#maybe dads teaching you math have a point maybe ya do gotta be yelled at sometimes

[jusiri]

I swear, I need y'all to start harassing me into doing some Good Solid Art Practice, like y'all gotta start demanding to see what practice I did a the end of the day cause at this rate I'm never fucking gettin' anywhere

[foxboymyles]

Pardon My Imprudence [Chp 3]

Note: This chapter is quite long. Hope you guys don’t mind! ^_^

The next day, Luffy hurried downstairs and ate his breakfast 2 times faster than usual.

Shanks looked at him in shock and slowly passed him a bottle of water. He thumbed at Luffy to Sabo.

“Is he ok?”

Ace interrupted before Sabo could speak. “He’s just going freaky over this new boyfriend he’s got.” Sabo went silent and nodded.

“Oh, gosh. That’s what’s been going on?” Shanks said, drinking his coffee. “Well, I’m not gonna stand around and let you do your own thing this time, Luff. I need to make sure this guy is good.”

Luffy nodded.”Yeah, I’ll invite him for dinner today!” Luffy was gonna run out the door when Shanks tossed him another bottle of water.

“What’s his name, by the way?”

“Roronoa Zoro!” Luffy said, rushing out the door.

Shanks paused for a second.”Eh?!? He’s Mihawk’s son! Wait, Luffy!”

…

Luffy spotted Zoro, after dashing through the gates where they meet. He hugged Zoro tightly and gave him another bottle of water.

“Here!”

“Oh, that’s fine. My sister started getting her own water.” Zoro said, in a warm voice.

Luffy’s interpretation of Zoro’s voice was always warm and mellow ever since that last night when he called him. It was then when Zoro moved closer to Luffy’s lips. He lifted Luffy’s chin with his hand and turning his head slightly. Luffy dropped his water and closed his eyes. Their lips met, slowly but surely, feeling like a mixture of soft skin and warm breath. Luffy’s reflex was to relax his body weight on Zoro, feeling secure to put his arms around Zoro’s neck. Their lips parted, but Luffy’s chest was still against Zoro’s. His cheeks were flushed, as he met lips with Zoro again. If he was just a little more out of space, he wouldn’t have heard Usopp calling out his name.

“Luffy! What the heck are ya doing?” Usopp said, a little surprised.

Nami was behind him, grinning and giggling at the scene.

Luffy chuckled and put his head against Zoro’s chest.

“Hi guys!”

“I knew he was gay! You owe me 20 dollars!” Nami said, putting out her hand to Usopp.

Usopp backed away.”What?!? I don’t remember making any bets!”

The bell rang, and all of them made their way to the stairs. Usopp got a dollar from his pocket.

“This is all I have right now. Heracle is giving me my allowance tomorrow.” Usopp said.

“How much you getting?” Nami said, grabbing the dollar.

“Uh, 15,” Usopp said shortly.

Nami smirked.”Great! I’ll get 50% of that! Which is 7 dollars and 50 cents.”

“I guess that’s ok,” Usopp said, out of relief.

“So I have to give you that amount for a few weeks?” He continued.

“Yup! Until I get my 20 dollars!” Nami said cheerfully.

She then grabbed his hand and ran off to their class.

Zoro put his arm around Luffy’s shoulder and got to his classroom. He said a short goodbye and maybe an ‘I love you’ from what Luffy’s ears could tell. He kissed Luffy’s forehead and went to his English class. As for Luffy, he had Math. Once he got to his seat, his friend Vivi greeted him. He told her the news about him and Zoro, and she gleamed. She explained that she’d known Zoro and that he seemed really lonely as a person, and that he had a good heart. Luffy smiled at her comments and said that he’d promise he’d take good care of Zoro. The teacher, Silvers Rayleigh came in. He had a silver-colored beard and long, slightly wavy hair. He always had a button up shirt on and dark pants.

“Alright class, get to page 398 in your textbook. You’ll be doing warm-ups from what we did yesterday.” Rayleigh said, pointing to the board which read the instructions.

Chopper was the student helper. He had taken this math class before for 2 months until he was moved to more advanced classes. Now it’s an extra class that he volunteers to be in. Chopper smiled and wrote the numbers of the problems on the board. Luffy was opening up his book until he felt something hit his back gently. He turned around and saw, of course, Eustass Kid.

“Hey, Straw-dork. How’s it going?” He said, a little vicious but friendly enough.

Luffy nodded.”It’s going good. How’s Law doing?

“He’s doin’ great. Still working on motorcycles, things like that. I heard you knocked Bellamy in the head good. Deserves it, that shit head.”

