AU. (I know, I know. I do too many) ZoLu One shot. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Shiruji-chan and Clarobell!

Ha, it was a secret until I posted it too... well sort of. -grin- Hope you two enjoy and thanks for being my friends all year!

btw 'Taking the mickey' (it's referred to later on in the story) is an Aussie term (at least I think it is) for basically teasing someone. Ok? Just so you know. lol. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of it's characters. And yet, I continue to wish for a Zoro plushie. -grin- that was lame, I know. I'm sorry. And I do not own McDonalds. Anyway, hope you enjoy!!

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Driving Lessons

By Wishing for a Zoro plushie

This was it. Having just had his birthday, Monkey D Luffy, seventeen year old baseball player, was finally able to go to driving school. He had been waiting for at least three months for this opportunity, having seen his brother drive around since a few years ago. Luffy was determined to be a better driver than his brother (who had crashed about five times already). True, the crashes were probably caused by the fact that he had had a Narcoleptic fit and fallen asleep at the wheel.

He could hardly be blamed for that. But it didn't make any difference to the young Luffy. Speed, speed… and more speed were all he was currently interested in as he approached the travel department. He spotted the car he was probably going to be driving in, and a wide grin spread across his face. This was going to be fun! Running through the sliding doors, Luffy pouted when he saw a large line stretching back from the counter. There were three booths, and all three were busy.

Sighing miserably, Luffy lined up, gripping the shoulder straps of his school bag. Looking around the room, Luffy saw a man sleeping in a room nearby, head pillowed on his arms and papers scattered everywhere. He was wearing a light green coloured shirt, and he had sea foam green coloured hair. Luffy blinked before chuckling. Guess this place did get boring to nearly everyone who came in, workers or not.

Turning wide eyes to the counters, he saw a young woman with long blue hair serving a customer. The other two booths had a boy with a long nose, who was shivering as he served a particularly burly man, and a red haired woman who kept asking for the customers to pay before she served them. Luffy hoped he didn't get her. She looked scary. He sighed miserably once more and took a step forward as the line shortened slightly.

Bored, Luffy looked around some more. There was plush light brown carpet on the floor, and the whole place was surrounded by windows. On the walls were posters of happily driving people, their CD players blaring. Lists of rules which Makino and Shanks (despite Luffy's continued whining) had made him study. Surprisingly, Luffy had remembered them all. He grinned proudly as he read through the list and realized he knew them.

He sent a silent thankyou towards Shanks and Makino. The line took another step forward and Luffy whined slightly in the back of his throat. He was never going to get his license at this rate! By the time he finally got to the front of the line, he was half asleep, and rocking idly on the balls of his feet.

"Next." it was the boy, "Next!" and Luffy hurried over, grinning widely as he got to the booth. The boy blinked at him before smiling.

"Can I help you?"

"I wanna get my license!" Luffy replied happily.

"Ah, you know, when I went to get my license, I was only five." and he winked. Luffy blinked in awe.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I was driving at the age of six, and all the other kids were jealous of me whi-" but he was cut off as the red head from two booths down, growled at him and walked down. The customer she had just been serving, frowned and put the money back into his wallet before tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter.

"Stop telling stories Usopp!" she shouted as she stalked up to him. Luffy looked between the two. Stories? Was this Usopp telling a story? He hadn't even realized. The red head shoved Usopp out of the way, and smiled sweetly but a little nastily at the same time.

"How are you today?" she asked.

"H-hey Nami. This is my booth." Usopp protested weakly. Nami turned and glared at him. Turning around quicker than anyone would have thought possible, Usopp scooted up to Nami's booth. Turning back to Luffy with a large smile, she waited for his reply.

"I'm fine." he replied.

"Good. Now, a Driver's license was it? That'll be sixty dollars for the license and… twenty for the test. Thirty dollars for each lesson you have." and she winked. Luffy blinked and turned down to his pockets before pulling them out. A twenty dollar note and two fives fluttered to the floor. He grinned.

