Breaking But Loved

A Flood of Insecurity

On the Saturday before Luffy's first class, Luffy had finally able to use the treadmill, but Zoro was still worried about him so he stood against the side railing of the machine, on his phone, though he still was paying attention the the sounds. He'd hear if Luffy's foot tripped or his little surprised noise he sometimes made when he was about to or did hurt himself.

Luffy had a limit of twenty minutes in the gym, either the basic weight machine or the treadmill or both. He had protested at first until Zoro showed him the facts online, that a twenty minute workout is best for every day. Luffy then agreed. He wasn't being super picky or complaining anymore because it was set, and Luffy didn't like change much. He also did better with strict routines that don't change.

Robin walked up to Zoro and Luffy when they came out of the garage and told Luffy, "We need to get you appropriate clothes for your class. Don't worry," she said quickly, when she saw his eyes widen in panic. "We've already bought you clothes, so we know the sizes." Then she said more kindly, "I do not mean to be insensitive, but do you still want to wear a long sleeved shirt during these classes?"

Luffy blushed in embarrassment. He still wanted to hide his markings. Just like his eye, he didn't want anyone to know how messed up he is. He wants to look normal, and he does when he wears long sleeved shirts.

He nodded, feeling ashamed that he still couldn't show his skin to anyone but Zoro. but at least it was getting closer to winter now and the weather was steadily getting cooler. And Luffy never really seemed to sweat much. He liked to think his body was so used to the heat that he doesn't sweat anymore, but he knows that's not true. It's another weird thing about him. But at least he doesn't get pit stains.

"Alright, I will get some work out long sleeved shirts. And some shorts. What are your sizes again?"

Small on both, he wrote, a bit embarrassed about his size once again. Even when he gained weight, his clothes still fit the same.

"Okay, I will be back in a while. Any particular color you want?" They both knew he'd say red before he wrote it. "Okay," Robin said again and walked to the door before Zoro noticed something.

"Mom, you're leaving us without an adult?" he asked in surprise. Robin perked up.

"I can't believe I forgot that," she said, shocked and feeling stupid. She knew it had been months since the incident at the hospital, but she still had a gut instinct that it wasn't over.

"Mom, I think we'll be fine. It's daytime, we have a really good security system, there are neighbors around and we will call 911 if something happens. Plus I'm here, and I'm almost technically an adult. Relax about this this time. We'll be fine," Zoro told her. She looked like she was going to protest, but nodded.

"Keep Luffy in your room and stay with the other kids," she told him. "No, have everyone in their rooms and sit on the staircase. That should work. Call 911 if anything suspicious happens," she said seriously, and turned to leave after Zoro nodded.

The moment she closed the door, Zoro went around the house telling the kids to get in their rooms. They whine about it, but Zoro snapped at them the mom had said so. They all went quickly after that, most likely noticing Robin had left the house. They werent afraid anything would happen anymore, but they took Robin's decisions seriously, and as long as she wanted them to be extra careful, then they would be.

Luffy walked into his and Zoro's room and sat in the doorway, pulling his metal bat out from under the bad and resting it in his lap. He was less afraid when he had the bat with him, though he didn't carry it with him everywhere.

Zoro got bored quickly, and since the others' doors were open, he couldn't even talk with Luffy. Luffy was looking bored too. He couldn't wait for his dad to get caught. He had to someday, right? And then Robin wouldn't be worried all of the time and Luffy wouldn't feel guilty every time he really looked at all the added protection.