Luffy didn’t respond, but the girl in the back did.

“He was getting in the way anyways,” Rebecca said, ironically in a soft, polite voice.

She has shiny light pink hair that looked like sweet cotton candy. Her eyes were chocolate brown, and her skin was warm. It smelt of fresh flowers when you turned her way.

Kid raised his eyebrows and smiled.”Oh? Didn’t know a pretty lady like you was here. You’re awfully quiet.”

“Yeah, sure. I was hearing something off the announcements, though. Would you like to hear?” Rebecca asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Apparently our principal Marshall D. Teach is getting replaced,” Rebecca said in a lower tone.

Luffy and Vivi were listening and smile slightly. Kid nodded his head in approval. No one liked their Principal, Mr.Teach. He made it to where they were free, but a little too free. There’s been many fights and Luffy’s seen their friend Sanji smoke inside the school freely without getting caught. Luffy liked the idea, but he knew it’d cause disorder in the school, and that it upsets many people.

“The bad news is Sir Crocodile is running to be principal,” Rebecca said, unsettled.

Vivi bit her lip nervously.”I know him. He was the principal of my middle school. He ended up causing a lot of misery for some students and framed them for doing things they didn’t do. But the school never found out. They never believed anything anyone said against him.”

Luffy’s eyes slightly widened. “Really?” Kid and Rebecca listened and she continued. 

“Yeah. He was gonna go after me because I was generous with money at the time. Fortunately, he went to another school to teach.”

Rebecca gulped.”That’s really bad news-”

Rayleigh cleared his throat and looked at the 4 that were murmuring.

“Is there anything you want to share with the class?”

Luffy raised his hand, as Rayleigh sighed and accepted his comment.

“This guy is gonna try to be principal here and he’s really mean. He tricks students and gets them into trouble and steals their parents’ money. The school board hasn’t found out and they won’t believe kids when they say he’s bad.” Luffy grinned as Vivi slapped him against the head.

“You weren’t supposed to say that!” Vivi exclaimed.

The rest of the class mumbled to each other as Rayleigh quieted them down.

“I assure you, Luffy, that this school will never let in people such as him. Now, class. May we continue?” The rest of the class agreed.

…

It was lunch period. Zoro had just gotten out of PE and Luffy was out of History with his favorite teacher, Ms.Nico. She had taught him a few life lessons and was generally very calm. Ms.Nico was easy to follow and you could learn so much without hassle.

Luffy spotted Zoro and held his hand. “Hey, Zoro!”

“Hi, Luff.” He replied back.

“I heard some news about a guy trying to be the new principal. Apparently, he's a real bad guy.” Luffy explained.

“Of course. The school board is stupid with things like that.” Zoro said, putting his other hand in his pocket.

“Oh, by the way. My dad wants you to hang out with us for dinner tonight.” Luffy said, smiling.

Zoro nodded. “I can do that.”

“How’s your sister?”

“Bratty, like always. She’s tolerable sometimes. Don’t invite her.” Zoro warned.

Luffy laughed and accepted Zoro’s request. Kid signaled for Luffy to sit at his table. Luffy sat and Zoro told him he’d get both of their lunches. Sanji sat at the table subtly, looking through his phone.

“What’s moss head doing?” Sanji asked dryly.

“He’s just getting lunch.”

“Why’re you still here, then?” Sanji said, unwrapping a gum wrapper.

“He’s getting my lunch for me,” Luffy replied.

Sanji started to chuckle at the thought.

“So he’s seeing you?” Sanji asked.

Kid didn’t want to tune in to the conversation and took out his phone.

“Mhm,” Luffy said.

Zoro came back with Luffy’s tray and set it by him. He put his tray down and began eating after Luffy said a short thanks.

“How was confessing to him like? Did you pussy out on the first try?” Sanji asked with a ridiculous smile on his face.

Zoro glared. “I was cut off by his brother the first time. The second time Ace called me himself and I could only explain it as a rant directed at me.”

Sanji laughed hysterically. “It doesn’t matter what circumstances, you always get bad luck somehow! What a dumbass!”

Zoro pulled him by his shirt. “You wanna say that again?”

“Dumbass,” Sanji repeated in a drawl.

Kid groaned. “Will you ladies shut up? I’m watching a porno here.”

Usopp and Nami came over and sat down.

“What’re you guys going on about now?” Nami asked.

“Moss boy here is getting offended,” Sanji said, smirking.

“Fuck off.” Zoro mumbled, grabbing one of Luffy’s chicken tenders, then heard him yell ‘hey!’