"Thirty dollars for a lesson please!" he cried, slapping the money down. Nami snatched it away so fast that if Luffy had of been a little stupider, he would have thought he had never paid.

"Go and see him." she said, glaring towards the green haired man snoring in his small office as she handed a small sheet of paper to him. Luffy blinked before grinning.

"Thanks!" he cried and ran over to the office. He paused at the door, looking around briefly before stepping in and flopping into the chair that sat beside the man. Yawning, one green eye was cracked open and he blinked blearily at Luffy before leaning back in his chair.

"What the hell do you want kid?" he muttered, voice a low growl. Luffy grinned.

"I paid for a driving test and then the Nami girl told me I had to come in here. What's your name? Mine's Monkey D Luffy!" and he continued to prattle on about hobbies, star signs and everything else he could think of. The man looked over his shoulder at the red head, who winked and gave him a small jaunty wave before turning back to a current customer. Growling, the instructor turned back to Luffy who was still jabbering animatedly, only now he was on the subject of what he had done at school earlier that day.

"Alright, first things first, name's Roronoa Zoro." Zoro interrupted, making the boy paused, "Second thing, when I talk, you listen. Third, if I say turn left, you do it, I say you turn right, you do it. Got it?" he growled. Five seconds with this kid and already he was annoying the crap out of him. Luffy blinked at him before tilting his head and grinning.

"Okay Zoro!" he replied. Zoro blinked. That was new. Usually, when he talked to other kids like that, they cringed in their seats, called him Mr. Roronoa, or stared at him like he was some sort of… demon or something. Actually, he had had one kid cry and run from the room. Zoro didn't care. It was just one less kid he had to teach, and this was a rock bottom job anyway. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and pulled out three pieces of paper.

"Here, name, address, phone number." Zoro muttered, pointing to each line on the first page as he said what had to be done, "Age, gender, eye colour, hair colour. Do you need glasses or not. Do you need an interpreter. Have you ever had a license before." and he yawned midway through what he was saying. Lucky he did, for Luffy was staring at the paper like it was a test. He just plain didn't understand. Biting his bottom lip, Luffy shifted in the seat a little nervously.

"Umm… can you say that again?" he asked with a sheepish smile. Zoro rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly before pointing at the first line on the first page.

"Name." he said, loudly and clearly. Luffy nodded and grabbing a pen from the desk, he filled it in with long, curly and unsurprisingly messy writing.

"Address." Zoro said, pointing to the next line and yawning widely. Luffy filled that in too. And so he continued, repeating each word clearly so Luffy had no trouble filling everything in. After that, Zoro handed the second sheet of paper to Luffy, which thankfully, had the questions written above the lines. A test on the rules and Luffy grinned happily as he filled in all of them. Zoro's eyes drooped lazily as he waited for Luffy to finish.

"Done!" the boy cried upon finishing the last line with a flourish. Zoro blinked awake and looked down, clearing his throat as he scanned through the answers. Blinking upon realizing that Luffy had answered every question correctly, Zoro pulled the third sheet of paper out and handed it over.

"Sign it, and then meet me out at the red car out front." Zoro commented, standing and walking out. Luffy blinked after him and then signed the bottom of the page. Before he stood to leave though, the paper clutched in his hand, he had a quick look around the room. Dark eyes came to rest on a sparkling white bone handle and a white and gold sheath sitting in the corner.

"Wow…" Luffy gasped in awe. Slowly making his way over to the corner, he peered down at it curiously before gently touching the handle. It was hard, and cold but beautiful at the same time. Gently wrapping his hand around the handle, Luffy pulled it upwards to reveal a bright steel katana.

"Wow…" he noised again before letting it slide back into the sheath again. Turning to walk out, he spotted another two sheaths and handles sitting in another corner of the room. How many swords did this guy have?!

"Hey!" a grouchy voice growled at the doorway. Luffy squeaked in shock as he turned around and saw Zoro standing there. And man, did he look pissed. Slowly, Zoro walked towards Luffy and towered over him, "Never… touch my swords. Get out to the car, now." and Luffy scrambled out of the room. Zoro glared after him before quickly inspecting his katana and then moving out after the boy.

