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31_days2010-08-13 09:06 pm
sazuki-reda.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2010-08-13 09:06 pm
[Aug 13th] [One Piece] Out At Sea
Title: Out At Sea
Day/Theme: Aug 13th / "Life is short and the world is wide."
Series: One Piece
Pairing: Luffy/Zoro LuZo
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Takes place after current arc.
~!~
Out At Sea
~!~
Zoro lay awake in his hammock in the men’s quarters, finding himself unable to sleep. The ship rocked back and forth lazily across the waves, a lulling movement that should have sent him off to dreamland right away. It usually did.
The others had drifted off easily enough. Sanji was mumbling about a mixture of food and women in his sleep in a language Zoro wasn’t even trying to understand anymore. Usopp was cuddling with his slingshot and snoring lightly like a young boy. Franky’s snores were loud and annoying like an old man, but the constant squeaking of his cyborg parts made it somehow worse. Brook wasn’t really asleep, but he was quiet and deeply involved in his own thoughts; the skeleton didn’t have to sleep, but he did sometimes just to pass time.
Above him, Chopper mumbled something really fast and then moved so suddenly that he tipped sideways and landed on top of Zoro. The reindeer sat up quickly, blinking the sleep from his eyes, and Zoro sighed as he lifted the little guy into his arms, pushed out of his own hammock and set the ship’s doctor back where he had fallen from.
“Zoro?” Chopper’s little voice whispered in the silence of the calm night.
He grunted. “Just go back to sleep.”
He could feel Brook watching him, so after he was sure Chopper was comfortable in his dreams again, Zoro made his way to where the skeleton, the musician, was sitting against the wall. He sat down next to the fellow swordsman and stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.
Chopper and Usopp were both comfortable cuddling into balls - or as close to scrunched balls as they could make themselves. Sanji was sleeping on one hand and had the other hanging off the edge, kissing at air every once in a while. Franky was -
“I - uh - have a confession to make, Zoro-san.”
At Brook’s low whispered voice, Zoro stopped his train of thought and grunted to acknowledge that he was listening, though he was already sure he knew what the musician was going to say.
He sat with his back to the wall, legs pulled up, one hand on his chin, elbow resting on his knee, eyes on his swords which were sitting in specific stands in the corner - stands that Franky had made for him as a stupid ‘welcome back’ gift. Apparently, everyone got something, but Zoro had been the last to return so it had turned into a bigger deal because it had involved the entire crew.
Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts and focused on what Brook was saying. “I let it slip. What you did for Luffy-san at Thriller Bark.”
Zoro closed his eyes, wishing the event could be dropped already; he’d only done what he’d needed to do; Luffy had to be the Pirate King; his dream was worth more than all of theirs. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, when he had changed his mind, when he had put Luffy above himself, but there it was. And having everyone know, having Luffy know…
“They were all so worried; it took you so long to show up. For days, I managed to keep it from them, but then Luffy-san confronted me. He’s so good at knowing these things.”
Zoro sighed and pulled himself to his feet. He needed a moment to think. Maybe he could sleep better outside with the sea breeze, find a spot in the crow’s nest. “Don’t worry about it; it’s too damn hard to keep secrets from Luffy.”
Brook nodded, but Zoro had already moved, his eyes glancing over his swords and then moving on. He didn’t need them with him all the time. Besides, Luffy was outside, taking watch. He smiled softly when he realized what he’d just thought. Here he was, willing to be with Luffy alone, completely alone, even setting the swords to the side. Now when had that happened?
The moment he walked onto the deck, he felt the chill of the night breeze, and he almost stepped back inside, thinking better of it. But Luffy had already caught him.
“Hey, Zoro.”
Looking up at the voice, he found his captain sitting on the lion’s head of their ship, always on his special seat. Luffy hadn’t turned around; he was still facing forward, into the sea, the light breezes ruffling his clothes and making his hat twitch where it sat against his back, the thread keeping it held to his person. All thoughts of going back inside left his mind, and he found himself being pulled toward his captain. Luffy had a way of doing that with a simple phrase, even so simple as a greeting.
Closing the door behind him, Zoro walked toward the front of the ship, toward his captain. As he walked across the deck, he realized that he did feel a little strange without the three swords at his side; his right hand was sifting through the air, trying to lean against something that wasn’t there anymore. It wasn’t that he needed the swords; things just felt right with them there, so it set him on edge to have them so far away from his hands. Maybe that was why he couldn’t sleep.
“Zoro?”
Luffy’s questioning voice had him pop out of his thoughts again. “Hm?” He looked up to find that he was eye-to-eye with his captain, and the sudden close proximity had him falling to the deck in surprise, reminding him of the other night as he did so. “Damn it, Luffy, stop doing that.”
