Hand in Hand

Title: Hand in Hand

Author: forevernyu

Pairings: Luffy/Zoro.

Summary: What would have happened if the green-haired and the raven-hared boys had met each other ten years earlier?

It's mostly ZoLu friendship for now but rating might change when our favorite characters get older, and closer with each adventure ^_^

Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece but I love it. Especially Luffy and Zoro!

AN: This is the first chapter of a series of ZoLu one shots that might develop into a more concrete storyline. I don't know if it is an AT or an AU or neither of them (never understood what they actually meant...) , but this story takes place on the One Piece universe. I'm just playing with the timeline and anticipating the fateful encounter between those two!

Chapter 1: Yummy

"Wanna be friends?"

It was the first thing the raven-haired boy ever said to him. It was also the first time anyone actually wanted to get close to him. Everybody else -adults and children alike- eyed him with scared, disgusted or disapproving eyes. So, naturally, he rejected the offer his face expressing nothing more than boredom and a hint of hostility.

"No. Leave me alone."

The smaller boy looked positively dejected, his impossibly wide grin wiped off of his face and replaced by a pout.

"Oww, come on! It'll be fun."

Zoro raised an eyebrow at the persistent boy in front of him. Does he really want to befriend him? The thought seemed ridiculous. He was known as a troublemaker, a rude, violent kid. And since he never even bothered to belie the rumors, he was always considered as dangerous or at the very least a hindrance. Zoro could not see why anyone would want to have anything to do with him, let alone be friends with him!

"Why?" he asked flatly, "Why do you want to be my friend?"

The smaller boy looked puzzled, as if the answer was something obvious, but he replied his smile back on his face eating up half of it.

"Because Zoro is strong and cool. And I like Zoro's green hair, looks yummy!"

The boy was stunned. 'This kid is definitely insane,' he thought when his mind snapped out of its stupor. His green hair was what he hated most about himself; so did everyone else. They always used it to create increasingly creepy nicknames for him, like grass-head, morimo(1), moldy... so "yummy" was a first!

Zoro stared at the other boy trying his best not to get distracted by his puppy-like expression screaming unvoiced pleas. That boy was the first person to ever like the conspicuous color of his hair. Not even his own mother liked it. Well, more like that was what his mother hated most about him too. She would tell him over and over again to hide that disgusting color with a bandanna or something because it reminded her of "that bastard". And, as if it wasn't enough, she would diligently cut his hair as short as she could manage with her scissors, every week. Zoro was convinced that, had she not feared being accused of child abuse, she would have shaved all of it or dyed it pitch black. He doubted a different hair color would have appeased her everlasting anger, or made him look more likable to anyone else, though. He was an unwanted child and he knew it.

The other boy however, was his exact opposite. His wide grin and cheerful nature made him everyone's favorite whether they were children or adults. Well, he couldn't blame them. The boy's cristal clear laughter filled the air around him with warmth and liveliness and people couldn't help but be drawn to his bright personality like moth to fire. Even he caught himself staring at him, envying every single person around him, then ended up averting his gaze and mumbling an imperceptible "Idiot!" more to himself than to the ever-smiling boy.

"So, we are friends now! Right?"

The boy to whom he looked up from afar was now barely a foot from him, addressing him, smiling at him. Zoro, knew he had lost this battle even before starting the fight. He could never resist the raven-haired kid, so he settled on an honorable loss. He let out grunt -that sounded suspiciously like a sigh- and muttered:

"Whatever."

The smaller boy clapped his hands in delight then, he wrapped his fingers around Zoro's left hand and proceeded dragging him to where the other kids were standing, eyes wide and mouths ajar at the unforeseen turn things had taken. Zoro, followed his new friend without a word, the heat from his left hand slowly transferring to his cheeks. Blushing in embarrassment was a first too.

Suddenly, the other boy stopped and swirled around to face him once more.

"By the way, my name is Luffy. Yoroshiku(2)!"

With that, Luffy tightened his hold on the green-haired boy's hand, flashed him with his infamous grin and resumed dragging him to wherever place he had in mind.

"I already knew," Zoro uttered imperceptibly and followed suite, slightly returning the pressure to the hand holding his own. Walking hand in hand with someone was also a first for him. A frown crept to his usually stoic face, it seemed like the raven-haired boy was going to snatch away many first-times.

(1) Morimo: the radix word "mori" means "forest" in japanese.

(2) Yoroshiku: means "nice to meet you" in japanese.

AN: That was four first times taken by Luffy in a matter of seconds *grin*. Actually, I wanted to name this chapter: "First Times" but well, "Yummy" isn't bad either *wink*

AN2: Did you like it? Did you not like it? Please leave a comment! I love reading them and well, I would rather know if I should continue with this story or not... So please hit the review button!