---

"NO! The other way!" Zoro shouted, grabbing the wheel and reefing it around so they narrowly avoided the concrete wall. Luffy frowned.

"I'm supposed to be driving!" he replied, pulling the wheel back and jerking them across the driving grounds. By now, the car was thoroughly confused, and continued to swerve from side to side. Growling in the back of his throat, Zoro stamped his foot down on the brake on his side of the car. The brake on the instructor's side was a compulsory thing, so if something went wrong, then they could stop instantly. Luffy blinked, pressing down on the accelerator a few times before turning to Zoro and pouting.

"That was mean." he whined. Zoro frowned, his terrified expression turning to an angry one.

"Then listen to what I fucking well say. I said right, not left!" Zoro growled. Luffy peered out at the driving grounds. Cones lay everywhere, like some sort of bizarre battlefield. He pouted.

"I was supposed to hit them! Why are you so angry?" Luffy whined. Zoro slapped a palm against his forehead.

"You were supposed to go around them!" he barked. Pausing a moment to think this over, Luffy grinned.

"Ooooooh! That kinda makes more sense." and he chuckled.

"Look, why don't you go home for the day, and come back next week sometime, okay?" Zoro asked, his voice shaking with anger. Luffy blinked before grinning.

"Okay!" and he jumped out of the car, grabbed his bag from the back seat and then bolted for the transport department, so he could get out. Zoro watched him go, heaving deep breaths before he let his head fall against the window.

"Fucking scariest fucking thing I have ever been through." he swore miserably. And he would have to go through it again next week. How fun.

---

Next week came quicker than both the teacher, and the student expected. Luffy twirled on the sidewalk, raising his hands in the air and skipping every other step. Zoro was so awesome! Driving a car was awesome, and he had to admit, hitting those cones had been one of the most fun things he had ever done. Now he understood why Ace liked to drive so much.

Stopping outside the travel department again, he hurried through the doors. No line today. Boy, he was having some good luck this last month or so. Running straight up to the orange haired Nami again, he placed thirty dollars on the bench and then turned, spotting the sleeping Zoro inside his office cubicle, today wearing a black long sleeved shirt, he then ran straight for him.

"Hiya Zoro!" Luffy cried as he reached the cubicle. Zoro nearly jumped out of his skin, and he twisted around to see Luffy grinning at him.

"Oh damn…" he mumbled. Luffy tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. Come on." and Zoro stood and yawned, stretching as he did so.

"Ha, you're the best Zoro!" and then Luffy bounced towards the door. Zoro blinked after him and then shrugged, following casually. The driving lesson passed with Luffy actually managing to stay on the road and this time, he only hit five of the ten cones. Oh well, it was better than careening off the road and nearly killing both himself and the instructor.

"How long have you been working at the department, Zoro?" Luffy asked as he turned the wheel and they went around a roundabout made of cones.

"Half a year." Zoro replied. Luffy nodded.

"Cooool." he muttered as he turned the car into a parking space. Zoro was amazed. In a week, this kid had managed to improve phenomenally!

"Not really. It's boring. I hate it." Zoro muttered, not used to talking to someone so openly. He didn't have many friends, and people he considered friends usually took the mickey out of him every chance they got. Nami, Sanji, and Usopp. The reason for them doing so, well, basically it was pretty simple. Zoro was gay. That was it. And they would tease him about it, not all the time, and not always about that, but about other things as well.

"Naww… why?"

"Well, I have to put up with bastards walking through that door who's heads are up their own goddamn asses, and then I have to try and teach them!" Zoro snarled and then stopped when he realized he'd had a big outburst. Luffy tilted his head.

"Oh. Guess that would be hard." he replied. Zoro snorted.

"Last week, I had this guy come in, and he took me for a goddamn joy ride. Somehow he'd disconnected the brakes and I couldn't stop him!"