Luffy turned Zoro around and growled. “Give it back!”

Zoro smiled and mumbled with his mouth full. “Make me.”

“I know where this is going, so here. Spare my life.” Usopp said as he grabbed 3 of his nuggets and gave them to Luffy.

Luffy smiled brightly and gobbled the nuggets up. “Usopp is my favorite friend!”

“Wow, what an unhealthy dynamic you have there, Zoro,” Sanji replied.

“Yeah, yeah. I was just teasing him, idiot.” Zoro said.

“I bet you do that a lot,” Sanji said, snickering. Usopp’s eyes widened and coughed.

“Yeah, and you can’t get at least one chick in your bed out of your whole lifespan,” Zoro replied. 

Kid made a sizzling sound with his mouth while staring at his phone.”Wow, that’s gotta hurt.”

Sanji grunted. “Yeah, yeah. The gay guy giving me advice about women.”

Zoro smiled. “Huh. What about that huge party I gave you the wrong address to. And you ended up in a homosexual org-”

“We don’t talk about that!” Sanji said, his face red.

“Oh, that’s hot.” Kid said, intentionally referring to the graphic images on his phone. But, Nami and Usopp didn’t see it that way. They stared at him awkwardly. “What?” Kid said, stuffing his mouth with pizza.

The bell rang as everyone went back to their classes. The rest of the day was normal.

As soon as the final bell rang, Luffy went to Zoro’s class. He was packing his stuff and talking to Ms.Nico.

“Hi, Ms.Nico!” Luffy said.

Ms.Nico Robin had long jet black hair. Her skin was fairly pale and she had beautiful light blue eyes.

“Hello, Luffy. What can I do for you?” She smiled politely.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for Zoro. He’s gonna come over for dinner tonight!”

“That’s delightful. He told me about your acquaintance with him as well.” Robin said, giggling.

Zoro blushed and continued to put his things in his backpack. Robin and Luffy had a conversation until Zoro stood up with his backpack and grabbed Luffy’s hand.

“Thank you for explaining that part in history, Ms.Nico. I’ll do good on that test, I promise.” Zoro said as she waved goodbye.

…

Zoro got to the le roux house and sat on the couch. Sabo sat by him and welcomed him.

“Where’s Ace?” Zoro asked.

Sabo shrugged. “He said he was getting Luffy his favorite snack and a couple other things. I hope he’s not out too long. I’m making homemade lasagna.”

Zoro nodded. “Do you have a job as a caterer or do you just like to cook a lot?”

“Oh, I’m not a caterer. I do have a job, though. I’m a freelance writer. I enter cooking competitions on the side.” Sabo said, excited to answer.

“How about Ace?”

“He’s a lifeguard in the summer. He also does some music and plays the acoustic guitar.” Sabo said.

“Ace is really talented! He can play a bunch of songs.” Luffy added.

They chatted for a while until Shanks opened the front door. Zoro stood up and shook his hand.

“Hi! You’re Zoro, correct?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Shanks.” Zoro said.

Sabo put a hot turkey on the table and sides like mashed potatoes and peas. He placed a pitcher of water and another of homemade orange juice. Luffy sat by Zoro and on the other side was Ace, Sabo, and Shanks.

Zoro ate a piece of turkey and smiled. “You’re really great at cooking, Sabo.”

“Thank you! I have to cook a lot of food usually. Luffy tends to eat a lot.” Sabo said.

Shanks got the water pitcher and filled up his cup.

“So, I was surprised to hear Luffy was dating you because I’ve talked to your father and he’s mentioned your name.”

“He’s a really successful man, but he’s very strict,” Zoro explained, cutting his chunk of turkey again.

“That’s true. Do you work anywhere?” Shanks said. He took a sip from his cup and placed it down.

Zoro nodded. “I’m a waiter at Blue Creek. Our friend is a cook there.”

Luffy smiled. “Sanji’s a great cook like Sabo!”

Sabo blushed slightly and grinned, his hand scratched the back of his head. “You think so?”

Ace rolled his eyes at Sabo’s flustered-ness.

Zoro gave his leftovers to Luffy, who thanked him with a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Ace turned away, but Sabo laughed at how comfortable they were. Zoro didn’t react differently and ruffled Luffy’s hair.

Shanks jumped up, as he suddenly remembered something he was going to say.

“Luffy did a great job teaching that Bellamy kid a lesson, I heard!” Shanks said cheerfully.

“I’ve only known recently that he was that strong,” Zoro said.