Luffy sat still, crouched just in front of him yet still standing on the lion’s head - or at least the edge that ran down to the deck where Zoro had been standing. The captain cocked his head to the side, the black hair poking into rounded eyes. “Stop what?”
“Stop surprising me so much,” he mumbled, staring up at Luffy, who was now silhouetted against the moonlight.
Luffy grinned and shrugged. “I can’t help it; you’re supposed to be so observant and catching you off guard is just so -” he cut off with a light laugh before hopping off the special seat and landing between Zoro’s legs, meeting his eyes.
For a moment, Zoro thought Luffy was going to kiss him, as he had become prone to do whenever they were close - and especially when they were alone. But the captain just smiled and sat down, crossing his legs and throwing his hands to the small space between them.
Zoro kept his legs stretched out before him with his arms behind in the position he had fallen. Standing back up would require getting Luffy to move, and he didn’t want to do that. Though the position was starting to ache and the close proximity was starting to put him on edge. He kept waiting for Luffy to do something, shove him down, kiss him, anything, but the boy captain was just sitting there, staring up at him, and smiling. Looking for all the world like an innocent child.
And here he was having perverted thoughts, fighting an urge to do something he had only recently come to terms with personally.
“Do I make you uncomfortable, Zoro?”
After so long of silence - or did it only seem long - the random question from Luffy caught him off guard. “Huh?”
Luffy laughed. “Do I…” A rubbery hand touched his thigh. “Make you…” And the same thing on the other side. “Uncomfortable?” Luffy’s head titled and his eyes closed as he grinned this time.
Zoro blinked. “No,” was his immediate answer. Then he corrected himself. “Yes.” And thought better of it again. “Maybe.”
With a smile, Luffy pulled his hands back and shot to his feet, pulling the hat to his head. Zoro was left wanting… wanting…
He felt his face heat up as he realized where his mind had wandered. Where his body was insisting he wander. What the hell? Is he going to do this to me for the rest of my life now?
Luffy didn’t respond. Besides the smile, he didn’t even show that he had heard the answer or that he cared. The captain had his eyes out to sea, looking forward; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, thinking or day-dreaming instead of playing. All Zoro could think of to explain Luffy’s change was that everything that happened while they were separated had cut Luffy deep, making him more protective of his nakama, more worried for their safety; his confidence in his own ability was wavering, and the knowledge that Zoro had stepped up in Thriller Bark to make a deal with a Shichibukai - a deal to protect the captain who was so intent on protecting his crew - well, hopefully it didn’t make Luffy feel less reliable.
Because he was the most reliable captain, friend, nakama that anyone could ever ask for.
“Oi, Luffy, stop it.”
Luffy turned, his hat covering his eyes, but his shoulders were slumped and his mood was anything but his normal happy. “Stop what?” He whispered.
Reaching up, Zoro grabbed Luffy’s arm and pulled him down. Well, attempted to pull him down. The arm just stretched and all he ended up with was a rubbery limb. Zoro scowled. “Oi, stop doing that! Get down here!”
Before he could really finish the command, Luffy was down. Knees connected with his chest and Zoro felt the jolt of pain as his head smacked against the deck beneath him. With a growl, he shook his head slightly and blinked his eyes to focus everything again. “Hey watch it-”
And then a warm, needy mouth finally connected with his own - and just as he was trying to be sentimental, too. Unlike the other night, Zoro didn’t resist at all, recognizing that Luffy needed him to be willing, needed him to be here for comfort. As Luffy’s hands clung to the swordsman’s shirt collar, Zoro brought his own arms up to wrap around the captain, pulling the warm body closer to his own.
After a few moments of hardly any noise, hardly any movement, a moan vibrated through their mouths, coming from Luffy, freezing Zoro as a shiver spiraled down his spine and the warmth of Luffy’s intimate lips against his eventually pulled a light moan from his own throat.
The fingers at his shirt collar reached underneath the fabric and began massaging his neck, causing him to grunt and moan in turn. And then Luffy started digging his fingernails into the skin as he began ripping at the white shirt from the middle. Zoro reached around and put his hands against Luffy’s shoulders, pushing him back, but by the time he managed to pull the insistent lips from his own, his shirt was already ruined, ripped straight down the middle and pulled free from the haramaki.
“What?” Luffy asked, all innocent as if he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Zoro blinked, looked down at his ruined shirt and then back up. “What do you mean ‘what?’ You just ruined my shirt for no good reason!”
Luffy shrugged. “I wanted to.”
Zoro blinked again. “You wanted to?”
“Yup! I’m the captain; I can do whatever I want on my ship, right?”
Zoro blinked yet again, forced into a stunned silence. Luffy took the moment to push Zoro’s hands back down to the deck and latch his lips over a now exposed collarbone.