"Wow. Scary." and he paused for a moment before grinning, "I know!" and Zoro jumped and looked at him in a slightly scared fashion. He wasn't used to the driver's suddenly bursting out like that. Luffy chuckled merrily, "But you have to wait until I'm finished driving otherwise I might accidentally crash or something." Zoro blinked.

"O-kay." and he watched as Luffy manoeuvred the car a sight easier than he had last week. He parked it back in the Travel Department's parking block and then grinned at Zoro.

"To thankyou for teaching me how to drive, I'm going to treat you to… the Zoo! Or a movie! Or anything you want!" and the boy giggled merrily again. Zoro blinked and then shrugged.

"Umm… I guess. I have the weekend off so…" and he trailed off. Luffy nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! I'll pay, don't worry!" and the boy jumped out of the car and waved before hurrying away. Zoro sat in the seat, stunned. Had Luffy just asked him out, or was he just being nice? Luffy didn't seem like the sort of person who would ask Zoro out, even if he was gay. So, it must have just been Luffy being nice. Zoro sighed as he stepped out of the car. Too bad, Luffy was damn cute.

---

The boy hopped from foot to foot as he stood on the corner of the street. He was waiting to cross the road so he could get to Zoro's apartment. The instructor had found his number in the book, and rang him up to tell him the address and to tell him that if Luffy didn't pick him up, then they ran the risk of Zoro getting lost in the city. Finally the sign changed from red to green, and Luffy raced across the road. He paused for a second to look up at the sky.

Clear… for now. On the radio they had been predicting some rain. Grinning, Luffy raced for the address. He almost missed the turn off, and instead skidded past, grabbed a steel pole and swung around, heading towards the turnoff again. Finally, Luffy found himself at Zoro's door. He raised a hand, but before he could knock, Zoro appeared there, all dark eyes, and brooding. Luffy tilted his head and grinned.

"Hiya!"

"Hnh." Zoro replied, stepping out and locking the door behind him before turning to Luffy. The boy looked him up and down. Zoro had chosen to dress down today, so as to not draw attention to himself, but, what Zoro was wearing would definitely draw attention to them.

A black trench coat, sunglasses, dark green pants, and black boots. The only thing bright about Zoro was his hair and his white shirt. Oh yeah, Zoro would blend right in with all those pastel colours and bright sunshine. Not! Oh well, Luffy wasn't one to judge people on what they wore. Especially if they were his friends, and he considered Zoro a friend.

"Are we going?" Zoro asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. Luffy grinned.

"Yep! Where first?"

"Don't care."

"Na Zoro, it's your choice not mine!"

"Fine. Zoo I suppose." Zoro finally replied. Luffy grinned. He had hoped Zoro would pick there first. All those animals, and the fun, and the food! So much food! His stomach rumbled at the thought and Zoro glanced down at him, raising an eyebrow as he did so. Luffy grinned sheepishly.

"I'm kinda hungry…" he muttered as explanation. Zoro smirked.

"Right. We'll get something to eat on the way." and he turned down an alleyway. Luffy watched him for a moment before looking the other direction, shrugging and then hurrying after Zoro. Marching along, Luffy saw Zoro glance at him a few times and finally he decided that it was too silent for his liking.

"What's your favourite animal?" Luffy asked. Zoro blinked, a little thrown by the question before shrugging.

"I don't know. Lions… I guess."

"Big kitties! Ha! I like kitties too!" Luffy chirped. Zoro blinked. He hadn't meant he liked cats, he meant he liked Lions because they were strong, proud creatures… and they could tear something to pieces in a second. That was cool.

"But my favourite is…" and he paused for a moment, "Umm… actually I like all of them." and he grinned. Zoro snorted. How had he guessed that that would be the answer?

"Even the snakes huh?" he inquired, interested in the conversation.

