(no subject)
Oct. 8th, 2006 02:24 pmTitle: Victory
Rating: PG
Word Count: 299
Pairing: Zoro/Luffy possibly. Nakamaship.
Topic: Second Best
The champagne flowed free that night. Ancient liquid in even older glass bottles, sloshing over the rims of wooden tankards as the people gave drunken cheers and drank under the light of the red moon.
Luffy laughed, as he clanked tankards. Of age to drink, they knew, but the lad looked young as the dawn, and the stray liquid trickling from his lips resembled hideous sin. The other pirates toasted him quickly, second-long grimy smiles on their own faces before they turned away.
At length, Luffy slipped off his stool, wobbled over to where his nakama were standing silently on a worn, bloody patch of grass beside where Merry was solemnly harbored.
“Zoro.” Luffy smiled up at the swordsman, lifted his mug. “S’rum’s really good. Try some. Alla’ ya. Before s’all gone.”
Zoro didn’t move.
Luffy kept smiling.
A firework went off. It exploded, bleeding a crimson flower across the mauve sky that threw Luffy’s face into stark shadows, his hair into flames. Luffy flinched. Then dropped the mug. Clutched at his head where it became painfully obvious that his infamous straw hat was missing. Sank to his knees in the damp dirt; hunched over, silent as the grave.
“It’s late.” Nami slipped an arm around his shaking shoulders and led him back to her cabin.
The others kept their gaze on a single pirate who remained stock still against the undulating weave of the merry crowd.
Ace’s gaze didn’t waver. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” Sanji’s voice was even. “It was a fair defeat.”
One by one they returned to their anchored ship, until only Zoro remained.
His eyes lacked their usual fire, his voice even more so. But he spoke only because the captain wasn’t there to.
“The Strawhat Pirates send their congratulations to Captain Whitebeard, the Pirate King.”
Rating: PG
Word Count: 299
Pairing: Zoro/Luffy possibly. Nakamaship.
Topic: Second Best
The champagne flowed free that night. Ancient liquid in even older glass bottles, sloshing over the rims of wooden tankards as the people gave drunken cheers and drank under the light of the red moon.
Luffy laughed, as he clanked tankards. Of age to drink, they knew, but the lad looked young as the dawn, and the stray liquid trickling from his lips resembled hideous sin. The other pirates toasted him quickly, second-long grimy smiles on their own faces before they turned away.
At length, Luffy slipped off his stool, wobbled over to where his nakama were standing silently on a worn, bloody patch of grass beside where Merry was solemnly harbored.
“Zoro.” Luffy smiled up at the swordsman, lifted his mug. “S’rum’s really good. Try some. Alla’ ya. Before s’all gone.”
Zoro didn’t move.
Luffy kept smiling.
A firework went off. It exploded, bleeding a crimson flower across the mauve sky that threw Luffy’s face into stark shadows, his hair into flames. Luffy flinched. Then dropped the mug. Clutched at his head where it became painfully obvious that his infamous straw hat was missing. Sank to his knees in the damp dirt; hunched over, silent as the grave.
“It’s late.” Nami slipped an arm around his shaking shoulders and led him back to her cabin.
The others kept their gaze on a single pirate who remained stock still against the undulating weave of the merry crowd.
Ace’s gaze didn’t waver. “I’m sorry.”
“No.” Sanji’s voice was even. “It was a fair defeat.”
One by one they returned to their anchored ship, until only Zoro remained.
His eyes lacked their usual fire, his voice even more so. But he spoke only because the captain wasn’t there to.
“The Strawhat Pirates send their congratulations to Captain Whitebeard, the Pirate King.”
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 03:08 pm (UTC)Hmm... I guess the possibility of Luffy not becoming the Pirate King had never crossed my mind. He's so convinced that he'll be the next Pirate King that we're convinced too. Yours is a heartwrenching, lovely-ly written piece of a possibility. T____T
I like the choice of Whitebeard being the one (it makes sense; especially remembering what Ace said at Alabasta that he feels Whitebeard is the one who will be the Pirate King, which makes this not actually that impossible v__v ) and Ace's appearance in this, and how you've written so that it's only revealed at the end, and it suddenly all make sense, and makes one reread again to appreciate the details.
Sad!Luffy always makes my heart b.r.e.a.k. T___T
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 03:53 pm (UTC)The last line hit home.. I don't want anyone else to be the Pirate King!
How can Luffy beat Whitebeard and be the Pirate King?! HOW?!
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 04:18 pm (UTC)I had no idea what was going on then the last line slapped my face. ;_;
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 06:22 pm (UTC)At first, I thought someone'd died, but it was even worse.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 07:53 pm (UTC);____;
I think "dream-death" should be a warning. In this series it hurts almost as much as character death (except not really, but this was still painful). With Luffy drinking and laughing and the crew just standing... At least the Merry was there, that was one spark of happiness.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 11:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-09 09:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-10 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-10 06:39 am (UTC)And then Luffy came back the next day and kicked Whitebeard's hungover ass and quickly left for the open seas, right? ;__;