like that again," Zoro says quietly, ruffling Luffy's sweat-dampened hair.
23 Child
Luffy lifts the bowl and dumps its entire contents down his mouth; it's not too much of a stretch for Zoro to imagine a younger, smaller Luffy doing exactly the same thing.
19 Soul
"He's the man who'll be the world's greatest swordsman!" shouts Luffy as he stares at Zoro's silhouette against the red moon, and he knows his words to be true from somewhere in the depths of his soul.
48 Precious
They've already ruled out treasure, but Zoro can't help the throbbing vein in his forehead as Luffy takes forever to decide which is most precious to him--his first mate, or that steak that Sanji just laid on the table.
SKYPEIA TO OMATSURI ISLAND
14 Command
Bottles fly and smash, laughter echoes around the room, and he stands firm with blood running down his face from a cut in his forehead, blood running into his shirt from cuts on his neck and back; he will not fight, because his captain has given the command.
45 Naked
He brings a sponge across his back, leaning forward slowly to wrap his arms around the rubbery body and slather it with kisses; Luffy laughs, returning his swordsman's embrace--he loves being naked, wet, and soapy in the bathtub.
29 Safe
"What happened with Baron Omatsuri?" he asks, but instead of receiving an answer, Luffy only holds him tighter.
46 Drive
Zoro eyes Luffy's back, his captain's fishing rod dangled over the side of the ship; he goes back to his training, grunting with exertion as he counts three hundred lunges--he's strong, but still not strong enough, not strong enough until he knows for sure that he has the strength to make all of Luffy's dreams come true.
16 Need
Unable to sleep, Luffy presses an ear against Zoro's chest, listening to his first mate's heartbeat--he needs to be stronger if he's going to protect all his nakama from here on out.
WATER 7 to ENIES LOBBY
26 Goodbye
He stands next to Luffy as he cries, as Usopp disappears into the shadows of the city and the crew makes ready to pack up and leave the Merry behind forever; slowly, Zoro reaches a hand forward and places it on Luffy's shoulder--it's cold comfort he knows, but all he's allowed to offer.
44 Wall
All they can see in the darkness ahead of them is the tidal wave of Aqua Laguna, so Luffy folds his arms across his chest and turns to Zoro, "Hey, how much is two times 108?"
41 Power
Their 300 pound cannon shoots into the solid tidal wave; it is dark, cold, raining, and they are racing against time...and just for one moment, as Rocket Man hurtles them in the hole they have created, they turn to each other and smile--together, they feel like the most powerful men in the world.
12 Wait
He is lying amidst the rubble of Enies Lobby; Usopp shouts at him to get up and on his feet--his nakama are waiting for him--he strains, closes his eyes and tries with all his might, but his body won't move.
02 Cool
"That is so cool!" exclaims Luffy at the end of Zoro's story detailing his fight with Kaku; when he looks into his captain's eyes, they're practically sparkling with admiration.
21 Fool
"I knew I shouldn't have followed you," Luffy protests, crossing his arms across his chest as he and Zoro stare over the roofs of a part of Water 7 that they swear they just saw fifteen minutes ago.
28 Fortune
Robin flips to a new page in her book, "We're all very fortunate we've crossed paths with Luffy," with a quiet smile she looks up from her reading, straight at Zoro, and says, "Especially you."
06 Gentle
Even though he has a 300 million beli bounty on his head, when he sleeps in Zoro's arms, Zoro can't help but to ruffle his hair--gently.
THRILLER BARK
25 Shadow
The giant body of Oz fills his vision--he talks like Luffy, even feels like him--and that leaves him with only one thought in his mind: take back Luffy's shadow!
11 Blur
Zoro watches Luffy fight, his captain a blur as he starts about the rubble of Thriller Bark, the steam of his sweat trailing him as he throws himself at the giant, shadow-swollen Moria.
03 Young
Zoro takes one last look at the figure of his unconscious captain--he's too young to die--and he takes a deep breath and steps out toward the forest, the bubble that is the sum of the suffering Luffy endured in his battles on this island ship moving with him.
09 King
He puts his both hands forward, pushing past the memory of the small fraction of Luffy's pain that Kuma had let him taste; this task is his and his alone to suffer, for Luffy must be the Pirate King.
34 Sing
The singing goes on, but quietly Luffy slips away from the group dancing on the tables and pulls up a chair beside the bed and watches Zoro sleep, completely unaware of how close he came to losing him.
05 Wrong
Luffy peers at him, knowing that something is amiss and asks simply, "What's wrong, Zoro?"
27 Hide
"Nothing," Zoro replies, silently grateful that the shitty cook hasn't said a word to Luffy about what transpired between him and the Paw-Paw Shichibukai on Thriller Bark.
30 Ghost
Zoro knows that Luffy's not afraid of ghosts, so he knows that when he dies, he might be able to haunt the ship so that he and Luffy can still be together, in whatever strange way that would be.
32 Eye
Luffy's eyes close slowly and he drifts off to sleep, murmuring to himself as he slumps to the side against Zoro's shoulder.
43 God
Zoro doesn't believe in God--he's been to a sky island and seen one felled--but with Luffy quietly snoring in his arms, there's something to him that almost seems...divine.
SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO TO IMPEL DOWN
37 Time
Zoro watches soundlessly as Luffy send the World Noble flying with a punch, sliding the blade of Shuushui free from its sheath--Luffy's done it again this time.
04 Last
Luffy falls to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes as he beats his fists against the ground, defeated--he wasn't even able to save a single one of his nakama, not even Zoro.
18 Attention
Luffy turns in the direction of that familiar voice, that familiar figure, his arms thrown up towards the ceiling of the third floor of the great gaol; Zoro shouts, "I'm here to save you!" and Luffy's never been happier in his life to see Zoro safe and sound.
13 Change
Zoro changes into someone else--someone different--but Luffy's disappointment is quickly replaced by relief as he recognizes the figure and cries, "Bon-chan!"
...AND BEYOND
50 Believe
Zoro doesn't know when he started believing, when he knew for sure that Luffy's dream was going to be achieved--maybe it was the first time they kissed, the first time they made love, the first time they fought together--or maybe it was the first time they met.
40 History
It's written in the history books and well-known throughout the world that the Pirate King and his first mate, the greatest swordsman in the world, were not only the closest of friends, but also the very best of lovers.
*~*~*~*~*
crossposted to 1sentence and luffyzoro_yaoi