"Uh huh! Snakes are awesome! So slithery and they have big fangs and are really strong too! And monkeys and gorillas and giraffes!" he listed off. Zoro smirked. This kid was… well, alright he supposed. Kinda of strange but, funny. And cute! Dark hair falling across lightly tanned skin, and small but strong body! He was adorable! Luffy was still talking, but Zoro had lost full track of what he was saying because he was watching the boy's lips more than anything. Totally unfocused… and he forgot to watch where he was going. Soon, Zoro lay on the ground, rubbing at his head as Luffy leaned over him and laughed.

"There's a pole there Zoro!" he quipped. Zoro first glared at him and then at the pole.

"Stupid pole… in the wrong place. Should be somewhere else." he grunted as he got to his feet again. Luffy was laughing his head off by now, having seen Zoro was okay. Hanging onto a mail box, Luffy was clutching his sides and shaking his head.

"You should have seen yourself!" he gasped, "You just walked straight into it!" and he finally collapsed to the ground, laughing. Zoro blinked down at him, embarrassment making him blush lightly. Hearing light tittering, he looked around and saw two girls standing on the corner of the street, pointing at him and giggling. Frowning, Zoro glared at them dangerously.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer!" he snapped. One of the girls pulled out a camera, and did exactly that before the two of them took off, laughing as they crossed the street. Zoro glared after them, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to resist the urge to throw something at them. Luffy finally finished his laughing, and stood up again, wiping tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.

"That was good." Luffy said, giving one last chuckle.

"You finished?" Zoro growled. Luffy grinned at him.

"Yep! Let's go! I'm hungry." and he began moving down the road, Zoro at his side. The two stopped at a small place and Zoro blinked at the name before frowning.

"I'm not going in there." he said. Luffy paused.

"Why?"

"Because… I'm not. Let's go somewhere else. I don't know… McDonalds or something."

"But… Zoroooo! I'm hungry now!"

"I'll buy you extra food at McDonalds, how about that?" he weaselled. Luffy blinked and then nodded.

"Okay. Let's go." and he turned away from all the delicious food inside the Baratie restaurant. Zoro let out a sigh of relief. Going in there would have resulted in him fighting with the vice Chef and general cheese-head, Sanji. Pretty boy he was. Sanji had hated him ever since Zoro had beaten him in front of a whole crowd of people and now, every time Sanji saw Zoro… he had the irrevocable urge to beat the crap out of the instructor.

So Zoro generally tried to avoid the moron… not that he cared or anything, but, he would have to pay the bill for the things they broke. And Chef Zeff could be pretty scary when he got mad, even Zoro had to admit that. Luffy bounced through the doors to McDonalds and Zoro followed him, glancing around the room and he paused and then groaned inwardly when he saw Nami and Vivi sitting at a table in the back.

Glancing at Luffy, Zoro realized that they would think he was taking Luffy out. Oh god. This was going to be a pain in the ass! The boy was currently ordering everything on the menu… and then he turned to Zoro and asked him what he wanted. Striding over before Luffy called out his name, and alerted the girls to his presence, Zoro stared at the menu.

"Whatever you think." Zoro said, glancing over his shoulder and wishing that his hair wasn't so goddamn noticeable. Having green hair was unique, and cool and all, but, it made him stand out like a sore thumb. Luffy grinned and then ordered something else, dropped some money on the counter, Zoro adding more to it to make up the cost.

The man behind the counter blinked at them, and then handed them a number and their drinks before moving away to get everything Luffy had ordered. Luffy spun around and looked the place up and down.

"Where do we sit?" he wondered, looking around interestedly. Zoro hunched his shoulders, and glanced from side to side, making sure no one saw him, or recognised him and shouted out to him.

"You can sit over here with us." a voice said nearby and Zoro nearly screamed like a little girl, but, being a man, he restrained himself. Nami stepped out from behind him and smirked widely, clasping her hands behind her back and then looking at Luffy.

"Oooh." Nami noised, looking Luffy up and down and then looking back up at Zoro again.

"Say one word, and I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? Please, you owe me too much money to afford to do anything to me. But, I never figured you'd be the type to go after the young ones." and she smirked as Zoro turned an interesting shade of red. Luffy glanced between them and then blinked as the blue haired girl from the Travel department waved him over. So, while Nami and Zoro were screeching at each other, shouting abuse that made the rest of the establishment turn and stare, Luffy hurried over to her and sat down, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi! Are you a friend of Nami's?" he asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Vivi, nice to meet you."