“You’ll be learning a lot more about what he can do. It’s incredible how well he can get back on his feet. Remember when I tell you that.” Shanks informed Zoro.

“I’ll be aware of that,” Zoro remarked.

“Zoro fights too! He does heavy lifting and trains with katanas!” Luffy exclaimed, trying to show off his boyfriend.

Shanks chuckled. “Now that’s gonna be a duo no one will mess with.”

“Except Garp.” Ace mumbled.

Sabo’s eyes widened and he began hacking, nudging Ace in the side. Shanks turned his attention to them in curiosity.

“What about Garp?” Shanks asked.

“Remember? Garp is trying to take Luffy away to become a marine. His co-workers hate us.” Ace said aloud.

Shanks sighed. “I don’t think that was necessary, Ace.”

“I think he needed to know.” Ace said, as he stood up and put his plate away.

Sabo stood up and attempted to get him from going back into his room, but he quickly got up the steps and shut the door abruptly. Sabo sat back down and looked at Zoro. He still somehow looked calm. From that quarrel, he would have expected a little bit of a tense appearance. But alas, he looked the same as before. The only difference is that Zoro looked like he was going through deja vu. Somehow…

“I’m sorry that happened, Zoro. He’s a little personal about, you know, what’s going on with you and Luffy. I promise that he’ll get used to it! He does this very often.” Sabo said, reassuringly.

“He’s always like this. What made him split again anyways?” Shanks asked.

“I guess the mention of Zoro and Luffy being a duo? Also, Garp called Ace the other day. Same thing, about being a marine…”

“I’m sorry to leave you out,” Shanks said to Zoro. “Garp is Luffy’s biological grandfather. I’m a stepfather to all three of these kids. Ace had no parents and both Sabo and Luffy’s fathers didn’t want them. On top of that, Luffy and Ace had no mother. So I decided I would help them.”

Zoro nodded. “I understand. Luffy told me you've been  his adoptive parent  since he was 7.”

“Garp is obsessed with the fact of all three of them becoming marines, and they refuse. But he always tries to convince them to. As for his co-workers, they think we’re criminal’s because Luffy’s biological father was an infamous criminal.” Shanks explained.

Zoro’s eyebrows slightly went up.”Criminal?”

Luffy continued eating.

Shanks murmured for Sabo to get the wine and turned back to Zoro. “Yes, he’s rebelling against what would be the world government right now. It’s not helping any of their images, really.”

Sabo put the wine on the table and unscrewed the top. Shanks grabbed the bottle, and lightly tipped it, as the red sparkling liquid filled his wine glass.

Zoro looked at Luffy who was wiping out his mouth and smiling generously.

“Thank you for the meal, Sabo!” Luffy said.

“Anytime,” Sabo said.

Zoro looked up at Shanks, looking a little unsure.

“Should I go up there and talk to him?” Zoro asked.

“If you want to get yelled at,” Shanks said, sipping his wine.

Zoro stood up and went upstairs, as Luffy stayed in his seat.

Sabo frowned. “Why didn’t you stop him, Luffy? Ace is not gon-”

“Zoro knows what he’s doing,” Luffy said, smiling.

Luffy kept a conversation with Sabo, as Zoro knocked on Ace’s door. He heard a muffled ‘who is it’ from Ace.

“It’s Zoro.” He replied back.

Zoro could hear a soft sigh, as the other opened with a creek. Ace had an acoustic guitar strapped onto his body, and a small pick was in his right hand. He signaled for Zoro to sit down.

“I’m sorry about the public affection. I-”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to worry about doing that- I’m just a little protective over Luffy. So if I say anything crude don’t take it seriously. Just controls me a lot.” Ace explained, striking some chords.

“So, what’s with your grandfather? He doesn’t seem like much fun.” Zoro said.

Ace put his guitar down and threw his pick on the bed. He shrugged hopelessly and laid his head on his hands.

“I don’t know. He’s really stern on us being marines, but somehow I think he already knows we’ll never do that. But he keeps on trying.” Ace said.

“Either way, Luffy must handle it great,” Zoro said.

Ace smiled. “Of course, like everything. I’ve always wondered where he got his strong will from.”

There was silence. And then, Ace stood up. He grabbed a 20 dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to Zoro.

“Go out and get some ice cream with him, will you? Keep the rest, that’s all the money I have on me right now.” Ace said sternly.

Zoro smiled and grabbed the bill. He stopped.

“You’re not as bad as you make yourself out to be. It’s been nice meeting you.” Zoro said, grinning.

And so Zoro went down the steps. Ace’s eyes widened temporarily, then he smiled.