Love Between the Living and Dead

Romance Blooms

This is a fluffy chapter but it gets more dramatic and serious in the next. Please review.

The wind was fierce and the rain was pelting down in sheets, but it didn't bother Luffy. He couldn't feel the rain or wind. His clothes and hair stayed still in the wind, and he seemed to have little blue lights around him, but they were just raindrops reflecting his glow. Only he could see it though. No one else would see the glowing blue rain.

The walk to the park wasn't unpleasant, even though it was loud. He got back to the park, figuring his cave must be flooded. It was irritating when that happened because he couldn't go inside. It would be so full of water that he'd be scrunched against the ceiling, since he could only stand on the water. He walked down one of the trails, going to the massive trees and climbing it, thinking about how Zoro might not want to walk to the park in this weather. But they already agreed to meet there and he really didn't want to leave the park again tonight to go make different plans.

Zoro went to bed with his mind buzzing about the day. Luffy was actually really fun to be around. He had a carefree attitude that Zoro enjoyed being around. Most of his family, even outside his parents, were uptight. He guessed that was the price of being wealthy; everyone had a stick up their butt. Zoro hoped to god he didn't act like that.

Though he was slightly irritated he cared what he the ghost thought about him, he was looking forward to tomorrow, even if he had to hang out in the rain with his new friend.

Weeks went by as the two took turns hanging out at each other's homes. Even though he and Zoro mostly watched movies together, they still enjoyed each other's company. After exploring the park some, Luffy brought Zoro up to the top ridge he'd been to before. Zoro was told to bring hiking gear, which he went out and bought since he didn't own anything. Luffy warned him to be quiet and stay low so he doesn't bother the bears. Zoro was quite nervous about their little expedition, both from falling and breaking his neck, or getting mauled by bears. But he had to say, when he reached the top and saw the bears happily eating salmon in the rapids and playing with each other, the climb was worth it.

He watched behind a large rock for a while as Luffy wandered around the bears, walking silently across the surface of the water. It didn't matter how many times he saw Luffy jump from impossible heights and land silently and perfectly fine, or his glow, or him walking through things; it was fascinating every time.

Luffy was finally able to sit on the furniture in Zoro's home without sinking right through. He hadn't tried the stairs again though. He wouldn't ever, and was content with sliding down or walking up the banister or simply jumping off the landing. Luffy had seen Zoro's family once, and was not impressed. They completely ignored their son, who did the same to them. Neither party seemed to bothered about it, though. Luffy convinced himself it was none of his business and just followed Zoro upstairs.

Zoro found himself wanting to spend more and more time with Luffy, and everyday he was sad when Luffy left to go back to his home or vice versa, but always went to sleep looking forward to the next day. He felt himself wanting to reach out and take Luffy's hand, even though he knew it would just pass right through and cause Luffy pain, which he did not want to do. He didn't know Luffy felt the same.

It was tiring at first to go to Zoro's house after so long of being on his own in the big park. Tiring mentally, not physically. But the more he went, the sadder he felt when he left. He liked learning new things and seeing new technology, which seemed like magic to Luffy, but he also liked spending time with Zoro in his own home. He was glad Zoro didn't seem to get bored when they walked around the park, and he even liked to hang out in Luffy's cave. He brought his phone in once in a plastic bag and played music from it, echoing around the space. The music made the little alcove seem even more magical than when the walls glittered. They talked about random things for hours in that cave. Luffy loved asking questions, while Zoro liked seeing Luffy do impossible things. He couldn't count how many times he walked over the water and Zoro looked at him like he was the coolest thing ever. That made Luffy feel good about himself.