“Geh…” Feeling the heat rush to his face, Zoro leaned his head back and bit back the whimper. He would not let that noise free no matter where he was or who it was; his pride demanded more than that.
Luffy nibbled a bit then licked upward, landing on a spot at the end of his jaw line, right by his ear. Zoro closed his eyes and snapped his teeth together, while Luffy’s finger traced the scar down, then back up, then down again, pushing the remains of the white shirt to the side. He moved his nibbling to Zoro’s ear, licking up the edge before latching on to the top, earning a throaty moan as the swordsman worked so hard to keep it back.
Zoro kept his eyes closed, knowing that his eyebrows were twitching, but so was his lip and his teeth had released blood when Luffy moved to his ear, sending shudders down his back. His body was warm, though his face was probably the worst, and his breathing was getting harder to control. He felt the cool air on his stomach before he realized that his signature green haramaki had been removed, and then Luffy’s lips left his skin in order to let him move down and pull the rest of the swordsman’s clothes off before shaking out of his own shirt.
Zoro reached a hand up and touched Luffy’s exposed chest, feeling the heat in his face rush downward when Luffy smiled. Such an innocent smile, so cute, so young, and yet so misleading.
Luffy began to wiggle out of his pants, so Zoro dug his hands into the shorts, sitting up a bit in the process, to help the rubber man get free faster. As soon as the pants came off, though, Luffy pounced, shoving Zoro back to the deck
Oh shit, we are out on the deck. What if someone comes out-
Even his thoughts got interrupted by Luffy’s kiss, it seemed, for as soon as that familiar tongue poked into his mouth, Zoro found himself getting lost in the pleasure again. When Luffy broke, earlier than Zoro would have liked, honestly, the kid moved to his ear, getting the desired reaction.
And then he whispered. “Arigatou, Zoro.”
Before he could respond or question, Luffy pounced into position again and licked the length of Zoro’s member before popping it his mouth. Pleasurable fire fanned and covered all thoughts, removing even the reaction to the “thanks” to replace it with a cut off cry.
“Ah, LUFFY!” He clenched his teeth, but had to breathe, and ended up choking out. “Daaaaaamn it…”
Zoro was in the process of moving a hand to cover his mouth, but Luffy slapped it away and inserted a few fingers, stroking his tongue. Before Zoro could protest, Luffy hummed, and the shock of pleasure that struck him had his damn body moaning without permission again.
“Nngg…” he breathed.
He could feel the climax coming, and he tried to warn Luffy, but his captain seemed to be ahead of him already, popping the fingers out of his mouth only to cover it with his lips again, giving Zoro a taste of his own pre-cum. And then those fingers went into his opening and Zoro winced; he tried to move his hands to wrap around Luffy, but the captain was ahead of him, pinning his arms to the deck again, having grabbed Zoro’s wrists with his free hand and shoved them above the swordsman’s head, stretching those rubber arms to make such a distance.
Damn it, Luffy, you could at least let me have some control.
Why did Luffy always have to be ahead of him? When it came to understanding someone, to knowing someone, really knowing them, Luffy seemed to have a gift. He always knew what to say, what to do, and yet the crew, Zoro included, had found themselves at a loss when it came to dealing with Luffy’s depression moods. With the captain’s confidence faltering…
Ah. That’s why. Okay, Captain, you have full control, for now, but one of these days we’re going to have to get even.
The kiss broke again and Luffy adjusted himself, lifting Zoro’s leg with one hand - the other still holding onto the swordsman’s wrists. “Oi, you could let me go.”
But Luffy looked up and smiled. “Nah.”
And then Luffy entered, and Zoro felt himself arch back, slamming his head against the deck as the pain assaulted all at once. Oh god, oh fuck, oh…
Then came the pleasure, and he felt his eyelids flutter as he attempted to keep his eyes open. Forgetting to bite his lip, the moans and cries came out freely, feeling waves of pleasure with each thrust. “Fuck! Luffy! Gah!” But the cries were muffled when Luffy leaned forward, pushing himself in as far as he could, getting a soundless squeak out of the swordsman before pressing their lips together - and letting Zoro’s hands go free in the process.
But even with his hands free, Zoro found himself unable to move them; he just kept clawing at the deck, losing himself in the moment, moaning into Luffy’s mouth, keeping his eyes closed. Then the climax hit, at the same time as Luffy surprisingly. Damn kid. Knows too damn much for his own good.
Luffy pulled out and lay on top of him, exhausted, the black hair resting just underneath Zoro’s chin. Eventually, Zoro had the breath and the strength to pull his arms down and rub Luffy’s back, making little circles. He stared up at the sky above, and found that sleep was finally waiting for him.
Except, Luffy broke that when he announced, “Robin knows now.”
