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romancethedawn · 2 years ago

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Selkie!Luffy AU pt.1

Zoro reached for another chicken leg just as the rubbery fingers of his new captain snatched the tasty morsel right out from under his nose.

An annoyed growl escaped his throat and he sent a fleeting death glare at the idiot before sighing and reaching for some of the only food left on the table, a platter of fresh caught fish that had remained miraculously untouched by Luffy.

The swordsman didn’t question it though. All he knew was that he was hungry as hell after three weeks of being starved and beaten, and if the empty pit next to him didn’t slow down soon he’d go hungry again. So he quickly began devouring all the fish he could before Luffy caught on.

Sadly, it didn’t take long for the red menace to take note of Zoro’s new meal. In an instant those big doe eyes were being directed right at him, as Luffy made soft whining noises in the back of his throat like some damn dog.

The swordsman gritted his teeth and continued enjoying his food while resolutely ignoring his persistent companion.

The bastard had eaten everything else on the table, it only seemed fair that Zoro got to eat something! After all, he was the one who had been STARVED!

“Uh…uhmmm… Z- er… Mr. R-Roronoa… sir?” The little cabin boy who had been clinging to Luffy like some kind of lamprey for the past couple of hours finally spoke up. He’d talked a bit during Zoro’s rescue as well but he hadn’t been very vocal since their return to the inn run by Rika’s mom.

“What?” Zoro pushed out the word through his mouthful of fish before taking a sip of ale and shooting the kid a warning glare. It wasn’t that he hated the boy. He was just too soft, it rubbed Zoro the wrong way. Kid needed to toughen up.

“Ah! Er…. Well…” The boy startled a bit before continuing to stutter through whatever he wanted to say. Zoro sighed, perhaps he’d been laying the big scary bounty hunter act on a little thick.

“What is it, kid?” He asked again, trying to make his voice more friendly and less… gruff. He couldn’t help but snort when the kid startled again, this time at Zoro’s sudden shift toward kindness.

“W-well… D-do you think you could let Luffy have s-some of the fish?” His voice had gotten higher with every word until he was practically squeaking. It was honestly a bit difficult to decipher what he wanted. Zoro raised an eyebrow in question and the kid, Koby he thinks his name was, laughed nervously before looking away, a distinct redness tinting his cheeks. “I-I was only with him for a couple of days before we got here, but in that time I learned that Luffy loves fish more than anything!” He exclaimed in all seriousness. Causing Luffy himself to burst out laughing.

“No, No, Koby! You’ve got it wrong!” His captain crowed, the hint of laughter always in his voice shining even brighter. “I love MEAT more than anything!” he cheered excitedly, holding up the last piece of meat at the whole table, which Zoro noticed with some chagrin was also the last piece of fish he’d been staunchly guarding. Damn… The bastard was more slippery than he’d thought.

Luffy, still laughing like an idiot, then proceeded to shove the entire fish in his mouth, head and all. Zoro was about to yell at him about choking on the bones and other things he’d heard the women in his village nag their children about, when the rubber wonder pulled the fish out of his mouth again, only this time it was missing the meat and all that was left were pristine bones.

Both Zoro and Koby stared at their friend with varying looks of concern and disgust. Zoro remembered hearing that a walrus was able to suck the skin right off a seal before but he’d never, not once in his life, seen a human being do anything similar.

It was in that moment that he resolved to never get near Luffy when he was eating. Ever.

“O-oh… sorry I-” Koby bowed his head in disappointment, but perked up quickly when Luffy ruffled his hair.

“Thanks for looking out for me though, Koby!” Luffy grinned, it was one of those way too bright ones that immediately entranced anyone who happened to be looking at it. Zoro included, he was ashamed to admit.

The red tint to Koby’s cheeks only got more intense and the young boy quickly ducked his head to hide that fact.

“So tell me, Captain…” Zoro started, taking another swig of ale, forever thankful that Luffy had taken one sip and promptly spat out the drink declaring it ‘yucky’. He didn’t think the two of them could ever get along if the straw hatted idiot kept drinking Zoro’s booze the way he ate his food. “Where’s the rest of the crew?” He continued, curious to meet them and see what other odd personalities Luffy had no doubt drawn to his side.

