His Fault | Monster Trio

14

"Luffy!! LUFF- Huh?" Zoro held his chest, breathing heavily.

He wondered if anyone had woken up with his shouting and started to turn his head every-which-way, scanning the perimeters.

Not a single fly in sight. Everything was pitch black outside and colder than ever.

"Just a damn nightmare, thank goodness."

He thought to himself, heading back inside of the house at 4:38 a.m. to get, at least, three to four hours of sleep in his bed.

On his way out, he bumped into a slim figure who rubbed its head after coming in contact with Zoro's rough chest.

"Mmh.." A short boy groaned, rubbing his sleepy eyes to gather a clearer image of what was standing in front of him.

"Zoro, you're up early." He spoke with a stuffy nose.

"Up early? I haven't slept, Luffy. And what about you? You went to sleep pretty early tonight."

Zoro wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder, walking towards their bedroom.

"I woke up earlier and found you sleeping outside, so I put a blanket over you."

"The blanket Franky gave me?" Zoro smiled as the Captain nodded.

"How're you feeling?" The Swordsman asked, intrigued by how different Luffy's voice sounded. It was almost as deep as his own.

"I'm good. Let's sleep a little more." The boy insisted, and Zoro undoubtedly agreed with his words.

Together, they collapsed onto the bed and ignored the light that was attempting to shine through their curtains.

Zoro loosened the thin strips that were keeping the curtains open. Afterwards, he let them drape over the window, blocking out the brightness that would appear at any minute.

When he climbed back into the bed, he wrapped his arms securely over Luffy as the younger curled up beside him, feeling protected and warm.

The following day, the couple was awoken by a loud thunderstorm that disrupted everyone else's peaceful sleep...

However, for both Zoro and Luffy, they slept better than ever with the sounds of heavy rain stirring up the waves within the ship, rocking them to sleep, no matter how many times their crewmates attempted to wake them up.

Unintentionally, it was one who ended up awakening the other, by falling off of the bed with a loud thud.

"Luffy?" Zoro's eyes squinted, searching around the room for his lover.

Walking towards Luffy's side of the bed, his first mate found the younger boy tangled up in his sheets, lying down face first onto the hardwood floor.

When he tucked his hands underneath the boy's legs and back to pick him up, Luffy sprinted out of his reach.

"I must've overslept, nishishi!! M-morning!" The boy said, scratching the back of his stiffened neck.

He started walking over to the bathroom, only to be slowed down by Zoro.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, wrapping his arms underneath the boy's ribcage.

"Like a baby!"

"Yeah? That's good to know." The Swordsman headed towards their bathroom, closing the door behind him as Luffy held a red towel in his hand.

Running the water, the boy tested it by placing his hand inside first, before getting underneath the shower.

Seconds afterwards, he stepped right in, letting his body relax. For once, it was starting to feel better.

"Luffy, I'm heading out. Need anything before I go?"

"I'm good! Thanks, Zoro!" Hearing the visible energy emitting from his Captain's voice, sounded promising for Zoro.

With that, he walked out of the room and went towards the kitchen, earning a yelp from Sanji.

"What happened to you last night? Did someone punch you in both eyes?" The Cook asked, shining a silver pot against Zoro's face.

In his reflection, he could see eye bags underneath his eyes, and visible tiredness in his motionless expression.

"I'm surprised you didn't freeze out on the balcony last night."

"How do you know I slept outside?" Zoro asked, feeling slightly suspicious.

"Let's see: A mysterious set of swords, a sheet, and a coffee mug were all left on top of the bench last night. Oh, everyone knows." The curly-browed Chef spoke, preparing the dinner table.

Zoro's face turned red as he frowned angrily, sitting down beside Brook, and an empty spot that belonged to Luffy.

He then awaited for his food to be placed on the table, or thrown onto it, knowing how unpredictable his frenemy could be towards him.

"By the way, did you fall on your ass when waking up? Or was Luffy the one making the noise." Sanji's inquiry made Zoro roll his eyes.

"It was Luffy. He fell off the bed."

"Luffy did?" Nami questioned.

"Yeah. You know how clumsy he can be, even when sleeping." The Swordsman responded, to not make the others question Luffy any further.

Moments later, the younger boy arrived at the dinner table when everyone was already finished eating.

He sat down, greeting Sanji, who was the only one around him at the moment.

"Mind if I accompany you so you won't be left alone, sleepy head?" The handsome Cook asked, offering Luffy a joyful smile.

Luffy nodded, swallowing deeply from the moment Sanji sat down next to him.

"You always end up eating last, Sanji." The Captain commented to his Cook, looking down at his meal.

"I guess so. But I do it for you guys to-"

"My food's cold, warm it up."

"Eat... first." Sanji finished his previous sentence in silence, raising an eyebrow at Luffy.

"Sure, give it here. Sorry about that-" While standing up, Sanji was about to walk back to the kitchen when Luffy caught him by surprise.

It wasn't the sound his fists made when he slammed them against the table, but the words he had spoken to him.

"Yeah. You better be." Those words sent chills down Sanji's spine as he grew curious as to what his Captain really meant by that.

"Is something upsetting you, Luffy? You've been acting strange since yesterday."

"Nah," Luffy grinned, lowering his head down, leaving his straw hat to shadow most of his face.

"They say: "You're not you when you're hungry," right?" He quoted, fidgeting with his silver prongs at hand.

"I wanna be me again, Sanji."

"You are you. No one can ever be who you've become, Captain." Sanji thought his words would cheer Luffy up, so he added a chuckle at the end of his sentence.

But instead, his compliment was taken as an insult by the younger boy.

"Doubt anyone could survive being me." He gritted his teeth, smiling creepily.

"I agree. We've been through a lot as a crew, huh?" Sanji stepped back for a bit when Luffy looked up at him with a menacing demeanor cast upon his eyes.

"I'm still going through it with you."

~~~