"Monkey D Luffy!" and he looked back over as there was a loud thump and Zoro lay on the floor, clutching at his head while Nami glared down at him before smirking.

"So, what are you doing with Zoro?" Vivi asked, turning back to Luffy again. The boy grinned.

"Going to the Zoo! He's my friend!" and he laughed as though it was the best thing in the world… which, to Luffy, really wouldn't have been far from the truth. He liked friendship and valued love more than material things… but material things were awesome too.

"Oh? Zoro doesn't make many friends often." and she smiled, "Make sure you're nice to him." and she chuckled lightly. Luffy laughed with her.

"I will be! Zoro's so cool!" he replied and then turned and grinned as Zoro stalked towards them, a steaming Nami at least five steps ahead. Neither of them looked impressed. Nami slumped into her chair and frowned deeply while Vivi watched her interestedly. Zoro slumped into the chair beside Luffy and opposite Vivi.

"Do you know what he called me?" Nami growled, turning to Vivi. The blue head shook her head, "A bitch. He called me a bitch." and she glared at Zoro, who shrugged.

"I'm not going to apologise." he growled in return, "If that's what you're looking for."

"No. I don't want an apology, but I will add another fifty dollars to the debt you already owe." and she smirked as her words got the desired reaction. Zoro spluttered and coughed on the gulp of drink he had just taken before staring at Nami in disbelief.

"Can't do that!" he finally managed. Nami smirked some more.

"Can, will, and did." she quipped and Zoro growled deeply while Nami glared at him. Luffy looked between them and then blinked.

"Do you guys like each other or something?" he asked. Vivi laughed, hiding her mouth behind her hand as she did so. Nami had turned stone cold before she to began to laugh. Zoro looked torn between laughing and trying to strangle Luffy for even suggesting such a thing.

"Him! Like me?" Nami cried, laughing her head off. Luffy tilted his head.

"Ace always said that you fight the most with someone you love." he commented. Nami and Zoro stopped cold and then Nami smirked.

"So that's why you and Sanji fight?" and Zoro turned a faint shade of blue.

"Fuck you." he growled, putting his head in his hand and turning his face away from the table. Luffy was totally confused by this whole thing.

"No Luffy. Zoro doesn't like me and he doesn't like Sanji either for future reference." and she smirked across the table at Zoro, who ignored her. Their food arrived, and Nami and Vivi sighed.

"Well, it's been… interesting but, Vivi and I have places to go and things to do." Nami said as she stood and winked at Zoro.

"Be careful with him, Zoro." and then she chuckled merrily as she walked out.

"Bye!" Luffy cried, his mouth half stuffed full of cheeseburger. Zoro glared after Nami.

---

"Wooooow!" Luffy cried when he saw the first animals through the gate of the City Zoo. Zoro blinked at the area and felt a sense of excitement welling inside him. He had never been to a Zoo, not even as a little kid. He got lost too easy. Luffy latched onto his arm and dragged him towards the Lions, as they were Zoro's favourite. Luffy bounced with excitement as he leant on the top of the railings and peered down into the lightly sunken Lion enclosure.

Zoro leaned on the rail beside him and watched with interest as two of the lion clubs commenced growling and playing together, rolling around on the grass and squeaking out little scratchy roars while the mother sat nearby and groomed herself. A large, shaggy maned male Lion was standing on the top of a large rock slab, his tail swishing around before he suddenly roared and jumped down from the rock. To say that Zoro and Luffy had jumped, would be too simple an explanation. They nearly latched onto each other in fear but then realized that the male lion was simply breaking up the fight between the little ones.

"So cool." Luffy cooed. Zoro smirked.

"Yeah." he agreed. Luffy turned to him with a large smile.

"Where next?"

"I don't know. Monkeys?"