However, instead of starting to excitedly list off names like Zoro thought he would, Luffy just stared at Zoro blankly for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. The act was equally as bewitching as his smile and Zoro was starting to get annoyed with this kid. Seriously, did he have the sun trapped beneath his skin or something? This level of brightness was just way too much.

“Oi! I’m being serious!” He growled at his new found Captain. The sound of Luffy’s laughter died immediately and he just smiled warmly at Zoro instead.

“They’re not like Zoro,” he finally answered, “we still have to find them!” That stupid grin continued to stretch his face like nothing had changed and, Zoro supposed, nothing really had. Luffy was still Luffy and Zoro was still Zoro. They’d figure out the rest as they went.

Deciding this was a fine enough answer for now Zoro shrugged and went back to his food.

“Can’t be helped then.” He said before shoveling the very last bite of fish and rice into his mouth and taking another messy gulp of his ale. “What about your ship?” After hearing that there wasn’t a crew, his hopes weren’t high and judging by the way Luffy started badly whistling and Koby was avoiding eye contact even more than usual, he guessed it was pretty safe to say they didn’t have a ship either. He sighed heavily, was he going to be the only person with any forethought on this crew? He hoped not. It seemed like a cursed existence.

“Weeeellll…” Luffy started by drawing out the word to make it as long as possible and Zoro felt something in his forehead twitch. Probably a blood vessel straining from all this idiocy. “I do have a ship. It’s just… not super cool…” The rubber captain finished dejectedly.

Zoro opened his mouth, to comfort his childish captain or scold him, he wasn’t sure. But Luffy bounced back quickly, he was made of rubber after all, and his eyes were practically sparkling when he turned to his new first mate again. “But don’t worry, Zoro! We’re gonna get a better one really soon and it’ll be awesome! We’ll sail the Grand Line and find the One Piece! Just you wait!”

Staring into that way too bright smile with those big sparkly eyes blinking up at him, Zoro couldn’t bring himself to knock the kid down, so he simply smiled indulgently at him. “I’m sure we will, Captain.” He agreed easily enough and his positive reaction seemed to make Luffy even happier because he kicked his smile up a few notches, practically blinding his poor swordsman.

“That being said…” Zoro started as he stood from the table and kicked his chair in. “We probably need to get out of here before those Marine’s come knocking. We may have freed them, but Marines are Marines. They’ll want our heads soon enough.”

Koby looked like he wanted to disagree but Luffy had already gotten to his feet and settled his straw hat back on his head before the boy could even get the words out.

“You’re right. Let’s go!” Luffy threw his fist up in the air excitedly. Zoro simply nodded his approval and slipped his swords into his haramaki. Koby spluttering and protesting all the while.

Zoro had to admit. Parting with the kid was rough. Not because Zoro had any particular attachment to him. Koby just cried. A lot. Then the little squirt finally got the guts to toughen up and actually hit Luffy! Granted, he was only capable of doing so after Luffy backed him into a proverbial corner… but Zoro wasn’t one to dwell on such things.

Although, that look of horrified realization on his face right after he’d done it did make Zoro chuckle under his breath and hide his grin in his shoulder. So it was more of a win for Koby than the poor kid would ever realize.

After all was said and done they ended up at the docks loading the supplies Rika’s mom had so generously given them into Luffy’s absurdly small and ragged “boat.” Although, after watching the spectacle that was Luffy eating, Zoro wasn’t so sure these supplies would last them much more than a day.

When the last sack of apples was loaded into the little dinghy Luffy threw his arms behind his head while blowing a rather loud and long raspberry and flopped into the boat back first.

His drop caused the boat to rock violently back and forth for a moment. Zoro quietly cursed his captain’s impulsiveness before stepping into the vessel himself.

“So…” he started as he took his seat in the little dinghy, “where to, Captain?”

The boy in question giggled brightly before sitting up fast enough to make the boat rock again as he pointed to the distant horizon.

“To adventure!” He cried happily.

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