~!~
After he had pushed Luffy off of him and forced the boy to get dressed again, and after Zoro had gone down to retrieve another shirt - this one blue and open - he and Luffy stared out at the ocean together. Luffy sat on his special seat and Zoro stood beside and slightly behind him, arms crossed.
He grimaced, remembering the sly smile from Robin that had greeted him when he had come back to the deck with a new shirt. She had been talking to Luffy, apparently, but she didn’t say a word to him. That was pretty much their relationship, though. No one really said much to Zoro, not while on the ship at least. Besides Chopper. And Luffy. And the “I’ll kill you” threats from Sanji. And the shouts to stop fighting, stop sleeping, stop being lazy from Nami. And…
Well, there weren’t many moments of serious conversation around him, at least.
“So, Zoro, do I make you uncomfortable?” When Zoro didn’t answer right away, Luffy turned to look over his shoulder. “You didn’t really answer earlier.”
Zoro let out a breath. “How about you answer one of my questions first?”
Luffy pouted. “But you’re the one that avoids answering.”
With a scoff, he glanced away. “Well, what the hell was that ‘thank you’ for anyway?”
This made Luffy turn back around, facing forward, keeping quiet for several seconds before answering. “For what you did. For what you’ve always done. For what you’re doing now.”
“I…don’t think I understand.”
At least that made Luffy giggle. “For being Zoro, kay?” Zoro sighed and was about to respond, but Luffy jumped another question. “Why don’t you have your swords with you right now?”
He blinked. “Because…you’re…out here?”
“You really trust me that much?”
He blinked again. “Why wouldn’t I, Luffy?”
“Because I’m not reliable.”
“Yes you ar-”
“No, I’m not! I let Ace die! I let my nakama get scattered! I…”
Unable to believe what he was hearing, but having known this is what had been bothering Luffy all along, Zoro moved forward, climbing on the special seat behind Luffy, sitting down and pulling the boy into his lap, wrapping his arms around him in as comforting of a hug as he could manage.
“I let everyone down, too, Luffy. I was too weak to fight on Sabaody, too weak to even run away.”
“But that’s because of me! Because you almost gave your life to save me! Because I was too weak to stay awake and fight that Kuma guy myself!”
Zoro leaned his forehead down into Luffy’s hair, sighed, and squeezed him closer. “But I survived, right?”
“But-”
“Luffy!” The hard tone made Luffy jump and hopefully listen this time. He couldn’t stand to see his captain like this; it was hurting him to see Luffy like this, especially when part of it was because of his sacrifice. “I survived. Right?”
Luffy nodded, lightly so as not to smack Zoro in the face. “Right….”
“And you know why I survived?”
Luffy shrugged.
“Because I couldn’t leave you alone. I wasn’t going to let something like death keep me from seeing your dream come true. I can’t leave you alone, Luffy. I won’t.”
There was silence. The waves lapped at the ship, and the ship creaked in response as it moved. But Luffy’s breathing was calming down, and Zoro had not let go, would not let go. “So, I kept you alive? Because of me?”
Letting out the breath he only now realized he had been holding, Zoro nodded. “Yeah. Because of you.”
He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Luffy’s black hair; he really did love that hair, though that straw hat was beginning to itch against the spot of bare skin on his chest.
Hopefully, this would be the start of Luffy’s emotional recovery. Did it really take him this long to figure out what to say? Did it really take him this long to admit it to himself?
“So I am reliable,” Luffy muttered.
Zoro nodded, but he was so tired he was about to fall asleep, using the captain’s hair as a pillow. “You’re my captain,” he mumbled. “Of course you’re reliable. Roronoa Zoro wouldn’t follow someone who wasn’t worth it.”
~!~
Luffy didn’t respond, just stayed silent, staring out to sea, but feeling Zoro’s heartbeat at his back made him calm. It helped him to realize that he was worth it; that he was reliable. At first Zoro may have followed him because he had been somewhat forced, if he wanted to keep his word, but the swordsman had made every point of putting his own goal first, making the swords - especially the white one - seem important in themselves for some reason.
But the pirate hunter had become the pirate. And he had followed Luffy through crazy adventure after crazy, fun adventure. They made memories with the crew, adding on to their number as they traveled. But Zoro had been first, and had always been there when he was needed, willing to risk his life.
And now, Zoro had told him that Luffy’s dream meant more, that Luffy meant more. Even if he had grappled him in a tight hug and then fallen asleep - like only Zoro could - it made Luffy realize that he was worth so much more than he had ever thought.
With Ace gone, he was shaken. “Life is short,” he had thought and been told when Ace had died. “Death happens in the blink of an eye out here. You can’t predict whether you’ll be alive or dead by the next island.”
The world was wide; the adventure on the Grand Line was only halfway over, and life out here was unpredictable, but they would continue on. He would continue on. With Zoro. And his other nakama.