"Yeah!" and latching onto Zoro's arm again, Luffy dragged Zoro along another path. The monkeys were screaming and climbing around, fighting over toys that they had been given by the Zoo-keepers and then the snakes were all asleep in the dark Reptile house and the whole time, Zoro felt himself enjoying everything around him.

This was fun!

The most fun he had had in a long time. Luffy was so excited about everything and Zoro could feel the excitement affecting him as well, making him want to run around with the boy and grin like a madman until his cheeks hurt. They were sitting beside the Giraffe house, Luffy eating an ice cream while Zoro had a can of coke.

"Where haven't we been?" Zoro wondered as he looked around. Crocodiles, they hadn't seen them yet. And the elephants. Luffy turned to Zoro with an ice creamy smile and the green haired man snorted before handing a napkin to Luffy.

"All around your mouth." he said. Luffy blinked at him and then wiped the napkin all over his mouth and face, wiping everything off. He looked up at Zoro expectantly and the man nodded in approval. Over the last few hours they had been here, Zoro had gotten fairly close to Luffy and he was enjoying the boy's company. In truth, when he had first met Luffy he hadn't wanted anything to do with him. That was the opposite way around now. He wanted everything to do with Luffy now. He smiled as the boy picked up his milkshake and began sucking on the straw. He really was just like a little kid.

"I'll be right back, just gotta find a rubbish bin." Zoro said when he had drained the last of his coke and he moved away. Turning back, Zoro saw two boys shove Luffy and then tip the milkshake over the boy's head. Luffy didn't do anything, just sat there while the boys laughed their heads off and walked away. Hurrying back to Luffy, Zoro peered down at him.

"You okay?" he asked. A silent nod, "Why'd they do that?" he asked, glaring off into the crowd after the two boys. Luffy shrugged.

"Don't know. Just do." and then he grinned up at Zoro, milkshake running down his face, "But they're stupid! Who cares?" and he grabbed another napkin and began wiping off his face. Zoro couldn't believe it. A second of being upset and then the kid was back to normal again, grinning and pretending nothing had happened. What was with him? If they had done that to Zoro, he would have clobbered them without asking questions. But Luffy hadn't done anything.

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"Cos, I don't fight stupid people like that." he replied, chuckling. Zoro blinked before smiling.

"Not worth your time huh?"

"Nope! Now come on! I still wanna see the crocodiles and the elephants and then we can go home… or something." and he tilted his head. Zoro smiled and nodded.

"Sure." and they moved off towards the Elephant enclosure where a big one waved his trunk over the fence and blew in Zoro's face, making Luffy go into hysterical laughter, until the elephant tried to steal his hat. And then he was annoyed, jerking the hat back from the elephant and placing it on his head indignantly. They then moved to the crocodile ponds and visited a crocodile called Mr Zero. Luffy giggled at him, until the crocodile snapped at the fence and Luffy backed away.

"Whoa." he muttered while Zoro laughed. Luffy grinned at Zoro, "He's a grumpy Mr Zero." and he chuckled. Zoro had to laugh, he couldn't not, it was too much fun being with Luffy.

So they stood outside the gates of the Zoo, wondering which direction home was in.

"Where do we go?" Zoro asked.

"Well, home is that way… I think…" Luffy muttered. Zoro shook his head.

"Don't want to go home. Why don't we go somewhere else? A movie or something?" he asked. To tell the truth, Zoro really didn't want to go home. He wanted to stay with Luffy just a little longer…

"A movie! Yeah!" and he punched a fist into the air. Zoro smiled.

---

The movie theatre was cool, air conditioned and dark and that was good enough for Zoro. The whole day, he had been trying to work up the courage to make a move on Luffy, but, every time he tried, Luffy would point at something and go running off. Coincidence, Zoro hoped, and not Luffy trying to tell him he wasn't interested. Well, in here he wouldn't be interrupted… he hoped. Luffy had picked a movie about pirates and what not and Zoro had to say, it didn't look all that interesting, but Luffy had wanted to see it, so, he hadn't wanted to say no. Anyway, they were in there now with only some drinks (Luffy had filled himself up at the Zoo before coming) and were waiting through the beginning ads.

