His Fault | Monster Trio

11

The door to Luffy's bedroom opened and in came a blonde haired man with a blue apron wrapped around his slim waist.

"Sanji... I was just about to go out!" Luffy smiled, standing up immediately from the floor he was sitting down on when Sanji found him.

The perplexed look on his friend's face made it clear to his Captain that he wouldn't let him off the hook so easily, but that was dismissed as a minor risk within the back of Luffy's mind.

A risk he was willing to take by passing Sanji by as fast as possible.

Or so he thought he would.

"Woah-woah-woah, not so fast." Sanji pressed his hand against Luffy's chest, preventing him from exiting the room.

"D-don't lock the door!" The brunette insisted, feeling a slight jolt on his neck every time he attempted to turn his head to look up at Sanji.

"The only doors I've ever locked in this ship is the door to the bathroom or to my own room. I won't be locking this one. That's up to you, since it's your bedroom."

Luffy swallowed deeply, nodding continuously at Sanji.

"Is something bothering you lately?" The taller man asked.

"No, why?" His short Captain instantly replied, almost as if he was prepared to answer him beforehand.

This endless behavior of his was what lead Sanji and others to question the Captain's well-being, given that he usually never responds so fast to anyone.

Luffy was known for being a rather carefree, happy-go-lucky boy.

His attention deficit often makes him respond late to many people, or change the conversation when getting bored of it.

Sanji had never witnessed Luffy acting so rationally before.

"You seem a little off to me. What were you doing here all by yourself?" The culinary man asked, patting his hand over Luffy's back.

In that moment, Luffy's body immediately responded to the older man, faster than his voice would have.

The look in his Captain's eyes as he shook his shoulder away from the Cook was almost offensive towards Sanji.

Parting his lips to interrogate the younger man on his new behavior, Sanji's mouth remained shut when Luffy spoke before him.

"I was getting some...thing."

"Couldn't it wait until you finished eating? Well, not that it matters to me. You are the Captain, after all."

Luffy nodded in return, sweeping himself off from the dust his clothes collected on the ground.

"Your desert is served. I made crème brûlée, so come eat it before it cools down too much." The smile Sanji gave Luffy was warm and sunny, yet it hit Luffy's stomach like a rock.

He smiled back at the blonde man, giving him an awfully wide grin that almost seemed creepy or painful to stare at.

Just as he turned away, Sanji retreated his hand from the doorknob and walked back to where his unmoved Captain was standing.

"Ah, by the way," he spoke.

"I gave my dad a call this afternoon, he said hi! The guys sent their greetings to you as well. Thanks for encouraging me to call him again."

Letting go of his fear for a moment, Luffy smiled fondly at Sanji, preparing to exit the room with him.

Looking down at the ground while walking behind Sanji, Luffy felt a wave of relief wash over him.

His shoulders hunched over, making him appear smaller than normal.

His smile was no longer forced, let alone fake towards Sanji, but it did take the boy a while to stare at his face without feeling a slight bit of intimidation towards him.

Coming across an obstacle on their way out of Luffy's bedroom, the boy accidentally pressed his head against Sanji's back, fondling his soft shirt in his fingers while looking ahead of what was in front of them.

"Ow! Moss, watch where you're going. Sheesh... You okay back there, Luffy?"

"Y-yeah!"

Standing a few inches apart from them, blocking their way down the hallway, was a masculine man who's body proportions were inhumanely muscular.

"Luffy, come with me." He spoke, taking the Captain by his hand.

"O-ow! OI, ZORO! WALK SLOWER!!"

Luffy angrily responded, giving Zoro a pained expression as the Swordsman apologized, modifying the pace on his feet.

Sanji rolled his eyes at his Captain and crew mate, walking back to the kitchen to wash a set of dishes Robin had volunteered in helping the man dry up.

"Where are we going anyways, Zoro??"

"I was looking everywhere for you. You shouldn't disappear so suddenly..."

Luffy's temper vanished as Zoro brought him to the cellar to embrace him.

"I won't let my guard down with you again."

"We were talking, that's all." The younger broke free from Zoro's embrace for a moment to change the position they were in.

"Hmm?"

He wrapped his hands around Zoro's waist, leaving the older man to rest his own above his Captain's shoulders.

Zoro judged the younger for a moment, raising an eyebrow at him. His decision was strange and almost unacceptable to the older man.

But being the comprehensive man that he was, Zoro let the situation be, and decided not to question the younger man.

"Talk about cloying. Get outta here, you damn scallywags!" Sanji swung his leg, leaving his boot marked against a big set of round buttocks.

"WHY'D YOU ONLY KICK ME? CURLY BROWED COOK!" Zoro groaned, swinging his sword at the blonde man.

"That's for interrupting my moment with our Captain-" He paused.

"HWAAAF-"

"That's for stalling him. Luffy, eat your desert." Sanji smiled as Luffy rushed over to he dinner table.

"YAHOO!"

"Tch! "Walk slower" my ass. He could run the entire time!" Zoro rolled his eyes, holding back a proud smile on his face when seeing the joyful gaze in his Captain's eyes.

Just as he was about to sit with the young brunette, Zoro was held back by a pair of arms that dragged him by his waist.

"What the hell are you doing?! Go easy on my sash!"

"Take a seat and shut your mouth."

Zoro furrowed his eyebrows, unwilling coping with Sanji's orders by sitting down on a bar stool that was located a few meters away from where Luffy was.

"You have two seconds. Doubt you can keep my attention for that long, though." The Swordsman teased, wrapping his arms behind the top of the barstool.

"Booze?" Sanji offered, gathering Zoro's full attention.

"... Ten seconds." The blonde man chuckled lightly, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Yo, Marimo... Noticed anything different about our Captain lately?"

"Not really." Zoro responded, chugging down his alcoholic beverage.

"One would think you know Luffy better than the back of your hand."

"What makes you say th... WHAT THE-!?" Zoro spilled his drink all over his lap when the Cook violently turned his barstool towards him.

"Let me ask you something." The Swordsman pulled his head back after Sanji leaned in, dangerously close.

"Are you trying to turn Luffy against me?"

"Shit... This took a turn for the worse."

~~~