But especially with Zoro. His favorite, his first.
Day/Theme: Aug 13th / "Life is short and the world is wide."
Series: One Piece
Pairing: Luffy/Zoro LuZo
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Takes place after current arc.
~!~
Out At Sea
~!~
Zoro lay awake in his hammock in the men’s quarters, finding himself unable to sleep. The ship rocked back and forth lazily across the waves, a lulling movement that should have sent him off to dreamland right away. It usually did.
The others had drifted off easily enough. Sanji was mumbling about a mixture of food and women in his sleep in a language Zoro wasn’t even trying to understand anymore. Usopp was cuddling with his slingshot and snoring lightly like a young boy. Franky’s snores were loud and annoying like an old man, but the constant squeaking of his cyborg parts made it somehow worse. Brook wasn’t really asleep, but he was quiet and deeply involved in his own thoughts; the skeleton didn’t have to sleep, but he did sometimes just to pass time.
Above him, Chopper mumbled something really fast and then moved so suddenly that he tipped sideways and landed on top of Zoro. The reindeer sat up quickly, blinking the sleep from his eyes, and Zoro sighed as he lifted the little guy into his arms, pushed out of his own hammock and set the ship’s doctor back where he had fallen from.
“Zoro?” Chopper’s little voice whispered in the silence of the calm night.
He grunted. “Just go back to sleep.”
He could feel Brook watching him, so after he was sure Chopper was comfortable in his dreams again, Zoro made his way to where the skeleton, the musician, was sitting against the wall. He sat down next to the fellow swordsman and stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.
Chopper and Usopp were both comfortable cuddling into balls - or as close to scrunched balls as they could make themselves. Sanji was sleeping on one hand and had the other hanging off the edge, kissing at air every once in a while. Franky was -
“I - uh - have a confession to make, Zoro-san.”
At Brook’s low whispered voice, Zoro stopped his train of thought and grunted to acknowledge that he was listening, though he was already sure he knew what the musician was going to say.
He sat with his back to the wall, legs pulled up, one hand on his chin, elbow resting on his knee, eyes on his swords which were sitting in specific stands in the corner - stands that Franky had made for him as a stupid ‘welcome back’ gift. Apparently, everyone got something, but Zoro had been the last to return so it had turned into a bigger deal because it had involved the entire crew.
Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts and focused on what Brook was saying. “I let it slip. What you did for Luffy-san at Thriller Bark.”
Zoro closed his eyes, wishing the event could be dropped already; he’d only done what he’d needed to do; Luffy had to be the Pirate King; his dream was worth more than all of theirs. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, when he had changed his mind, when he had put Luffy above himself, but there it was. And having everyone know, having Luffy know…
“They were all so worried; it took you so long to show up. For days, I managed to keep it from them, but then Luffy-san confronted me. He’s so good at knowing these things.”
Zoro sighed and pulled himself to his feet. He needed a moment to think. Maybe he could sleep better outside with the sea breeze, find a spot in the crow’s nest. “Don’t worry about it; it’s too damn hard to keep secrets from Luffy.”
Brook nodded, but Zoro had already moved, his eyes glancing over his swords and then moving on. He didn’t need them with him all the time. Besides, Luffy was outside, taking watch. He smiled softly when he realized what he’d just thought. Here he was, willing to be with Luffy alone, completely alone, even setting the swords to the side. Now when had that happened?
The moment he walked onto the deck, he felt the chill of the night breeze, and he almost stepped back inside, thinking better of it. But Luffy had already caught him.
“Hey, Zoro.”
Looking up at the voice, he found his captain sitting on the lion’s head of their ship, always on his special seat. Luffy hadn’t turned around; he was still facing forward, into the sea, the light breezes ruffling his clothes and making his hat twitch where it sat against his back, the thread keeping it held to his person. All thoughts of going back inside left his mind, and he found himself being pulled toward his captain. Luffy had a way of doing that with a simple phrase, even so simple as a greeting.
Closing the door behind him, Zoro walked toward the front of the ship, toward his captain. As he walked across the deck, he realized that he did feel a little strange without the three swords at his side; his right hand was sifting through the air, trying to lean against something that wasn’t there anymore. It wasn’t that he needed the swords; things just felt right with them there, so it set him on edge to have them so far away from his hands. Maybe that was why he couldn’t sleep.
“Zoro?”
Luffy’s questioning voice had him pop out of his thoughts again. “Hm?” He looked up to find that he was eye-to-eye with his captain, and the sudden close proximity had him falling to the deck in surprise, reminding him of the other night as he did so. “Damn it, Luffy, stop doing that.”
Luffy sat still, crouched just in front of him yet still standing on the lion’s head - or at least the edge that ran down to the deck where Zoro had been standing. The captain cocked his head to the side, the black hair poking into rounded eyes. “Stop what?”