"Hey Zoro," Luffy asked. The green haired man turned towards him, "do you wanna do this again sometime?"

"…yeah." Zoro replied after thinking for a second, "Yeah, that'd be cool."

"Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

"…how about next time we make it a date?" and Luffy blinked up at Zoro with light red cheeks. The man blinked and then blushed lightly himself before smiling.

"Yeah… that'd be cool." and Luffy grinned. The movie turned out to be pretty boring and wasn't about Pirates on an adventure, but actually a history of pirates which, in itself, was actually really boring. Luffy's head lolled to the side and he leaned against Zoro's shoulder, breathing deeply. Zoro blinked down at him, before smiling and then giving him a little shake.

"How about we go somewhere else? This is boring." he asked. Luffy woke up with a little moan and then nodded, yawning. The two escaped the cinema, which turned out to be not nearly as exciting as they had hoped (apart from their little date arrangements) and headed for home. It was late, and clouds were brewing over the city. It would be raining soon. Standing at Zoro's door, Luffy looked up as a spot of rain hit him on the nose.

"It's gonna rain!" he chirped happily. Zoro blinked.

"How far you gotta go to get home?" he asked. Luffy thought for a moment.

"Umm… maybe a few blocks."

"You'll get drenched."

"Eh. I like the rain!"

"Well… do you wanna come in… or something?" Zoro asked. Luffy tilted his head and then grinned.

"Ok!" and he followed Zoro through the door. The first thing Luffy spotted upon entering the room was Zoro's swords in the corner and he immediately raced over to them.

"So cool." he muttered as Zoro followed him in and raised an eyebrow.

"You like them a lot, huh." and Luffy nodded. Zoro smiled.

"What do you do? Are you a swordsman and a driving instructor?" Luffy asked, running around the room and looking at everything in awe. Zoro shrugged and slumped into the couch.

"A swordsman mainly, I only started working as an instructor to get some money to keep up with my travelling."

"Travelling?"

"Yeah. I've been trying to travel around, find other swordsman or women to challenge and get better at it." and he shrugged, "Just a dream a friend and I had when we were little."

"Ooh. Sounds awesome! Where's your friend?"

"…dead."

"Oh…" and Luffy trailed off looking a little guilty. Zoro smiled.

"It's okay. It happened a long time ago, but, yeah. I'm still trying to become the best for her."

"The best?"

"Best swordsman."

"Ooooh! Cool!" and Luffy ran back over and jumped onto the couch beside Zoro and leant right into his face, "You're so cool Zoro!"

"I… thanks." Zoro replied, unsure of what to say and then what little thoughts were circulating through his mind, disappeared as Luffy leaned right in and pressed his lips to his. The feeling was soft at first before Luffy began to press a little harder, crawling onto his lap and straddling his hips, hands running up the back of his neck. Zoro brought his hands up to rest on Luffy's hips, just happy to kiss right now.

He didn't want to move too fast for Luffy and start scaring the boy away, but, he also had a feeling that if he did move a little fast, then Luffy would probably match him blow for blow. His chest was beginning to heave with the need to breathe, and Luffy seemed to sense that because he pulled back, but instead of staring into Zoro's eyes, he moved down to Zoro's neck and began exploring around there and making his way down to Zoro's chest. So, he hadn't want to move fast because of Luffy, but now Zoro had discovered that Luffy wanted to move as fast as he did.

Who knew driving lessons could result in something like this?

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!!HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

Bring on 2007, baby!

Umm, yeah well, I kinda woulda continued that ending but... I don't think this site supports that sort of thing so, sorry. I realize the ending sorta went a little too fast as well, and I'm sorry about that too. Kinda got a little bored and just wanted to end it.

Reviews please!

But, hope Shiruji and Clarobell enjoyed it! Did you? Sorry if it was too long for some people, and sorry if it was too short for others. Bye! -waves-