Chapter Text
Nami was right. He and Luffy needed to talk.
Zoro re-sheathed his swords, accepting the inevitable. He couldn't make himself believe that Luffy had something deeper in mind when he'd said Zoro was his husband, but Zoro still needed to be honest. Luffy needed him, and right now Zoro's failings were keeping them apart.
He stood, thinking through what he was going to say to Luffy. He needed to be as direct as possible, but still be ready for—
"Zoro!" The sudden sound of Luffy's voice in the doorway commanded all his attention. Luffy pointed at him like he was ready to do battle, hat hanging down behind him. "You are a good kisser. I wasn’t sure you knew that."
Anything that vaguely resembled a plan had vanished from Zoro's head. "Thank you?"
Luffy nodded as if something important had been decided, then squared his shoulders. "We need to talk."
"We do." Zoro let out a breath, eyes never leaving Luffy's. "I'm sorry I made you sad."
There was a weight in Luffy's eyes that hurt to look at. "I made you sad first."
Zoro stopped short at that, brow furrowing. "No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did." Luffy's expression was a perfect mixture of confusion and stubbornness. "You kissed me, and as soon as you stopped you were sad. Kissing me must have made you sad." He swallowed, fragility in his eyes. "So I'm sorry."
The sudden awareness of his own stupidity hit Zoro like a blow. He thought he'd been licking his wounds, but he'd left Luffy thinking he was the one who'd caused them. Worse, that he'd caused them with a kiss.
He stepped forward. Whatever came next, it would be worth it to take this pain from Luffy. "I wasn't sad because I kissed you," he said quietly, bracing himself for whatever came next. "I was sad that I had to stop."
Luffy's brow lowered, like he didn't understand what he was hearing, then his face lit like he was about to give a speech on the joys of piracy. "You don't have to stop kissing me." He stepped forward, then paused. "Okay, we will have to stop sometimes. We'll need to eat, and save people, and probably fight bad pirates. If we kiss during all that, we'll get too distracted." He grinned. "But all our free time can definitely be devoted to kissing."
Zoro stared, not able to believe what he was hearing. His heart started pounding. "You've never seemed interested in kissing."
Luffy held his hands up in a "What can you do?" gesture. "I didn't know what kissing you was like, did I?"
He tried to focus, but none of this had gotten any more believable. "I can't be that good a kisser."
Luffy's expression took on a fragile edge. "Kissing you felt like all the best things about being a pirate."
The words wrapped themselves around his heart. From Luffy, he didn't think there was a better compliment. His voice was rough with emotion. "Kissing you tasted like joy."
Luffy beamed, closing the last bit of distance between them. "You should definitely have more joy."
#
This kiss was everything the first one had been, but more.
The feel of Zoro's lips against his still held all the heady freedom of the ocean, but now he didn't waste time being surprised by it. He chased the feeling with the same intensity he chased anything he wanted, wrapping his fingers in Zoro's shirt and pulling him closer. This time Zoro held on tighter instead of letting go, his hands a wonderfully possessive pressure as he angled his head in just the right way to deepen the kiss. This was the opposite of drowning in seawater, every good and delicious feeling closing over his head like the world was made of nothing but this.
Still, it turned out bodies needed to breathe, no matter how much fun they were having. They broke apart, breathing hard, and Zoro leaned his forehead against Luffy's like even now he didn't want to move too far away. "I don't think I mentioned it before," Zoro managed, "but you're a really good kisser, too."
Luffy grinned. "And if we keep practicing, we'll get even better."
Zoro laughed softly, then let out an unsteady breath. "Why pick me?" There was something so fragile in his eyes. "You didn't know how much you liked kissing."
"I didn't know how much I liked kissing you." Luffy lifted his hands to cradle the sides of Zoro's face, fierce protectiveness filling him. The words he hadn't been able to find for Sanji and Usopp were suddenly there, as solid and sure as Zoro himself. "What I did know was that if I ever had a husband, I'd want it to be you." His thumb stroked Zoro's cheek, utterly gentle. "So when I got the chance to have a pretend one, even if it was just for a little while, of course I was going to pick you."
Zoro squeezed his eyes shut a moment, and when he opened them again they were wet. There was so much joy shining out of his eyes, though, that there was no way Luffy could mistake these tears as anything but happiness. "I have to change my vow," he breathed.
Luffy's own eyes were wet. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Zoro's smile was soft, touched with wonder and all the good things in the world. "I'm taking out the part that says 'until we find the One Piece.'" He pulled Luffy just a little bit closer. "Even if we find all the treasure in the world, you're stuck with me for life."
Luffy had never heard anything sweeter, but there were other things that could take Zoro away. "Then you'd better live a really long time," Luffy said fiercely. "Because I'm still going to need you, even when I'm really old and wrinkly."
Zoro's eyes went deep and solemn. "I swear." His voice was just as fierce as Luffy's. "As long as you still need me, not even death will be able to keep me away."
Luffy's heart was too full, like his body should be stretched out to accommodate everything he was feeling. "You're going to live forever, then," he whispered thickly, "because I'll never stop needing you."
Zoro's lips curved as he closed the distance between them for another kiss. "Sounds like a plan."
#
Just outside the doorway, three very quiet people were crouched just out of view so they could listen to the conversation.
Usopp's eyes were wide. "Did Luffy and Zoro basically just get pirate married?" he whispered, clearly delighted by the idea.
Sanji's own smile was suspiciously fond. "Kind of sounds like they did."
Nami couldn't keep her own smile off her face. She'd known it wouldn't take long for her idiot boys to finally sort themselves out once they actually started talking to each other. They loved each other too much not to.
(Okay, so maybe she wasn't so great at talking about what she was feeling, either. That didn't mean she couldn't knock other people's heads together until they got better at it.)
Putting a finger to her lips, she tapped Usopp and Sanji and gestured for them to sneak away. Once they were far enough away not to be overheard, she clapped them both on the shoulders. "Now, if I were you two, I would stay far away from Zoro's quarters for the next few hours. We'll roust them if there's a storm, or an attack, but other than that it's in our best interests to just leave them be."
Usopp looked amused. "I think we'd be okay. Zorro sounded too distracted to get mad at us."
Sanji's amusement had a far more knowing edge. "That's not what she means, mate." He smirked. "There are some sounds you just shouldn't hear coming from your captain."
Usopp looked confused for a moment, then his eyes went wide again. "Oooooh." He hesitated. "We're going to tease them once they come up for air, though, right?"
Nami grinned. "Oh, absolutely."