“Stop surprising me so much,” he mumbled, staring up at Luffy, who was now silhouetted against the moonlight.
Luffy grinned and shrugged. “I can’t help it; you’re supposed to be so observant and catching you off guard is just so -” he cut off with a light laugh before hopping off the special seat and landing between Zoro’s legs, meeting his eyes.
For a moment, Zoro thought Luffy was going to kiss him, as he had become prone to do whenever they were close - and especially when they were alone. But the captain just smiled and sat down, crossing his legs and throwing his hands to the small space between them.
Zoro kept his legs stretched out before him with his arms behind in the position he had fallen. Standing back up would require getting Luffy to move, and he didn’t want to do that. Though the position was starting to ache and the close proximity was starting to put him on edge. He kept waiting for Luffy to do something, shove him down, kiss him, anything, but the boy captain was just sitting there, staring up at him, and smiling. Looking for all the world like an innocent child.
And here he was having perverted thoughts, fighting an urge to do something he had only recently come to terms with personally.
“Do I make you uncomfortable, Zoro?”
After so long of silence - or did it only seem long - the random question from Luffy caught him off guard. “Huh?”
Luffy laughed. “Do I…” A rubbery hand touched his thigh. “Make you…” And the same thing on the other side. “Uncomfortable?” Luffy’s head titled and his eyes closed as he grinned this time.
Zoro blinked. “No,” was his immediate answer. Then he corrected himself. “Yes.” And thought better of it again. “Maybe.”
With a smile, Luffy pulled his hands back and shot to his feet, pulling the hat to his head. Zoro was left wanting… wanting…
He felt his face heat up as he realized where his mind had wandered. Where his body was insisting he wander. What the hell? Is he going to do this to me for the rest of my life now?
Luffy didn’t respond. Besides the smile, he didn’t even show that he had heard the answer or that he cared. The captain had his eyes out to sea, looking forward; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, thinking or day-dreaming instead of playing. All Zoro could think of to explain Luffy’s change was that everything that happened while they were separated had cut Luffy deep, making him more protective of his nakama, more worried for their safety; his confidence in his own ability was wavering, and the knowledge that Zoro had stepped up in Thriller Bark to make a deal with a Shichibukai - a deal to protect the captain who was so intent on protecting his crew - well, hopefully it didn’t make Luffy feel less reliable.
Because he was the most reliable captain, friend, nakama that anyone could ever ask for.
“Oi, Luffy, stop it.”
Luffy turned, his hat covering his eyes, but his shoulders were slumped and his mood was anything but his normal happy. “Stop what?” He whispered.
Reaching up, Zoro grabbed Luffy’s arm and pulled him down. Well, attempted to pull him down. The arm just stretched and all he ended up with was a rubbery limb. Zoro scowled. “Oi, stop doing that! Get down here!”
Before he could really finish the command, Luffy was down. Knees connected with his chest and Zoro felt the jolt of pain as his head smacked against the deck beneath him. With a growl, he shook his head slightly and blinked his eyes to focus everything again. “Hey watch it-”
And then a warm, needy mouth finally connected with his own - and just as he was trying to be sentimental, too. Unlike the other night, Zoro didn’t resist at all, recognizing that Luffy needed him to be willing, needed him to be here for comfort. As Luffy’s hands clung to the swordsman’s shirt collar, Zoro brought his own arms up to wrap around the captain, pulling the warm body closer to his own.
After a few moments of hardly any noise, hardly any movement, a moan vibrated through their mouths, coming from Luffy, freezing Zoro as a shiver spiraled down his spine and the warmth of Luffy’s intimate lips against his eventually pulled a light moan from his own throat.
The fingers at his shirt collar reached underneath the fabric and began massaging his neck, causing him to grunt and moan in turn. And then Luffy started digging his fingernails into the skin as he began ripping at the white shirt from the middle. Zoro reached around and put his hands against Luffy’s shoulders, pushing him back, but by the time he managed to pull the insistent lips from his own, his shirt was already ruined, ripped straight down the middle and pulled free from the haramaki.
“What?” Luffy asked, all innocent as if he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Zoro blinked, looked down at his ruined shirt and then back up. “What do you mean ‘what?’ You just ruined my shirt for no good reason!”
Luffy shrugged. “I wanted to.”
Zoro blinked again. “You wanted to?”
“Yup! I’m the captain; I can do whatever I want on my ship, right?”
Zoro blinked yet again, forced into a stunned silence. Luffy took the moment to push Zoro’s hands back down to the deck and latch his lips over a now exposed collarbone.
“Geh…” Feeling the heat rush to his face, Zoro leaned his head back and bit back the whimper. He would not let that noise free no matter where he was or who it was; his pride demanded more than that.
