Love Is Blind | ZoLu

10

~ 7:00 p.m. ~

Hunger settled in the stomachs of many Straw Hats when they began to smell the delicious dinner that their Cook, Sanji was making for them.

Luffy was quietly seated in the same chair as before.

His amount of inactivity was understandable when being blind, but when it came to his lack of social interactions with his fellow crewmates, they were unable to comprehend why he was so silent.

He never once spoke the entire time he was in the musical room, so they thought that bringing him into the dining room was a better idea.

But it didn't encourage him to speak about anything whatsoever, all that he did was stare down at his lap.

The truth is, that lingering within Luffy's mind, were still unexplained images that kept on getting darker.

Ever since yesterday, he had been seeing dark clouds. And what started off as dark clouds, turned into an endless black fog of smoke that had him worried.

"Luffy, are you alright?" Zoro called out, but remained unheard for what would appear to be a third time.

When he placed his hand on Luffy's arm, the boy snapped out of the trance he was in and jumped up.

"H-huh?"

"Do you-" Just when Zoro was about to ask him something, Sanji announced that their meal was ready.

This gave the Swordsman an opportunity to get Luffy to eat with him, so he asked him what he felt like eating first.

"The Cook prepared pasta, chicken, bread. There's also dessert, and..." Luffy started to giggle when Zoro whispered something in his ear.

His laugh was silent, but as everyone's attention was focused mainly on the Captain, they grew curious about the secret Zoro had narrated to him and why it invigorated the Captain enough to initiate his laughter.

When being asked about it, the one who induced such joy within Luffy, simply stated that he was waiting for "dessert to be over,".

The cause of this remained a mystery for the Straw Hats and only Zoro and Luffy would keep it to themselves until after their meal was over.

"To whatever Moss Head told our Captain," Sanji raised his cup after Zoro gritted his teeth at him.

"Cheers for Luffy's smile, everyone."

"CHEERS!" Luffy looked at the Strawhats like a deer caught in the headlights, feeling his cheeks heating up.

"Was I... Smiling that much, guys?"

The crewmates shared a lighthearted chuckle, not too scandalous, but rather sympathetic and sweet towards their young Captain.

"Contrary; you should do it more often, Luffy. We love seeing your suuuuuuper smile, it makes us all smile as well." Franky stated.

"Thanks, everyone..."

The younger blinked frequently to remain strong in front of his friends for the words he was about to say.

"I just wish I could see your smiles again, haha.." As the table went silent, a loud crash coming from the kitchen made everyone respond with a jolt.

Moments after, they heard Sanji arguing with Zoro in the kitchen.

"I said I was 'sorry' already."

The Swordsman sighed, feeling annoyed when being scolded by Sanji who was angered to see the mess he created.

Two bottles of alcohol had accidentally slipped out of his hands and landed on the dish Sanji had prepared for dessert, nearly causing it to collide with the floor.

Luckily for the Cook, he was able to rescue it. But that didn't exempt Zoro from imminent punishment from the strict blonde male. After all, he did put in extra effort for the meals he prepared.

"Sorry doesn't cut it at all, look at this mess!! Watch where you're going next time, you blind bastard!"

As everyone attended to their meals and ate, Luffy froze with his smile still remaining on his face.

Zoro stopped bickering with Sanji and went back to his rightful place, sitting beside the Captain with an unsuspecting happy look on his face.

His eyes were reddened, filled afresh from his lack of blinking.

Not paying close attention to the emotions Luffy was going through in silence, Zoro proceeded to eat his meal, staring at the boy's plate.

"Luffy, aren't you hungry?"

Luffy's stomach was tied in knots, and the hunger he felt was replaced and filled with tension that prevented him from eating.

The motivation he had gained from Zoro disappeared with Sanji's words that had a grave effect on him.

"Please, excuse me for a minute." The boy was about to stand up when he felt someone grab his hand.

"Where are you going?"

Zoro's voice caught everyone's attention, and seeing Luffy standing up was what kept their eyes on the Captain.

With the overwhelming sensation of being judged by the eyes that could see through him, Luffy sat back down.

"I forgot my hat, I miss having it on." The boy pat his head, standing up once again.

"I'll go get it for you then."

"No," The older man was surprised to see Luffy attempting to walk away on his own, bumping into Nami along the way.

His accidental shove was so intense, she spilled her bowl of spaghetti over her jeans, gasping.

"S-sorry, Nami!"

Luffy pardoned himself and was then scolded by Zoro who was walking behind him.

"I said I would go get it, Luffy. Hey! Listen to me, wait up!"

Fear settled within the boy who was struggling to breathe.

He unknowingly slammed the door on Zoro's face, not seeing that he was following him to his bedroom.

His legs were weak and so unstable, he ended up stumbling over them.

"H-hey, be careful, Luffy."

Having no reaction to nearly hitting his head against a table, the young boy rested limp in Zoro's arms.

He squirmed his way out of the man's loose grip and sat on the floor without saying anything.

"Where's your hat?" Zoro spoke, walking around the spacious room.

"I'll get it later." Luffy replied to his first mate, leaving him confused.

"I don't get it... Isn't this what you came here for?"

"No," a change in the young man's voice lead Zoro to thinking something wasn't quite right.

"Then let's go back to eat. I'll help you get back up-" Luffy violently retracted his arm from Zoro's grip as if he had been burned by fire.

"Please... Get out."

~~~