Luffy nibbled a bit then licked upward, landing on a spot at the end of his jaw line, right by his ear. Zoro closed his eyes and snapped his teeth together, while Luffy’s finger traced the scar down, then back up, then down again, pushing the remains of the white shirt to the side. He moved his nibbling to Zoro’s ear, licking up the edge before latching on to the top, earning a throaty moan as the swordsman worked so hard to keep it back.
Zoro kept his eyes closed, knowing that his eyebrows were twitching, but so was his lip and his teeth had released blood when Luffy moved to his ear, sending shudders down his back. His body was warm, though his face was probably the worst, and his breathing was getting harder to control. He felt the cool air on his stomach before he realized that his signature green haramaki had been removed, and then Luffy’s lips left his skin in order to let him move down and pull the rest of the swordsman’s clothes off before shaking out of his own shirt.
Zoro reached a hand up and touched Luffy’s exposed chest, feeling the heat in his face rush downward when Luffy smiled. Such an innocent smile, so cute, so young, and yet so misleading.
Luffy began to wiggle out of his pants, so Zoro dug his hands into the shorts, sitting up a bit in the process, to help the rubber man get free faster. As soon as the pants came off, though, Luffy pounced, shoving Zoro back to the deck
Oh shit, we are out on the deck. What if someone comes out-
Even his thoughts got interrupted by Luffy’s kiss, it seemed, for as soon as that familiar tongue poked into his mouth, Zoro found himself getting lost in the pleasure again. When Luffy broke, earlier than Zoro would have liked, honestly, the kid moved to his ear, getting the desired reaction.
And then he whispered. “Arigatou, Zoro.”
Before he could respond or question, Luffy pounced into position again and licked the length of Zoro’s member before popping it his mouth. Pleasurable fire fanned and covered all thoughts, removing even the reaction to the “thanks” to replace it with a cut off cry.
“Ah, LUFFY!” He clenched his teeth, but had to breathe, and ended up choking out. “Daaaaaamn it…”
Zoro was in the process of moving a hand to cover his mouth, but Luffy slapped it away and inserted a few fingers, stroking his tongue. Before Zoro could protest, Luffy hummed, and the shock of pleasure that struck him had his damn body moaning without permission again.
“Nngg…” he breathed.
He could feel the climax coming, and he tried to warn Luffy, but his captain seemed to be ahead of him already, popping the fingers out of his mouth only to cover it with his lips again, giving Zoro a taste of his own pre-cum. And then those fingers went into his opening and Zoro winced; he tried to move his hands to wrap around Luffy, but the captain was ahead of him, pinning his arms to the deck again, having grabbed Zoro’s wrists with his free hand and shoved them above the swordsman’s head, stretching those rubber arms to make such a distance.
Damn it, Luffy, you could at least let me have some control.
Why did Luffy always have to be ahead of him? When it came to understanding someone, to knowing someone, really knowing them, Luffy seemed to have a gift. He always knew what to say, what to do, and yet the crew, Zoro included, had found themselves at a loss when it came to dealing with Luffy’s depression moods. With the captain’s confidence faltering…
Ah. That’s why. Okay, Captain, you have full control, for now, but one of these days we’re going to have to get even.
The kiss broke again and Luffy adjusted himself, lifting Zoro’s leg with one hand - the other still holding onto the swordsman’s wrists. “Oi, you could let me go.”
But Luffy looked up and smiled. “Nah.”
And then Luffy entered, and Zoro felt himself arch back, slamming his head against the deck as the pain assaulted all at once. Oh god, oh fuck, oh…
Then came the pleasure, and he felt his eyelids flutter as he attempted to keep his eyes open. Forgetting to bite his lip, the moans and cries came out freely, feeling waves of pleasure with each thrust. “Fuck! Luffy! Gah!” But the cries were muffled when Luffy leaned forward, pushing himself in as far as he could, getting a soundless squeak out of the swordsman before pressing their lips together - and letting Zoro’s hands go free in the process.
But even with his hands free, Zoro found himself unable to move them; he just kept clawing at the deck, losing himself in the moment, moaning into Luffy’s mouth, keeping his eyes closed. Then the climax hit, at the same time as Luffy surprisingly. Damn kid. Knows too damn much for his own good.
Luffy pulled out and lay on top of him, exhausted, the black hair resting just underneath Zoro’s chin. Eventually, Zoro had the breath and the strength to pull his arms down and rub Luffy’s back, making little circles. He stared up at the sky above, and found that sleep was finally waiting for him.
Except, Luffy broke that when he announced, “Robin knows now.”
~!~
After he had pushed Luffy off of him and forced the boy to get dressed again, and after Zoro had gone down to retrieve another shirt - this one blue and open - he and Luffy stared out at the ocean together. Luffy sat on his special seat and Zoro stood beside and slightly behind him, arms crossed.
He grimaced, remembering the sly smile from Robin that had greeted him when he had come back to the deck with a new shirt. She had been talking to Luffy, apparently, but she didn’t say a word to him. That was pretty much their relationship, though. No one really said much to Zoro, not while on the ship at least. Besides Chopper. And Luffy. And the “I’ll kill you” threats from Sanji. And the shouts to stop fighting, stop sleeping, stop being lazy from Nami. And…
Well, there weren’t many moments of serious conversation around him, at least.
“So, Zoro, do I make you uncomfortable?” When Zoro didn’t answer right away, Luffy turned to look over his shoulder. “You didn’t really answer earlier.”
Zoro let out a breath. “How about you answer one of my questions first?”
Luffy pouted. “But you’re the one that avoids answering.”
With a scoff, he glanced away. “Well, what the hell was that ‘thank you’ for anyway?”
This made Luffy turn back around, facing forward, keeping quiet for several seconds before answering. “For what you did. For what you’ve always done. For what you’re doing now.”
“I…don’t think I understand.”
At least that made Luffy giggle. “For being Zoro, kay?” Zoro sighed and was about to respond, but Luffy jumped another question. “Why don’t you have your swords with you right now?”
He blinked. “Because…you’re…out here?”
“You really trust me that much?”
He blinked again. “Why wouldn’t I, Luffy?”
“Because I’m not reliable.”
“Yes you ar-”
“No, I’m not! I let Ace die! I let my nakama get scattered! I…”
Unable to believe what he was hearing, but having known this is what had been bothering Luffy all along, Zoro moved forward, climbing on the special seat behind Luffy, sitting down and pulling the boy into his lap, wrapping his arms around him in as comforting of a hug as he could manage.
“I let everyone down, too, Luffy. I was too weak to fight on Sabaody, too weak to even run away.”
“But that’s because of me! Because you almost gave your life to save me! Because I was too weak to stay awake and fight that Kuma guy myself!”
Zoro leaned his forehead down into Luffy’s hair, sighed, and squeezed him closer. “But I survived, right?”
“But-”
“Luffy!” The hard tone made Luffy jump and hopefully listen this time. He couldn’t stand to see his captain like this; it was hurting him to see Luffy like this, especially when part of it was because of his sacrifice. “I survived. Right?”
Luffy nodded, lightly so as not to smack Zoro in the face. “Right….”
“And you know why I survived?”
Luffy shrugged.
“Because I couldn’t leave you alone. I wasn’t going to let something like death keep me from seeing your dream come true. I can’t leave you alone, Luffy. I won’t.”
There was silence. The waves lapped at the ship, and the ship creaked in response as it moved. But Luffy’s breathing was calming down, and Zoro had not let go, would not let go. “So, I kept you alive? Because of me?”
Letting out the breath he only now realized he had been holding, Zoro nodded. “Yeah. Because of you.”
He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Luffy’s black hair; he really did love that hair, though that straw hat was beginning to itch against the spot of bare skin on his chest.
Hopefully, this would be the start of Luffy’s emotional recovery. Did it really take him this long to figure out what to say? Did it really take him this long to admit it to himself?
“So I am reliable,” Luffy muttered.
Zoro nodded, but he was so tired he was about to fall asleep, using the captain’s hair as a pillow. “You’re my captain,” he mumbled. “Of course you’re reliable. Roronoa Zoro wouldn’t follow someone who wasn’t worth it.”
~!~
Luffy didn’t respond, just stayed silent, staring out to sea, but feeling Zoro’s heartbeat at his back made him calm. It helped him to realize that he was worth it; that he was reliable. At first Zoro may have followed him because he had been somewhat forced, if he wanted to keep his word, but the swordsman had made every point of putting his own goal first, making the swords - especially the white one - seem important in themselves for some reason.
But the pirate hunter had become the pirate. And he had followed Luffy through crazy adventure after crazy, fun adventure. They made memories with the crew, adding on to their number as they traveled. But Zoro had been first, and had always been there when he was needed, willing to risk his life.
And now, Zoro had told him that Luffy’s dream meant more, that Luffy meant more. Even if he had grappled him in a tight hug and then fallen asleep - like only Zoro could - it made Luffy realize that he was worth so much more than he had ever thought.
With Ace gone, he was shaken. “Life is short,” he had thought and been told when Ace had died. “Death happens in the blink of an eye out here. You can’t predict whether you’ll be alive or dead by the next island.”
The world was wide; the adventure on the Grand Line was only halfway over, and life out here was unpredictable, but they would continue on. He would continue on. With Zoro. And his other nakama.
But especially with Zoro. His favorite, his first.